“Best” American Records: 800m - 10000m
Posted March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, SoundOFF, Columns
With the 2008 outdoor track & field season upon us, and all of the recent hoopla about the resurgence of American distance running, it’s time to analyze the current middle and long-distance American records, some of which are in jeopardy of falling this Olympic season. Some of them, on the other hand, are almost assuredly safe.
I calculated the variances between the American and World records in all of the “official” middle and long-distance events: 800m, 1000m, 1500m, Mile, 2000m, 3000m, 3000m Steeplechase, 5000m and 10000m runs. So which American record is the “best” according to this calculation?
Rick Wohlhuter’s American record of 2:13.90 in the 1000m, a mark he set way back on 07/20/74, is the “best” American record when compared to its % variance to the world record. The current world record in the 1000m was set by Kenya’s Noah Ngeny back on 9/05/1999. His time was 2:11.96. Wohlhuter’s mark is just 1.470% off Ngeny’s mark.
The second “best” American record, although not nearly as creaky as Wohlhuter’s, is also a bit long in tooth. The great Johnny Gray set his American record of 1:42.60 in the 800m way back on 08/28/85. His time is just 1.474% off Wilson Kipketer’s time of 1:41.11, a record he set back on 8/24/1997.
Coming in third is Bernard Lagat with his American record of 3:29.30 in the 1500m. Lagat’s time, which he at least set in this millenium (08/28/2005), is just 1.602% off the incomparable Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record time of 3:26.00. (Note: Lagat’s PR is 3:26.34. That is just 0.165% off El Guerrouj’s world record. Lagat was, however, a Kenyan citizen ran that time on 8/24/2001. He did not become an American citizen until 5/07/2004.)
Which record is the “worst” according to the criteria by which we’re analyzing them? That would be Lynn Jenning’s 31:19.89 in the 10000m run. Her time is a full 1:48.11 off the controversial world record time of 29:31.78 set by China’s Junxia Wang on 9/08/1993. Jenning’s time is a full 6.102% off the world record. Ironically, it may not be the “actual” worst American record since the world record is so suspicious. If we were to “strip” Junxia Wang of her world record then Britain’s Paula Radcliffe would be the world record holder in the 10000m with her mark of 30:01.09, a time she ran on 08/06/2002. Even Radcliffe’s time, the second best time ever run, is a full 1.654% of Wang’s world record. That furthers my doubts about the validity of Wang’s record.
For now, though, let’s keep Jennings’ time at the bottom of the list; otherwise, we’d have to recalculate several of them based on other suspicious world records, including Junxia Wang’s 8:06.11 in the 3000m and Yunxia Qu’s 3:50.46 in the 1500m, both of which were set in Beijing within days of Wang’s world record back in 1993. No drug tests were performed after those records. Another dubious record is Jarmila Kratochvílová’s 1:53.28 in the 800m. But, these records are on the official IAAF books, so I suppose we have to accept them.
Anyway, here’s the list of middle and long-distance American records ranked best-to-worst, according to % variance from the world record. I have tagged (with an asterisk *) and bolded the records that (IMHO) stand a good chance of being broken in 2008:
1. 1000m (Men) Rick Wohlhuter, 2:13.90 (WR 2:11.96/var: 1.470%)
2. 800m (Men) Johnny Gray, 1:42.60 (WR 1:41.11/var: 1.474%)
3. 1500m (Men) Bernard Lagat, 3:29.30* (WR 3:26.00/var: 1.602%)
4. Mile (Women) Mary Slaney, 4:16.71 (WR 4:12.56/var: 1.643%)
5. Mile (Men) Alan Webb, 3:46.91* (WR 3:43.13/var: 1.694%)
6. 1000m (Women) Regina Jacobs, 2:31.80 (WR 2:28.98/var: 1.893%)
7. 2000m (Women) Mary Slaney, 5:32.70 (WR 5:25.36/var: 2.256%)
8. 3000m (Men) Bob Kennedy, 7:30.84* (WR 7:20.67/var: 2.308%)
9. 2000m (Men) Jim Spivey, 4:52.44 (WR 4:44.79/var: 2.686%)
10. 800m (Women) Jearl Miles-Clark, 1:56.40 (WR 1:53.28/var: 2.754%)
11. 5000m (Men) Bob Kennedy, 12:58.21* (WR 12:37.35/var: 2.754%)
12. 1500m (Women) Mary Slaney, 3:57.12 (WR 3:50.46/var: 2.890%)
13. 3000mSC (Men) Daniel Lincoln, 8:08.82* (WR 7:53.63/var: 3.207%)
14. 5000m (Women) Shalane Flanagan, 14:44.80* (WR 14:16.63/var: 3.288%)
15. 10000m (Men) Meb Keflezighi, 27:13.98* (WR 26:17.53/var: 3.578%)
16. 3000m (Women) Mary Slaney, 8:25.83 (WR 8:06.11/var: 4.057%)
17. 3000mSC (Women) Lisa Galaviz, 9:28.75* (WR 9:01.59/var: 5.015%)
18. 10000m (Women) Lynn Jennings, 31:19.89 (WR 29:31.78/var: 6.102%)
Sources: [IAAF][USATF][alltime-athletics.com]
Image courtesy of USATF.
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Tags: 10000m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, 3000m steeplechase, 3000mSC, 5000m, 800m, American records, Bernard Lagat, Johnny Gray, mile run, rick wohlhuter, track and field, world records
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The Final Sprint