t-and-f: Women's PV National Records
Before the outdoor season gets started in earnest, here's a quick update on the women's vault national records. As always, corrections and additions most welcome. RR National Records a/o 26 March 2004: Algeria 3.70 Linda Méziani 2000-05-07 Franconville Andorra 2.60 Lorena Alverez 2001-06-03 Igualada Argentina 4.42 Alejandra Garcia 2000-02-20 Sydney Australia 4.60 Emma George1999-02-20 Sydney Austria 4.40 Doris Auer 2000-09-17 Runaway Bay Belarus 4.05 Yuliya Taratynova 2003-07-17 Bydgoszcz Belgium 4.03 Irena Dufour 2002-07-13 Oordegem Belize 2.40 Clarencia Jones2002-05-24 Cd Guatemala 2.40 Kay de Vaughn 2002-05-24 Cd Guatemala Bolivia 2.35 Emily Oliva2003-03-29 Salta, ARG Brazil 4.06 Fabiana Almerda Murer 2003-09-06 São Paulo Bulgaria4.45 Tanya Stefanova2003-06-21 Velenje Canada 4.41 Stephanie McCann 2003-07-09 Atascadero Chile 4.30 Carolina Maurer-Torres 2003-08-09 Santo Domingo China 4.52 Gao Shuying2001-08-29 Beijing Colombia4.00 Milena Agudelo 2003-06-20 Barquisimeto Costa Rica 2.70 Maureen Calvo 2001-03-04 Desampa Croatia 3.70 Ivona Jerkovic 2003-07-07 Zagreb Cuba4.20 Katiuska Pérez 2003-05-29 La Habana Cyprus 4.30 Anna Fitidou 2003-06-15 Trikala Czech Republic 4.60 Pavla Hamácková2003-06-21 Velenge Denmark 4.35 Marie Bagger Rasmussen 2000-09-25 Sydney Dominican Rep 3.15 Leidy Araujo 2003-09-04 Santo Domingo Ecuador 2.92 Erika Lemari 2000-11-30 Machala Egypt 3.51 Sonya Ahmed2002-03-30 Kansas City El Salvador 3.73 Michelle Rivera2002-05-10 Van Nuys, CA Estonia 3.90 Merle Kivimets 2000-07-08 Kaunas Fiji2.90 Ioawana Vakaloloma 2003-07-08 Suva Finland 4.15 Paulina Sigg 2002-08-07 Munich France 4.50 Vanessa Boslak 2003-07-26 Narbonne Georgia 2.70 Ina Narujniak 1996-05-22 T'bilisi Germany 4.77 Annika Becker 2002-07-07 Bochum Great Britain 4.40 Janine Whitlock2001-07-14 Birmingham Greece 4.40 Georgia Tsiliggiri 2003-06-24 Trikala Guatemala 3.30 Denise Jerez Agueda2001-09-29 Cd Guatemala Guinea-Bissau 2.55 Placida Mirolho2003-06-21 Almada Honduras2.60 Glenda Aguilar 1998-07-05 Mexico City Hong Kong 2.90 Sharon Kong Yuen Fan 2003-07-13 Hong Kong Hungary 4.53 Krisztina Molnár 2002-09-08 Rieti Iceland 4.50 Vala Flosadóttir 2000-09-25 Sydney India 3.51 Vazhalipilli Surekha 2003-09-28 Bangalore Indonesia 4.10 Desi Margawati 2002-08-10 Colombo Ireland 3.81 Erin Kinnear 2004-03-13 Tallahassee Israel 4.00 Olga Dogadko 2002-06-08 Tel Aviv Italy 4.31 Arianna Farfaletti 2002-09-28 Conegliano Ivory Coast 3.20 Dapéa Zaourou 1996-06-02 Annecy Jamaica 3.30 Maria Newton 2000-04-23 Bromley Japan 4.21 Masumi Ono 2003-06-06 Yokohama Jordan 2.50 Basma Achouch 2003-09-08 Amman Kazakhstan 4.01 Yelena Reznik 2000-09-15 Almaty Kenya 2.40 Grace Chelegat 2001-06-21 Nairobi Korea 3.60 Choi Yun-Hee 2003-08-03 Taebaek Latvia 3.73 Rita Obizajeva 2003-05-30 Riga Lithuania 3.65 Edita Grigelionyte 2003-07-04 Kaunas Luxembourg 3.51 Stéphanie Viellevoye 2003-09-09 Rehlingen Madagascar 2.45 Ange Rajaonah 1998-08-27 Antananarivo Malaysia3.91 Roslinda Samsu 2003-09-06 Kuala Lumpur Mauritius 3.50 Nancy Cheekoussen 2004-03-14 Réduit Mexico 4.00 Alejandra Meza 2003-05-16 Saltillo Morocco 3.30 Zakia El Hassouni 1997-06-08 Chalon-Saone Namibia 2.10 Fienie Theron 1998-06-06 Windhoek Netherlands 4.40 Monique de Wilt2002-08-09 Munich New Zealand 4.40 Melina Hamilton2003-04-12 Runaway Bay Nigeria 3.00 Victoria Itodo 2002-03-09 Benin City Norway 3.80 Anita Tomulevski 1996-06-11 Gjovik Pakistan2.33
t-and-f: Team Decathlon?
At risk of appearing very naive, can I ask whether any list members have had any experience with a team decathlon? If not, maybe we could work out a structure. I would see a team decathlon as being primarily a dual-meet, high school event, with one athlete from each school contesting each of the standard decathlon events, scored by standard tables (although throwing implements and hurdle heights would be different from those on which the tables are based). The winning school, of course, would be the one with the greatest total. Some things that might be especially good about such an event would include the intra-squad competition for a place on the team, the dependence of team stars on the contributions of other members in a group effort, and a relatively short meet duration, since the one-person/one event structure would mean several events could be contested simultaneously. An after-school meet should present no time problems. Now, if it turns out that this sort of thing is already being done everywhere, I can be properly embarrassed for my ignorance; but that's okay, after spending much of today correcting errors in other posts. If it turns out to be an idea worth pursuing, I'd be glad to serve as a conduit for those who'd like to work on formulating some rules and compare results. Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: Women's PV Records, corrected
Thanks to Tom Casacky, who pointed out that I had not updated the RUS and USA records from the results of the world indoor championships, and to Michel Saint-Raymond, who noted that the year for the Swiss record should be 2004, not 2003. I see, also, that I should have included Svetlana Makarevich's tying the Belarus record. It has been my usual practice to include the tying of a record by a second athlete, but not repetitions by the same vaulter. With these corrections, the list would be: Women's National Indoor Pole Vault Records a/o 2004-03-15 Algeria 4.02i Linda Meziani 1999-02-06 2 Montceau-les-Mines Andorra 2.45i Lorena Alverez 2002-01-19 1 Vilafranca Argentina 3.61i Alejandra Llorente 2002-07-13 1 Burzaco Australia 4.55i Emma George1998-03-26 1 Adelaide Austria 4.44i Doris Auer 2001-03-18 2 Glasgow Belarus 4.00i Yuliya Taratynova 2003-02-15 4 Donetsk 4.00i Svetlana Makarevich2004-02-07 2 Moskva Belgium 4.10i Irena Dufour 2003-02-16 1 Gent Brazil 4.00i Michaela Heitkoter 2004-01-14 1 Frankfurt Bulgaria4.40i Tanya Koleva 2001-02-03 1 Sofia Canada 4.35i Stephanie McCann 2004-02-07 1= Flagstaff Chile 4.10i Carolina Torres2003-03-02 2 Magglingen China 4.45i Shuying Gao2002-03-10 2 Sindelfingen Croatia 3.70i Ivona Jerkovic 2004-01-24 2 Ljubljana Cyprus 4.01i Anna Fitadou 1999-01-30 1 Patra Czech Republic 4.57i Pavla Hamácková2003-02-08 1 Potsdam Denmark 4.23i Marie Rasmussen2002-02-17 1 Malmö Egypt 3.64i Sonya Ahmed2001-02-24 2 Tulsa El Salvador 3.73i Michelle Rivera2002-02-23 3hs Los Angeles Estonia 3.91i Merle Kivimetts2001-02-11 1 Tallinn Finland 4.11i Hanna Palamaa 2002-02-22 1 Bowling Green France 4.50i Vanessa Boslak 2004-02-22 1 Aubieres Georgia 2.70i Ina Narijniak 1996-05-22 Tsilibisi Germany 4.68i Annika Becker 2004-02-04 2 Dortmund Great Britain 4.44i Janine Whitlock2002-02-17 4 Birmingham Greece 4.37i Georgia Tsiliggiri 2001-02-23 1 Pireaus Guam2.90i Juliana Jensen 2001-02-03 Pocatello Hungary 4.51i Zsuzsa Szabó 1999-02-04 1 Budapest Iceland 4.51i Thórey Elisdóttir 2001-03-10 1 Fayetteville Indonesia 3.82i Desy Margawati 2001-02-03 Tsaotun Ireland 3.82i Bridget Pearson2000-02-19 5 Los Angeles Israel 3.80i Olga Dogadko 2003-02-12 1 Moskva Italy 4.30i Francesca Dolcini 2002-02-01 2 Zweibrücken Jamaica 3.36i Sandé Swaby2001-02-23 Lincoln Japan 4.30i Masumi Ono 2002-03-03 1 Tianjin Kazakhstan 3.90i Yelena Reznik 2001-02-25 4 Tianjin Korea 3.22i Choi Yun-Hee 2001-03-20 Toyota Latvia 3.92i Rita Obizajeva 2004-02-22 1 Kaunas Lithuania 3.70i Edita Grigelionyte 2004-02-14 1 Panavezys Luxembourg 3.11i Joelle Scheer 2000-12-23 Diekirch Malaysia4.00i Roslinda Samsu 2004-02-07 2 Tehran Mali2.82i Aminata Sanako 1996-01-13 Cergy-la-Tour Mexico 3.90i Alejandra Meza 2003-01-18 1 Houston Netherlands 4.45i Monique de Wilt2003-02-15 1 Gent New Zealand 4.15i Melina Hamilton2004-02-28 1 Sydney Norway 3.85i Anita Tomulevski 1996-03-08 Stockholm Poland 4.65i Monika Pyrek 2004-02-21 1 Spala Portugal4.23i Elisabete Tavares 2003-02-15 2 Mondeville Puerto Rico 3.96i Michelle Velez 2002-02-01 2 Lexington Romania 4.25i Gabriella Mihalcea 1999-02-13 1 Pireaus Russia 4.86i Svetlana Feofanova 2004-03-06 1 Budapest Slovakia3.60i Slavomira Slúková 2000-02-05 2 Bratislava Slovenia4.20i Teja Melink2004-02-07 1 Wien South Africa4.41i Elmarie Gerryts2000-02-20 1 Birmingham Spain 4.46i Dana Cervantes 2004-01-31 1 Zaragoza Sweden 4.37i Kirsten Belin 2003-03-02 1 Sätra Switzerland 4.20i Nadine Rohr2003-02-22 1 Magglingen Taiwan 3.96i Chang Ko-Hsin 2004-02-20 1 Tsaotun Tunisia 4.20i Syrine Balti 2003-02-22 4 Bordeaux Turkey 4.10i Tatyana Zaykova2000-02-04 4 Volgograd Ukraine 4.47i Anzhela Balakhonova2000-02-04 1
t-and-f: Women's Record Correction, again!
Okay, so now I see I have Dragila's USA record, at the world championships in Budapest, as 2003, not 2004. Sorry. I think I'll try another thread--team decathlon, anyone?
t-and-f: Women's Indoor PV Records
Women's National Indoor Pole Vault Records a/o 2004-03-15 Algeria 4.02i Linda Meziani 1999-02-06 2 Montceau-les-Mines Andorra 2.45i Lorena Alverez 2002-01-19 1 Vilafranca Argentina 3.61i Alejandra Llorente 2002-07-13 1 Burzaco Australia 4.55i Emma George1998-03-26 1 Adelaide Austria 4.44i Doris Auer 2001-03-18 2 Glasgow Belarus 4.00i Yuliya Taratynova 2003-02-15 4 Donetsk Belgium 4.10i Irena Dufour 2003-02-16 1 Gent Brazil 4.00iMichaela Heitkoter2004-01-14 1Frankfurt Bulgaria4.40i Tanya Koleva 2001-02-03 1 Sofia Canada 4.35i Stephanie McCann 2004-02-07 1= Flagstaff Chile 4.10i Carolina Torres2003-03-02 2 Magglingen China 4.45i Shuying Gao2002-03-10 2 Sindelfingen Croatia 3.70i Ivona Jerkovic 2004-01-24 2 Ljubljana Cyprus 4.01i Anna Fitadou 1999-01-30 1 Patra Czech Republic 4.57i Pavla Hamácková2003-02-08 1 Potsdam Denmark 4.23i Marie Rasmussen2002-02-17 1 Malmö Egypt 3.64i Sonya Ahmed2001-02-24 2 Tulsa El Salvador 3.73i Michelle Rivera2002-02-23 3hs Los Angeles Estonia 3.91i Merle Kivimetts2001-02-11 1 Tallinn Finland 4.11i Hanna Palamaa 2002-02-22 1 Bowling Green France 4.50i Vanessa Boslak 2004-02-22 1 Aubieres Georgia 2.70i Ina Narijniak 1996-05-22 Tsilibisi Germany 4.68i Annika Becker 2004-02-04 2 Dortmund Great Britain 4.44i Janine Whitlock2002-02-17 4 Birmingham Greece 4.37i Georgia Tsiliggiri 2001-02-23 1 Pireaus Guam2.90i Juliana Jensen 2001-02-03 Pocatello Hungary 4.51i Zsuzsa Szabó 1999-02-04 1 Budapest Iceland 4.51i Thórey Elisdóttir 2001-03-10 1 Fayetteville Indonesia 3.82i Desy Margawati 2001-02-03 Tsaotun Ireland 3.82i Bridget Pearson2000-02-19 5 Los Angeles Israel 3.80i Olga Dogadko 2003-02-12 1 Moskva Italy 4.30i Francesca Dolcini 2002-02-01 2 Zweibrücken Jamaica 3.36i Sandé Swaby2001-02-23 Lincoln Japan 4.30i Masumi Ono 2002-03-03 1 Tianjin Kazakhstan 3.90i Yelena Reznik 2001-02-25 4 Tianjin Korea 3.22i Choi Yun-Hee 2001-03-20 Toyota Latvia 3.92i Rita Obizajeva 2004-02-22 1 Kaunas Lithuania 3.70i Edita Grigelionyte 2004-02-14 1 Panavezys Luxembourg 3.11i Joelle Scheer 2000-12-23 Diekirch Malaysia4.00i Roslinda Samsu 2004-02-07 2 Tehran Mali2.82i Aminata Sanako 1996-01-13 Cergy-la-Tour Mexico 3.90i Alejandra Meza 2003-01-18 1 Houston Netherlands 4.45i Monique de Wilt2003-02-15 1 Gent New Zealand 4.15i Melina Hamilton2004-02-28 1 Sydney Norway 3.85i Anita Tomulevski 1996-03-08 Stockholm Poland 4.65i Monika Pyrek 2004-02-21 1 Spala Portugal4.23i Elisabete Tavares 2003-02-15 2 Mondeville Puerto Rico 3.96i Michelle Velez 2002-02-01 2 Lexington Romania 4.25i Gabriella Mihalcea 1999-02-13 1 Pireaus Russia 4.85i Svetlana Feofanova 2004-02-22 1 Athina Slovakia3.60i Slavomira Slúková 2000-02-05 2 Bratislava Slovenia4.20i Teja Melink2004-02-07 1 Wien South Africa4.41i Elmarie Gerryts2000-02-20 1 Birmingham Spain 4.46i Dana Cervantes 2004-01-31 1 Zaragoza Sweden 4.37i Kirsten Belin 2003-03-02 1 Sätra Switzerland 4.20i Nadine Rohr2003-02-22 1 Magglingen Taiwan 3.96i Chang Ko-Hsin 2004-02-20 1 Tsaotun Tunisia 4.20i Syrine Balti 2003-02-22 4 Bordeaux Turkey 4.10i Tatyana Zaykova2000-02-04 4 Volgograd Ukraine 4.47i Anzhela Balakhonova2000-02-04 1 Budapest United States 4.78i Stacy Dragila 2003-03-02 1 New York Uruguay 3.95i Deborah Gyurcsek 2004-02-08 1 Valencia Yugoslavia 3.81i Slavica Semenjuk 2003-03-04 5 Athína As always, corrections and additions will be very much appreciated. Thanks to Carles Baronet, Jeroen deWilt, Gérard Dumas, Heinrich Hubbeling, Mirko Jalava, Zbigniew Jonik, Doug Lang, Steponas Misiunas, and Michalis Nikitaridis for their help in keeping up with this year's changes. If I've failed to acknowledge the contributions any
t-and-f: Scholarships and Injuries?
I've just heard of an instance of a U.S. collegiate vaulter whose athletics scholarship has been withdrawn because injuries sustained in practice and competition prevent her from vaulting. Obviously, this is a pretty sleazy move on the part of her coach and university, but I'm wondering how usual it is for this to happen. Does anyone know of other examples? Cheers? I think not. :-(
t-and-f: Pyrek! Dragila. Jones?
Zbigniew Jonik writes that Monica Pyrek broke her own Polish national indoor record, with 4.61m (15'1 1/2) in a meet at Spala yesterday. That's barely lower than Stacy Dragila's 4.64m win at the Millrose Games, but maintains Pyrek's lead over Dragila in another record category: By my files, Monica is the all-time leader* in national record vaults. As I have it, the five leaders in this category are: Monica Pyrek (POL) 39 NRs--16 indoor (from 3.51m to 4.61m); 23 outdoor (from 3.30m to 4.62m). Daniela Bártová (CZE) 35 NRs--10 indoor (from 4.09m to 4.48m); 25 outdoor (from 3.70m to 4.51m). Stacy Dragila (USA) 26 NRs--13 indoor (from 4.40m to 4.78m); 13 outdoor (from 3.71m to 4.81m). Monique de Wilt (NED) 21 NRs--7 indoor (from 4.20 to 4.78); 14 outdoor (from 3.40m to 4.40m). Svetlana Feofanova (RUS) 20 NRs--11 indoor (4.58m to 4.77m); 9 outdoor (from 4.50m to 4.78m). * - I had to make a quick check to see whether I should qualify that as the all-time women's leader. That proved not to be necessary, since the all-time men's leader falls four short: Sergey Bubka (URS, UKR) 35 NRs--18 indoor (5.81m to 6.15m); 17 outdoor (5.85m to 6.14m). Bártová and de Wilt (and, of course, Bubka) have retired, leaving only Dragila and Feofanova in pursuit of Pyrek's numbers. I probably should note that my files on national records may be incomplete, especially with regard to any marks earlier than those I've listed and enroute heights, which often are not reported. I'd very much appreciate additions and corrections. BTW--Jones? I just wanted to make the point that the t-and-f list had a number of postings previewing Marion Jones' return to competition in the Millrose Games; several speculating on how drug-free her marvelous career could have been--and zero postings on her performance in the Millrose. How can we complain about scandal-mongering news hacks paying more attention to drug problems than to performances in sports, when we see the same thing in this knowledgeable mailing list? Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: National Depth--Multi-events
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S DECATHLON 2003WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 21 2 United States 13 10 Russia 8 11 Russia 12 4 Germany 8 19 Germany 11 12 France 7 9 France 6 2 Estonia 5 5 Belarus 4 3 Italy4 34 Ukraine 4 5 Spain4 37 China4 35 Czech Republic 3 1 Canada 4 37 Switzerland 3 20 Great Britain3 6 Poland 3 39 Kazakhstan 3 11 Norway 3 53 Finland 3 50 Czech Republic 3 54 33 countries represented32 countries represented 100th = 7512 points 100th = 5609 points That completes the individual charts. If you'd like a copy of the summary, let me know by personal e-mail and I'll send it along. RR
t-and-f: National Depth--Javelin
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S JAVELIN THROW 2003WOMEN'S JAVELIN THROW 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 104 Highest Germany 12 4 China 12 9 Finland 10 15 Germany 11 5 United States9 20 Russia 10 2 Russia 6 1 Ukraine 7 18 Latvia 5 6 Finland 5 3 Great Britain4 9 Cuba 5 6 South Africa 4 11 France 5 13 China3 25 Greece 4 1 Cuba 3 26 Italy4 12 Korea3 30 Lithuania3 20 France 3 49 38 countries represented34 countries represented 100th = 76.09m = 249'7 3/4 100th = 54.23m = 177'11
t-and-f: National Depth Trivial Pursuit
The results are in, and the big winner is Neal Davis, who nailed the question of which event had the greatest number of countries represented in the top ten. Thanks to those who participated. It proved to be a testy little game, with lots of surprises. The questions and their answers were: 1. In what men's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? Kenya had 46 placings in the marathon's top 100. That's the largest number in one event since I began doing depth summaries in 1996. Kenya had 45 in 2002, 44 in 2001. 2. In what women's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? Japan's 35 in the 10 kilometers topped the women's lists. In 2001, Japan had 40 in the top 100. 3. In what event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? USA had 37 in the 200 meters. In 1999, USA had 42. 4. In what women's event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? USA women had 30 top-100 rankings in the 100m hurdles. In 2001, they had 39 in the steeple. 5. In what event does the U.S. have its least number of top-100 placings? Take your pick of women's 10km or 20km walks, men's 50km walk--all of which had no USA representatives in the top 100. Other than the walks, the lowest USA representation was in the men's marathon, where the lone representative placed 85th. 6. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top-100 rankings? Women's high jump, with 44 countries; but there's the complication that a 17-way tie for 94th place put 110 athletes in the top 100. If you don't like the logic of that, try 42 countries in the men's long jump. That's the same number as in the 2000 men's triple jump. 7. What event has the least number of countries represented in the top-100 placings? Men's marathon, where only 18 countries were represented. There were only 22 countries in the women's 10km top 100. 8. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top 10? Both the men's high jump and women's 10km had ten countries in the top ten placings. In 1999, I found each of the top 13 places filled by athletes from different countries; ditto in the 2001 women's hammer throw. Again, thanks to those who joined in! Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: National Depth--Marathon
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S MARATHON 2003 WOMEN'S MARATHON 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Kenya 46 1 Japan 14 5 Japan 15 18 Kenya 13 3 Ethiopia 6 21 Russia 13 10 Spain5 12 China7 2 South Africa 4 17 Ethiopia 6 18 Italy3 22 United States5 4 Tanzania 3 26 Romania 5 15 North Korea 4 21 Poland 4 29 Italy4 39 18 countries represented30 countries represented 100th = 2:10:39 100th = 2:31:19
t-and-f: National Depth--10K/50K Walks
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 50 KILOMETER WALK 2003WOMEN'S 10 KILOMETER WALK 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 96* Highest China 22 9 China 27 1 Russia 10 2 Spain 11 10 Spain 10 7 Japan9 27 Japan6 16 Romania 6 14 Poland 5 1 Portugal 5 18 Ukraine 5 52 Italy5 24 Germany 4 3 Ukraine 3 3 France 4 19 Lithuania3 11 Italy4 61 Slovakia 3 20 Australia3 6 Belarus 3 42 Slovakia 3 35 Sweden 3 46 Greece 3 49 26 countries represented25 countries represented 100th = 4:08:38 96th = 49:59 China's domination of the top placings in the 10K walk (8 of the top 10) equals that of Kenya in the marathon, although Kenya had nearly twice as many, total, in the top 100 of the marathon. * - With only 96 results listed, world-wide, one has to wonder whether this should be a World Championship and Olympic event. Peter Matthews' ATFS compilation of 2002 performances lists 121 at 46:59 or better; still a short list in comparison with other events. A quick check finds Jalava's heptathlon list to be the next shortest, with 298 athletes shown. Okay, I'll postpone any further rant on that (and next posting of other depth charts) until after a short camping trip in the glorious Pacific Northwest. Cheers!
t-and-f: National Depth--Hammer
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S HAMMER THROW 2003 WOMEN'S HAMMER THROW 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States9 50 United States 15 9 Belarus 7 2 China9 5 Russia 7 4 Germany 8 7 Ukraine 7 6 Russia 7 2 Hungary 6 3 Belarus 6 17 Germany 6 11 Greece 5 18 Italy6 37 Hungary 5 43 Poland 4 8 Cuba 4 1 France 3 14 France 4 3 Finland 3 15 Poland 4 8 Greece 3 19 Australia4 10 Czech Republic 3 31 Croatia 3 33 Finland 3 62 38 countries represented28 countries represented 100th = 70.37m = 230'10 1/2100th = 63.17m = 207'3 When I posted charts for the discus, I wondered how there could be such a wide representation of countries on what seems a rather technical event. A frequent and knowledgeable list contributor replied that it might be that athletes from a number of countries train together at centers of coaching excellence. I know that happens in some events; e.g., Earl Bell's vault clinics at Jonesboro. Does anyone know of similar clustering of athletes in the discus? In other events?
t-and-f: National Depth--800 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 800 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 800 METERS 2003 Country Top 101 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Kenya 23 1 Russia 18 5 United States 10 12 United States9 7 South Africa 6 2 Romania 7 20 Great Britain6 29 Great Britain6 8 France 5 9 Germany 4 12 Spain4 14 Spain4 18 Morocco 4 27 Ukraine 4 41 Russia 3 6 Morocco 3 3 Algeria 3 15 Australia3 15 Portugal 3 40 Brazil 3 49 Qatar3 65 China3 71 34 countries represented39 countries represented 100th = 1:46.92 100th = 2:02.38
t-and-f: National Depth--10,000 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 10,000 METERS 2003WOMEN'S 10,000 METERS 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Kenya 29 2 Japan 35 13 Japan 24 39 United States9 16 United States 11 23 Russia 8 5 Ethiopia 5 1 China7 3 Spain3 16 Kenya7 12 Australia3 38 Spain6 37 New Zealand 3 45 Ethiopia 5 1 Australia3 8 France 3 84 23 countries represented22 countries represented 100th = 28:22.97100th = 32:43.75
t-and-f: National Depth--Long Jump
(If you're getting tired of punching the delete button, you may be glad to know these posts are more than half finished. Hang in there.) The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S LONG JUMP 2003WOMEN'S LONG JUMP 2003 Country Top 102 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 15 2 Russia 15 3 Russia 8 16 United States 12 19 Greece 7 3 Ukraine 8 12 Cuba 5 6 Greece 4 13 France 5 35 China4 20 Spain3 1 Germany 4 24 Bulgaria 3 7 Brazil 3 1 Saudi Arabia 3 9 Jamaica 3 6 Great Britain3 14 Hungary 3 14 Croatia 3 18 Australia3 18 Ukraine 3 19 Great Britain3 28 China3 39 Romania 3 42 Nigeria 3 52 42 countries represented36 countries represented 100th = 7.90m = 25'11 100th = 6.45m = 21'1 3/4 Another very wide distribution; for the men, I guess the greatest number of countries represented in any of the 2003 events I've tabulated thus far. Overnight, a correspondent compared these depth charts to an overview of a forest, that gives a different perspective than when one had been focussing on individual trees. I appreciate the analogy, but I'd feel more confident in what I see, in this particular event, if the forest was smaller. I'd like to think the long jump is a fairly technical event where we should see larger clusters of high-level participants who are well-coached, train together, and frequently compete against each other. Besides being shown wrong about that, I don't especially like being so old that I can remember a time when only Jesse Owens was jumping farther than that 100th-place mark of nearly 26 feet.
t-and-f: National Depth--400 meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 400 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 400 METERS 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 27 1 United States 18 9 Jamaica 10 8 Russia 17 3 Japan6 32 Jamaica 10 2 France 4 11 Germany 5 42 Great Britain4 37 Brazil 4 33 Australia3 23 France 4 70 Russia 3 60 Nigeria 3 16 South Africa 3 23 Poland 3 27 China3 38 37 countries represeted 32 countries represented 100th = 45.85 100th = 52.32
t-and-f: National Depth--400 Meter Hurdles
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 400 METER HURDLES 2003WOMEN'S 400 METER HURDLES 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 28 4 United States 19 3 Jamaica 7 2 Russia 9 1 South Africa 7 10 China5 15 Japan7 28 Jamaica 5 16 Russia 6 26 Brazil 5 35 Great Britain4 7 Ukraine 4 9 France 4 18 Poland 4 17 China4 70 Germany 4 18 Spain3 47 Great Britain3 6 Brazil 3 48 Italy3 23 Japan3 31 France 3 67 32 countries represented37 countries represented 100th = 50.22 100th = 57.61 In the women's event, another unusual distribution, with 15 countries represented in the first 20 places--RUS, AUS, USA, BAR, ROM, GBR, RSA, UKR, PUR, CUB, CHN, JAM, POL, GER, KAZ.
t-and-f: National Depth--5,000 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 5,000 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 5,000 METERS 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Kenya 38 4 Russia 13 14 Ethiopia11 3 Japan 13 35 Morocco 7 2 Ethiopia12 1 Spain6 50 Kenya 12 9 United States4 54 United States 11 34 Japan4 71 Morocco 4 7 Bahrain 3 16 China3 10 France 3 23 Spain3 13 28 countries represented27 countries represented 100th = 13:30.31100th = 15:34.14
t-and-f: National Depth--Discus
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S DISCUS THROW 2003 WOMEN'S DISCUS THROW 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 20 7 United States 18 9 Germany 8 3 China 13 10 Finland 6 33 Russia 9 1 Russia 5 14 Germany 6 6 Hungary 4 1 Greece 5 4 Italy4 21 Cuba 4 21 South Africa 3 6 Ukraine 3 7 Belarus 3 9 Poland 3 15 Canada 3 12 Australia3 38 Australia3 48 Norway 3 56 38 countries represented35 countries represented 100th = 59.62m = 195'7 1/4 100th = 55.11m = 180'9 3/4 To me, these are surprisingly wide distributions. In the men's list, 28 countries are represented in the first 50 placings. Why should this be? There doesn't seem to be any specific physical characteristic that would provide an advantage to athletes having that characteristic, regardless of country or coaching. When I looked at top ten heights and weights, in an October post, discus throwers were big, of course, but only two inches taller, on average, than shot putters or hammer throwers, twenty pounds heavier than hammer throwers, but twenty pounds lighter than shot putters. If top throwers aren't identified by physique, then one would think superior technique would be the key, but why would coaching excellence be so widely distributed? Strange.
t-and-f: National Depth--20K Walk
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 20K RACEWALK 2003 WOMEN'S 20K RACEWALK 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest China 19 5 China 20 3 Russia 17 3 Russia 18 1 Japan9 21 Spain7 8 Spain8 2 Italy6 7 Belarus 6 11 Ukraine 6 11 Italy6 23 Belarus 5 9 Mexico 5 4 Romania 5 18 Poland 5 8 Japan5 50 Greece 4 19 Germany 4 25 27 countries represented24 countries represented 100th = 1:24:17 100th = 1:35:53
t-and-f: National Depth--110m/100m Hurdles
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 110 METER HURDLES 2003WOMEN'S 100 METER HURDLES 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 35 1 United States 30 2 Germany 9 29 Jamaica 8 1 China4 3 France 8 14 Brazil 4 13 Russia 5 26 France 3 7 China4 56 Cuba 3 16 Canada 3 4 Great Britain3 17 Poland 3 13 Canada 3 43 Germany 3 24 Sweden 3 25 Great Britain3 40 34 countries represented32 countries represented 100th = 13.75 100th = 13.25
t-and-f: Depth Trivial Pursuits--Again
Thanks for replies so far. I'm posting this again, because the first time I had two questions marked #6. Not likely to cause any misunderstanding of the intended answer, since questions #6 and #7 are so different, but I'll try to get it straight this time. I knew getting old was going to be bad, but no one told me just how bad. Cheers I wonder if anyone would like to join me in trying to predict what the charts will show in certain categories, for example-- 1. In what men's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? 2. In what women's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? 3. In what event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? 4. In what women's event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? 5. In what event does the U.S. have its least number of top-100 placings? 6. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top-100 rankings? 7. What event has the least number of countries represented in the top-100 placings? 8. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top 10? If you're feeling confident, you can post your answer(s) to the list. Otherwise, you can send them to me and I'll post all of those correct answers to the list, after I've finished with the charts. Maybe, in the interest of fairness, we should set a deadline for responses of Wednesday? Hope you can join in. Cheers!
t-and-f: National Depth--Pole Vault
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S POLE VAULT 2003 WOMEN'S POLE VAULT 2003 Country Top 103 Highest Country Top 120 Highest United States 27 9 United States 28 6 Russia 11 21 Russia 12 1 France 10 1 Germany 11 4 Germany 7 3 France 7 13 Ukraine 5 10 Poland 6 8 Australia4 6 Greece 6 27 Sweden 3 5 Spain4 19 Netherlands 3 18 China4 31 Great Britain3 27 Hungary 4 35 Finland 3 39 Czech Republic 3 7 Canada 3 20 Ukraine 3 26 Australia3 50 Japan3 62 27 countries represented29 countries represented 100th = 5.41m = 17'9 100th = 4.10m = 13'5 1/4 In the women's summary, the numbers are inflated by a 22-way tie at 4.10m. That's an artifact of frequent 10-cm bar-raising increments at this level of competition; e.g., another 20-way tie at 4.20m.
t-and-f: National Depth--200 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 200 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 200 METERS 2003 Country Top 102 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 37 1 United States 25 1 Jamaica 9 9 Jamaica 10 9 Japan6 3 Russia 6 5 Great Britain6 17 Ukraine 5 11 Brazil 5 10 Bahamas 4 8 South Africa 4 13 South Africa 4 56 Greece 3 21 France 3 6 Nigeria 3 30 Nigeria 3 10 France 3 57 Germany 3 51 China3 90 32 countries represented39 countries represented 100th = 20.69 100th = 23.31
t-and-f: National Depth--100 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/, where most events are shown more than 500 rankings deep, some as many as 1000 deep. MEN'S 100 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 100 METERS 2003 Country Top 105 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 33 2 United States 28 1 Jamaica 10 12 Jamaica 9 11 Nigeria 6 3 France 5 7 Japan6 14 Nigeria 5 15 Great Britain6 15 Bahama 4 3 Trinidad 4 11 Ukraine 4 6 France 4 40 Russia 4 16 Brazil 4 61 Germany 4 45 Ghana3 16 Belarus 3 10 Greece 3 47 29 countries represented36 countries represented 100th = 10.26 100th = 11.44
t-and-f: National Depth Trivial Pursuits?
Earlier today, I posted the first two national depth charts for the 2003 outdoor season. I'll send another two today and two or so per day until I've worked through the standard events. As before, the charts show the number of athletes each country placed among the top 100 in each event. Meanwhile, I wonder if anyone would like to join me in trying to predict what the charts will show in certain categories, for example-- 1. In what men's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? 2. In what women's event does one country have the greatest number of top-100 placings? 3. In what event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? 4. In what women's event does the U.S. have its greatest number of top-100 placings? 5. In what event does the U.S. have its least number of top-100 placings? 6. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top-100 rankings? 6. What event has the least number of countries represented in the top-100 placings? 7. What event has the greatest number of countries represented in the top 10? If you're feeling confident, you can post your answer(s) to the list. Otherwise, you can send them to me and I'll post all of those correct answers to the list, after I've finished with the charts. Maybe, in the interest of fairness, we should set a deadline for responses of Wednesday? Hope you can join in. Cheers!
t-and-f: National Depth--1500 Meters
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S 1500 METERS 2003 WOMEN'S 1500 METERS 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Kenya 26 3 Russia 14 2 Spain 10 10 United States 10 9 Morocco 6 1 Spain6 8 France 6 2 Canada 6 14 Algeria 4 21 Kenya5 7 United States4 28 Ethiopia 5 19 Great Britain4 32 Poland 5 58 Portugal 3 16 Ukraine 4 18 Germany 3 34 Great Britain3 3 Ireland 3 35 Morocco 3 17 Belgium 3 37 Ireland 3 45 South Africa 3 75 28 countries represented37 countries represented 100th = 3:39.49 100th = 4.11.49
t-and-f: National Depth--Shot Put
The charts summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 outdoor rankings for 2003 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've listed only countries with three or more athletes in the top 100. The data base drawn upon is the world deep list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S SHOT PUT 2003 WOMEN'S SHOT PUT 2003 Country Top 100 Highest Country Top 100 Highest United States 22 1 United States 15 14 Finland 7 18 China 12 11 Russia 7 22 Russia 10 1 Germany 6 16 Germany 9 5 Poland 6 36 Belarus 7 3 Ukraine 4 3 Ukraine 5 4 Belarus 4 4 Greece 3 9 South Africa 3 32 Italy3 22 Romania 3 28 Japan3 40 37 countries represented31 countries represented 100th = 18.86m = 59'7 3/4 100th = 16.47m = 54' 1/4
t-and-f: World Vaulting Standards by Year
On December 21st, I posted a note about an article published on the IAAF website by Lennart Julin. In his study, he compared data on men's vaulting for the last five years to show there has been no demonstrable negative effect of the 2003 changes in cross-bar shape and peg length. When I checked with Lennart as to whether he intended to follow with a similar comparison of women's marks from year to year, he replied that he did not. I'd like to use his approach, then, to look at a different question. The women's vault has only been contested as a World Championship or Olympic event since 1997. Not unexpectedly, this period has seen a rapid rise in the quality standards for international competition. I wondered what year-to-year comparison of marks necessary for various levels of world ranking might show about any slowing of this escalation. To make these comparisons, I used data from Mirko Jalava's World Deep Lists, published on his website at www.tilastopaja.net, to find the height necessary to top the world list each year and to rank 10th, 25th, 100th, and 250th. This is what the lists show: Rank19961997199819992000200120022003 Men 1 6.026.056.016.056.036.055.905.95 10 5.905.855.855.855.855.855.805.81 25 5.775.705.775.705.755.745.705.70 100 5.505.505.505.465.505.405.405.41 250 5.205.205.205.205.205.185.205.20 Women 1 4.454.554.594.604.704.814.784.82 10 4.144.204.354.404.504.514.524.60 25 4.004.054.164.254.354.364.404.40 100 3.603.753.873.954.044.054.104.10 250 3.303.403.553.703.783.803.843.90 As Julin had shown from the IAAF data, heights necessary for the various rankings of male vaulters are remarkably consistent from year to year, with no evidence that rules changes in 2003 have adversely affected heights. The women's data clearly demonstrate, at every level, the rapid improvements from 1996 to 2001. From year to year, these typically range from five to ten centimeters (2 to 4). In 2001, though, there is a very evident reduction in the improvements. Stacy Dragila added another ten centimeters to her world record of the previous year, but otherwise, improvements in the standard for all other ranking levels are limited to one or two centimeters. That slowing is nearly as evident in 2002 and 2003, with perhaps an exception to be noted for the closely-contested top ten places in 2003. It will be interesting to watch results of the next (Olympic) year, to see whether this is a genuine plateau for the event or just a temporary aberration. For now, that first five-meter vault doesn't look as close as it did two years ago. Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: Vault Stats for a Rainy Afternoon
I don't usually pay very close attention to stats in the men's vault. I leave that in the good hands of my friend Gérard Dumas. Two things that happened to be on my desk at the same time caused me to take a look at the men's national records. One was a thoughtful analysis by Swedish statistician Lennart Julian of what changes in heights might be attributed to this year's shortening of the standard pegs and changes in the crossbar ends. The other was a listing of all men's national vault records through the 2002 outdoor season. Julian's article appeared on the IAAF website on November 5. It used comparative data for the last five years to argue persuasively that, although the men's vault does appear to be in the doldrums, the slump in heights began before the rules changes and doesn't seem to be accelerated by them. The complete article can be read at (http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=23485.html). The new, complete list of national records for the vault, as for all standard track and field events, is found in Winfried Kramer, et. al, National Athletics Records for All Countries of the World, updated this year and published by the IAAF. I've been leafing through my copy almost daily, but thought I could save myself some time by abstracting all the men's vault records. I'm not sure how much time was saved: there are men's vault records for 192 countries and my typing speed is somewhere between poor and pathetic. What copying the records to a spreadsheet did accomplish was making it easy to summarize some data that might be of general interest. The average height of the national records is 4.65 meters (15'3). The average of the top quartile is 5.76m (18'10 3/4), the average of the bottom quartile is 3.46m (11'4). The highest national record, no surprise, is Bubka's 6.14m (20'1 3/4) for Ukraine. The lowest national record is that for Norfolk Island--1.60m (5' 3). That's six inches below Norfolk Island's national high jump record of 1.75m. I watched closely for any instance where the women's vault record was higher than the men's. No such luck. The oldest of the national records is Jean Theard's of 3.25m for Haiti in 1951. The newest wouldn't be of special interest, since I counted 12 new records in Mirko Jalava's 2003 world list and that wouldn't include any below five meters. For that reason, I used only Kramer's data in the summaries above. Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: Women's National Indoor Records
With the indoor season approaching, I'll take the opportunity to post national records the women vaulters will be targeting. I think if I were coaching a promising young vaulter, I might make sure she had such a list, so she could focus on the next national record within reach and check them off, one by one, as she competes against the world. Might not be a bad idea for motivating any event, to assemble a ranking of national records as targets. A good source for this material would be Winfried Kramer's National Athletics Records (outdoor marks only) or Michel Saint-Raymond's website www.athlerecords.net. Happy Thanksgiving, Yanks! Women's National Indoor Pole Vault Records a/o End of 2003 Season This list includes ties of a national record by a second vaulter, but not further ties by the same vaulter. Algeria 4.02i Linda Meziani 1999-02-06Montceau-les-Mines Andorra 2.45i Lorena Alverez 2002-01-19 1 Vilafranca Argentina 3.61i Alejandra Llorente 2002-07-13 1 Burzaco Australia 4.55i Emma George1998-03-26 1 Adelaide Austria 4.44i Doris Auer 2001-03-18 Glasgow Belarus 4.00i Yuliya Taratynova 2003-02-15 4 Donetsk Belgium 4.10i Irena Dufour 2003-02-16 1 Gent Brazil 3.80i Joana Ribeiro Costa2002-02-09 Blacksburg Bulgaria4.40i Tanya Koleva 2001-02-03 Sofia Canada 4.30i Stephanie McCann 2002-02-17 3 Flagstaff Chile 4.10i Carolina Torres2003-03-02 Magglingen China 4.45i Shuying Gao2002-03-10 2 Sindelfingen Croatia 3.40i Ivona Jerkovic 2002-01-26 Sempeter pri Gorcici Cyprus 4.01i Anna Fitadou 1999-01-30 Patra Czech Republic 4.57i Pavla Hamácková2003-02-08 1 Potsdam Denmark 4.23i Marie Rasmussen2002-02-17 Malmö Egypt 3.64i Sonya Ahmed2001-02-24 Tulsa El Salvador 3.73i Michelle Rivera2002-02-23 Los Angeles Estonia 3.91i Merle Kivimetts2001-02-11 Tallinn Finland 4.11i Hanna Palamaa 2002-02-22 1 Bowling Green France 4.45i Vanessa Boslak 2003-03-02 1 Clermont-Ferrand Georgia 2.70i Ina Narijniak 1996-05-22 Tsilibisi Germany 4.67i Annika Becker 2003-02-07 1 Chemnitz Great Britain 4.44i Janine Whitlock2002-02-17 4 Birmingham Greece 4.37i Georgia Tsiliggiri 2001-02-23 Pireaus Guam2.90i Juliana Jensen 2001-02-03 Pocatello Hungary 4.51i Zsuzsa Szabó 1999-02-04 Budapest Iceland 4.51i Thórey Elisdóttir 2001-03-10 Fayetteville Indonesia 3.82i Desy Margawati 2001-02-03 Tsaotun Ireland 3.82i Bridget Pearson2000-02-19 Los Angeles Israel 3.80i Olga Dogadko 2003-02-12 1 Moskva Italy 4.30i Francesca Dolcini 2002-02-02 Zweibrücken Jamaica 3.36i Sandé Swaby2001-02-23 Lincoln Japan 4.30i Masumi Ono 2002-03-03 1 Tianjin Kazakhstan 3.90i Yelena Reznik 2001-02-25 Tianjin Korea 3.22i Choi Yun-Hee 2001-03-20 Toyota Latvia 3.75i Elina Ringa2001-02-02 Riga Lithuania 3.65i Edita Grigelionyte 2002-03-30 1 Panavezys Luxembourg 3.11i Joelle Scheer 2000-12-23 Diekirch Malaysia3.70i Roslinda Samsu 2001-02-03 Tsaotun Mexico 3.90i Alejandra Meza 2003-01-18 1 Houston Netherlands 4.45i Monique de Wilt2003-02-15 1 Gent New Zealand 3.70i Cassandra Kelly1997-03-08 Paris Norway 3.85i Anita Tomulevski 1996-03-08 Stockholm Poland 4.60i Monika Pyrek 2002-03-03 Wien Portugal4.23i Elisabete Tavares 2003-02-15 2 Mondeville Puerto Rico 3.96i Michelle Velez 2002-02-01 Lexington Romania 4.25i Gabriella Mihalcea 1999-02-13 Pireaus Russia 4.77i Svetlana Feofanova 2003-02-21 1 Birmingham Slovakia3.60i Slavomira Slúková 2000-02-05 Bratislava Slovenia4.15i Teja Melink2003-03-01 1 Ljubljana South Africa4.41i Elmarie Gerryts2000-02-20 Birmingham Spain 4.30i Naroa Agirre 2003-02-01 1 Zaragoza Sweden 4.37i Kirsten Belin 2003-03-02 1 Sätra Switzerland 4.17i Nadine Rohr2003-01-31 4 Wupperthal Taiwan 4.04i Chang Ko-Hsin 2003-03-07 1 Kaohsiung Tunisia 4.20i Syrine Balti 2003-02-22 4 Bordeaux
t-and-f: Women's Decathlon Marks?
With eligibility for consideration of a first world record in this new event as of December 31st of this year (must be over 8,000 points), I've yet to see the posting of *any* mark from any country this year. Does anyone know what's happening in the event? If there's no 8,000+ mark for a world record, could we at least start to assemble a list of national records? Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: Women's Vault National Records
Interest and participation in the women's vault continue to increase. In this outdoor season, I've noted 81 improvements for 41 countries. The national records of 60 countries remain unchanged. The increase in participation at higher performance levels is reflected in changes of the threshold level for inclusion in the world deep list, as summarized by Mirko Jalava tilastopaja.net. His listing of 229 vaulters who cleared 3.30 meters or better in 1996 grew to 648 in 1999. The world list threshold was increased to 3.40m in 2000, without reducing the number of qualifiers; then to 3.50m in 2002 and 3.60m in 2003, still with 669 athletes currently making the list. Meanwhile, the deep list for men has been pegged at 5.00 meters since 1998 and the number of vaulters making the list has fluctuated between 485 and 553, with no clear trend of increase or decrease. The average national record height of those summarized below is 3.62m. It may seem surprising that the average is lower than that of 3.91m for the countries I first reported on in 1997. The reason is that the more recently added countries have not yet attained the performance levels of those in which the event has been established for longer times. The 2003 average NR for the 37 countries I reported records for in 1997 is 4.37m, an improvement of 1 1/2 feet in six years. As always, I appreciate the help I've had from others in maintaining the national records list this season. These include Brett Addison, Gérard Dumas, Carole Fuchs, Heinrich Hubbeling, Mirko Jalava, Ozren Karamata, Peter Matthews, Stepanos Misiunas, Michalis Nikitaridis, and Michel Saint-Raymond. I'm especially appreciative, this year, of the opportunity to check this list against the comprehensive records for all events newly updated in the 2003 edition by Winfried Kramer, et.al., of National Athletics Records, published by ATFS. A few metric/imperial conversions: 3.00m = 9'10 4.30m = 14'1 1/4 4.82mWR = 15'9 3/4 3.50m = 11'5 3/4 4.50m = 14'9 3.80m = 12'5 1/2 4.60m = 15'1 4.00m = 13'1 1/4 4.70m = 15'5 National Records a/o 11 October 2003: Algeria 3.70 Linda Méziani 2000-05-07 Franconville Andorra 2.60 Lorena Alverez 2001-06-03 Igualada Argentina 4.42 Alejandra Garcia 2000-02-20 Sydney Australia 4.60 Emma George1999-02-20 Sydney Austria 4.40 Doris Auer 2000-09-17 Runaway Bay Belarus 4.05 Yuliya Taratynova 2003-07-17 Bydgoszcz Belgium 4.03 Irena Dufour 2002-07-13 Oordegem Belize 2.40 Clarencia Jones2002-05-24 Cd Guatemala 2.40 Kay de Vaughn 2002-05-24 Cd Guatemala Bolivia 2.35 Emily Oliva2003-03-29 Salta, ARG Brazil 4.06 Fabiana Almerda Murer 2003-09-06 São Paulo Bulgaria4.45 Tanya Koleva 2003-06-21 Velenje Canada 4.41 Stephanie McCann 2003-07-09 Atascadero Chile 4.30 Carolina Maurer-Torres 2003-08-09 Santo Domingo China 4.52 Gao Shuying2001-08-29 Beijing Colombia4.00 Milena Agudelo 2003-06-20 Barquisimeto Costa Rica 2.70 Maureen Calvo 2001-03-04 Desampa Croatia 3.70 Ivona Jerkovic 2003-07-07 Zagreb Cuba4.20 Katiuska Pérez 2003-05-29 La Habana Cyprus 4.30 Anna Fitidou 2003-06-15 Trikala Czech Republic 4.60 Pavla Hamácková2003-06-21 Velenge Denmark 4.35 Marie Bagger Rasmussen 2000-09-25 Sydney Dominican Rep 3.05 Ingrid Lantigua2002-03-10 Santiago, DR Ecuador 2.92 Erika Lemari 2000-11-30 Machala Egypt 3.51 Sonya Ahmed2002-03-30 Kansas City El Salvador 3.73 Michelle Rivera2002-05-10 Van Nuys, CA Estonia 3.90 Merle Kivimets 2000-07-08 Kaunas Fiji2.90 Ioawana Vakaloloma 2003-07-08 Suva Finland 4.15 Paulina Sigg 2002-08-07 Munich France 4.50 Vanessa Boslak 2003-07-26 Narbonne Georgia 2.70 Ina Narujniak 1996-05-22 T'bilisi Germany 4.77 Annika Becker 2002-07-07 Bochum Great Britain 4.40 Janine Whitlock2001-07-14 Birmingham Greece 4.40 Georgia Tsiliggiri 2003-06-24 Trikala Guatemala 3.30 Denise Jerez Agueda2001-09-29 Cd Guatemala Guinea-Bissau 2.55 Placida Mirolho2003-06-21 Almada Honduras2.60 Glenda Aguilar 1998-07-05 Mexico City Hong Kong 2.90 Sharon Kong Yuen Fan 2003-07-13 Hong Kong Hungary 4.53 Krisztina Molnár 2002-09-08
t-and-f: How Big? Women's Data
As explained in the earlier post of data for men, I have summarized average height and weight for the top ten ranking women in each track and field event. The principal data source is Mirko Jalava's 2002 outdoor world lists, found at http://www.tilastopaja.com. In the occasional instance where Mirko didn't have those data, I supplemented his information with that from Peter Matthews' 2003 ATFS Annual. If there's any new suggestion to be found in the women's summary, it might be that the women seem to be somewhat more consisent in physique than the men. That is, the tallest are more often the heaviest and the shortest more often the lightest. In the men's data, the tallest top ten athlete was also the heaviest in 9 of the comparisons; the shortest was also the lightest in 5. In the women's data, the tallest was the heaviest in 12 comparisons, the shortest the lightest in 13. There's a bit of a reversal in stereotype amongst the throwers, where the heaviest discus thrower is shorter, but 35 pounds heavier than the heaviest shot putter. (I'll pass on identifying her, lest I might meet her one day.) In the chart below, I have shown the average height and weight of the top ten ranking athletes in both metric and imperial measures. Following that, I list the tallest, shortest, heaviest, and lightest of those top ten competitors. 100m168.2 cm (5'6 1/4)59.3 kg (130 lbs) T:180/68S:159/52H:180/68L:159/52 200m169.9 cm (5'6 3/4)60.4 kg (133 lbs) T:180/68S:163/61H:180/68L:173:54 400m172.9 cm (5'8)60.1 kg (132 lbs) T:178/68S:166/63H:178/68L:176/58 800m170.1 cm (5'7)55.5 kg (122 lbs) T:182/63S:165/48H:182/63L:165/48 1500m 165.4 cm (5'5)50.6 kg (111 lbs) T:180/64S:157/41H:180/64L:157/41 5km 165.2 cm (5'5)49.6 kg (109 lbs) T:175/55S:158/41H:175/55L:158/41 10km163.5 cm (5'4 1/4)49.6 kg (109 lbs) T:175/55S:153/40H:162/58L:153/40 Marathon162.6 cm (5'4)48.9 kg (108 lbs) T:173/54S:153/44H:173/54SL:159/43 Steeplechase167.7 cm (5'6)53.6 kg (118 lbs) T:180/64S:160/46H:180/64L:160/46 100m Hurdles168.4 cm (5'6 1/4)59.4 kg (131 lbs) T:178/65S:154/52H:172/66L:162/48 400m Hurdles172.1 cm (5'7 3/4)60.2 kg (132 lbs) T:185/63S:158/52H:181/68L:158/52 High Jump 179.8 cm (5'10 3/4) 61.7 kg (136 lbs) T:191/75S:174/60H:191/75L:178/54 Pole Vault 169.2 cm (5'6 1/2)57.0 kg (126 lbs) T:178/55S:163/50H:170/67L:163/50 Long Jump 175.1 cm (5'9)59.5 kg (131 lbs) T:181/68S:170/50H:181/68L:170/50 Triple Jump 176.1 cm (5'9 1/4)62.6 kg (138 lbs) T:188/69S:168/60H:188/69L:178/57 Shot Put181.1 cm (5'11 1/4) 87.2 kg (192 lbs) T:190/78S:173/92H:182/100 L:190/78 Discus Throw178.2 cm (5'10 1/4) 89.7 kg (197 lbs) T:192/95S:166/80H:180/116 L:166/80 Hammer Throw172.7 cm (5'8)78.9 kg (173 lbs) T:180/82S:164/72H:175/92L:168/70 Javelin Throw 173.6 cm (5'8 1/4)73.1 kg (161 lbs) T:182/82S:166/63H:182/82L:166/63 Heptathlon 176.1 cm (5'9 1/4)64.6 kg (142 lbs) T:188/75S:167/59H:188/75L:167/59 10km Walk 168.8 cm (5'6 1/2)55.0 kg (121 lbs) T:176/57S:163/54H:168/60L:172/51 20km Walk 165.5 cm (5'5 1/4)51.7 kg (114 lbs) T:172/50S:153/42H:168/58L:153/42 (To convert the metric TSHL data to imperial equivalents, multiply height in meters by 3.281 to obtain height in feet; multiply weight in kilos by 2.2 to obtain weight in pounds.)
t-and-f: correction: Status of Felix 22.11 as WJR? Word Youth Records?
Yesterday, I wrote: Is there any database available that would show how frequently all under-18 athletes who were tested have been found to have used banned substances? For now, the best source I have available for approaching an answer to that question is the one-year data provided in Peter Matthews' 2003 edition of the ATFS Athletics Annual. There, he lists the athletes suspended by the IAAF for drug violations in 1992 . . . Sheesh. That should have been 2002, of course. Not that it's unusual, these days, for my memory to be running ten years behind. Cheers Oh, and yes, I do agree with Mike Prizy's suggestion, today, that these should be described as world best performances and not as world records.
Re: t-and-f: Status of Felix 22.11 as WJR? Word Youth Records?
Earlier today, Karl Steinhoff made a very good point and raised an interesting question, writing: Also, I notice in this year's ATFS Annual that the records section contains a new category - World Youth (under 18) records. Are these officially recognized by the IAAF? If so, do they require the same testing regimen as other records? It would seem that athletes this age are more likely to compete in meets without a testing protocol, and so we would find more records disallowed. How appropriate is it to require drug testing as a condition of record ratification, when the nature of competition for the U18 group is such that many (probably most) meets in which they are involved will not provide that testing? Would the solution be to recognize that circumstance and *not* require testing for record ratification? Is there any database available that would show how frequently all under-18 athletes who were tested have been found to have used banned substances? For now, the best source I have available for approaching an answer to that question is the one-year data provided in Peter Matthews' 2003 edition of the ATFS Athletics Annual. There, he lists the athletes suspended by the IAAF for drug violations in 1992. The youngest (of 17) men in that list were 23 years old at the time of the suspension. The youngest woman (of 17) was 22 years old. The ages of athletes who have been suspended seem to center around 30 for the men and 25 for the women. Let me propose a theory about age/ranking and drug enhancement: It is that athletes do not resort to drugs during the years when they are improving their accomplishments, but only when they fail to meet their expectations (or that of their coaches/sponsors) or begin to decline in their performances. If that is correct, there may be no need for drug testing of younger athletes. Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: Young Vaulters
Recently, a friend sent a note about a 13-year-old German vaulter, Natasha Brenner, clearing 3.70m. She asked for the imperial conversion of the metric measure. I was able to tell her that the conversion is 12'1 1/2 and, after a quick check of Mirko Jalava's 2003 world list, that the 3.70m was second to only the 3.90 of Greece's Ekateríni Stefanídou at that age. Subsequently, Heinrich Hubbeling confirmed the details of Brenner's vault, including a correction on the spelling of her first name (Natascha) and her first place in a youth meet at Homburg on 21 September. The original message, though, stimulated my curiosity about what heights represent elite performance at younger ages, and how well youthful excellence predicts superior vaulting in the following years. My approach to answering these questions was to sort Jalava's world lists by the vaulter's age for the eight years he has been publishing this data on his website http://www.tilastopaja.net. The world lists, 500-deep or longer for most events, are part of his subscription service. However, if you're interested in the career progression of a particular athlete, that information is available without subscription, on the website home page. Most readers of this mailing list will know that age-level competitions usually are categorized on the basis of the age of the athlete on the last day of the year when the event is held. Since many of the marks I found for the young vaulters were attained in open events, and since I was interested in physical age, not in competition category, my summary considers actual age on the date of the performance. For reasons I'll explain below, I eventually limited my summary to vaults of 3.60m or higher. For the benefit of the metrically challenged, the imperial equivalents of the best height I found at each age level, 12 to 16, are as follow: Age 12 3.60m 11'9 1/2 Age 13 3.90m 12'9 1/2 Age 14 4.10m 13'5 1/4 Age 15 4.05m 13'3 1/4 Age 16 4.31m 14'1 1/2 In greater detail, the top ten marks for each age level, where this many were available, were: -12- 3.60 Vicky Parnov AUS 24.10.90 5= Gold Coast 12 Apr 2003 -13- 3.90 Annu Mäkelä FIN 20.9.821-17 Somero 10 Jul 1996 3.90 Ekateríni Stefanídou GRE 4.2.907 Haniá 9 Jun 2003 3.70 Natascha Brenner GER .901 Homburg21 Sep 2003 3.65 Samantha Shepard USA11.11.832-HS Raleigh NC 14 Jun 1997 3.61 Minna NikkanenFIN 9.4.881-13 Turku 29 Jul 2001 -14- 4.10 Lisa Ryshich GER 27.9.881-17 Mannheim 21 Jun 2003 4.00 Wu ShaCHN21.10.871 Jinan 17 Aug 2002 3.80 Hannah Olson GBR 29.1.881 Ashford 8 Jun 2002 3.76 Vanessa BoslakFRA 11.6.821 Saint-Quentin 29 Sep 1996 3.75 Silke Spiegelburg GER 17.3.861 Zweibrücken26 Aug 2000 3.73 Floé Kühnert GER 6.3.841-14 Bad Sooden 4 Sep 1998 3.71 Henrietta French FIN 13.3.871-15 Mariehamn 22 Jul 2001 3.71 Kim Kühnert GER 9.5.881-15 Beckum 25 Aug 2002 3.70 Samantha Shepard USA11.11.834-19 Edwardsville 27 Jun 1998 3.70 Annelie van Wyk RSA 28.5.842 Durban 6 Mar 1999 -15- 4.05 Amandine Homo FRA24.12.801 Miramas29 May 1996 4.01 Annika Becker GER12.11.811 Schelklingen 29 May 1997 4.00 Silke Spiegelburg GER 17.3.861-17 Debrecen 14 Jul 2001 4.00 Mariya Pastukhova RUS 19.4.871-17 Cheboksary 19 Jun 2003 4.00 Charmaine Lucock AUS 8.4.873-17 Sherbrooke 13 Jul 2003 4.00 Kim Kühnert GER 9.5.884-17 Sherbrooke 13 Jul 2003 3.90 Vanessa BoslakFRA 11.6.825 Villeneuve d'Ascq 29 Jun 1997 3.90 Annu Mäkelä FIN 20.9.821-17 Somero 10 Jul 1998 3.90 Wu ShaCHN21.10.875=Nanning 5 Apr 2003 3.89 Kacey LundgrenUSA25.11.862-HS Norwalk CA 1 Jun 2002 -16- 4.31 Monika Götz GER 15.6.811-17 Troisdorf 9 May 1998 4.20 Katerina Badurov CZE18.12.821 Praha 5 Jun 1999 4.20 Silke Spiegelburg GER 17.3.862-19 Mannheim 15 Jun 2002 4.15 Annika Becker GER12.11.813 Riesa 8 Aug 1998 4.15 Floé Kühnert GER 6.3.844-22 Jena 19 Aug 2000 4.11 Vanessa BoslakFRA 11.6.821 Amiens 9 May 1999 4.10 Aleksandra Kiryashova RUS 21.8.85 3-19 Kazan 25 Jun 2002 4.06 Stacie Manuel USA 6.12.831-HS Albertville MN 25 May 2000 4.02 Julie Vigourt FRA19.10.791 Chalon-sur-Saone 12 May 1996 4.00 Emilie Bécot FRA20.10.801 Clermont-Ferrand 4 Jun 1997 4.00 Yvonne Buschbaum GER 14.7.801-17 Lüdenscheid 4 Jul 1997 4.00 Anna Wielgus POL27.10.811 Wroclaw26
t-and-f: WC Medals and Population
At some point during the world championships, I remember there being grumbling about deterioration in the U.S. dominance of track and field. I don't remember just when. That may been when the U.S. was absent from the victory podium during the men's 100m medal presentations. Perhaps it was just among the vault fans, after the U.S. was closed out of the medals in both the men's and women's competitions. In any event, I made myself a note to check on the deterioration when the championships had been concluded. I thought an easy way to do that would be to compare U.S. successes in the 2003 WC with those in 1997, since the 1997 WC data were the first I used to look at athletic accomplishments in relation to national populations. I've done that, now. First things first: When I checked 2003 medal/population ratios against those I had previously calculated for 1997, the United States didn't show any lessening of its strength--in fact, increasing its ratio of medals per 100M population from 6.77 in 1997 to 6.89 in 2003. In the chart that follows, medal successes of other nations are calculated in comparison to those of the United States. American athletes, representing a population of 290 million, won 20 medals--about 7 medals for each 100 million of the U.S. population. That (6.89) is the ratio in the comparison I've used for all other countries and their populations. For example, Great Britain's medal tally was only a fifth that of the USA, but their population is also only about a fifth that of USA, so the ratios of medal production to population are almost identical. On the other hand, Japan's 4 medals represent a population of nearly half that of the U.S., so their ratio of medal production is less than half that of the American athletes. (The gold earned in the 100 meters by Kim Collins for Saint Kitts, representing a population of less than 39 thousand, is off the scale.) Population figures,to the nearest 1/10th million, are taken from the CIA World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ and the medal counts are taken from the IAAF world championships website http://www.iaaf.org/WCH03/results/byEvent.html. Medals Pop(M) Medals/100MPop Ratio cf. USA _ USA 20 290.36.89 1.00 (Comparison Ratio) _ Russia 19 144.5 13.15 1.91 Ethiopia 7 66.6 10.51 1.53 Belarus 7 10.3 67.96 9.86 France 7 60.2 11.63 1.69 Spain5 40.2 12.44 1.81 Jamaica 5 2.7 185.19 26.88 South Africa 4 42.89.35 1.36 Kenya4 31.6 12.66 1.84 Sweden 4 8.9 44.94 6.52 Greece 4 10.7 37.38 5.43 Great Britain4 60.16.66 0.96 Japan4 127.23.14 0.46 Germany 4 82.44.85 0.70 Ukraine 4 48.18.32 1.21 Morocco 3 31.79.46 1.37 Italy3 58.05.17 0.75 Cuba 2 11.317.7 2.56 Canada 2 32.26.21 0.92 Hungary 2 10.0 20.00 2.90 China21287.00.16 0.03 Saint Kitts 1 (38,763) 2579.78374.45 Qatar1 0.8 122.40 17.77 Poland 1 38.62.59 0.38 Mozambique 1 17.55.71 0.83 Mexico 1 104.90.95 0.14 Lithuania1 3.6 27.78 4.03 Ecuador 1 13.77.30 1.06 Dominican Rep1 8.7 11.49 1.67 Australia1 19.75.08 0.74 Algeria 1 32.83.05 0.44 Turkey 1 68.11.47 0.21 Trinidad 1 1.1 90.91 13.19 Ireland 1 3.9 25.64 3.72 Estonia 1 1.4 71.43 10.37 Czech Republic 1 10.29.80 1.42 Cameroon 1 15.76.37 0.92 Senegal 1 10.69.43 1.37 Kazakhstan 1 16.85.95 0.86 India11049.70.10 0.01 Brazil 1 182.00.55 0.08 Bahamas 1 0.3 336.16 48.79 A few observations on these data and those from 1997: Scanning through only the instances where the country won three or more medals in 2003, the obvious big winners in the comparisons are Jamaica, Belarus, Sweden and Greece. In comparing 1997 and 2003 data, the big gainers in
t-and-f: WC Selection Standards, revisited
Two subscribers have considerately advised me, off-list, of my errors in attributing defending champion status in the women's vault to Feofanova instead of Dragila and in understanding national representation as two, not three, athletes per event. Sorry about those mistakes, and I hope they don't distract entirely from my argument for a combination of world rankings and national representation for World Championship qualifying. Cheers, Roger
t-and-f: WPV Stats, again
In addition to the progress of individual vaulters I posted yesterday, I also took a look at progress in national records. When I first posted a list of national records, in April of 1997, only Emma George, of Australia, held a record of 4.40 or above. Hers was 4.55m. By April of 2000, nine countries had WPV records of 4.40 or above, four of those records of 4.50 or above, and two of those (AUS and USA) above 4.60m. When I updated my NR list today, I found 21 countries now had records of 4.40 or above, eleven of those at 4.50 or above, six of 4.60 and above, three of 4.70 or above, and two (RUS and USA) above 4.80m. Pretty impressive change, for three years!
t-and-f: The long and the short of it
When I sent the list of world championship vault qualifiers, I had to leave out some of the information about each provided in Mirko Jalava's lists. That's because most of us have our e-mail format set for 80-column lines and copying all of the information wraps each entry into a second line. To fit the data on one line, I chose to delete the name of the meet where the mark was accomplished and the vaulter's previous best. I kept the vaulter's physical stats. If you've not bothered to look at those, you might be interested in these data of the biggest and smallest qualifiers: The biggest of the men is Viktor Chistiakov of Australia. He is 203 centimeters tall and weighs 90 kilos. The imperial conversions of those, rounded a bit, are 6'8 tall and 200 pounds. That is huge, for a vaulter. I've always thought of Sergey Bubka as THE big vaulter. In the prime of his vaulting years, Bubka was 184/80--just over six feet and 176 pounds. The smallest of the men is Christian Tamminga of Netherlands, at 172cm (5'7 3/4) and 67kg (147 pounds). Those stats are equally remarkable, in their own way. For a vaulter with those dimensions to reach high enough at take-off and put enough force into the pole to bend it for a clearance of 5.70m (18'8 1/4) must mean great runway speed (and a strong back). The largest of the women is Christine Adams of Germany at 182 centimeters and 72 kilos. That's barely short of Bubka's height and 158 pounds. Ths smallest of the women is Masumi Ono of Japan at 160cm (5'3) and 48kg (106 pounds). I would have guessed it to be world leader Svetlana Feofanova, who comes close, at 163/50--5'4 and 110 pounds.
t-and-f: MPV WC Qualifiers, corrected
A standard = 5.80m B standard = 5.60m Qualifying period 1 Jan 02 - 13 Aug 03 6.02 Jeff HartwigUSA 25.9.67 190/821 Sindelfingen 10 Mar 02 5.90 Tim LobingerGER 3.9.72 193/862 Athína10 Jun 02 5.87 Oscar JansonSWE 22.7.75 192/891 Somero29 Jun 03 5.85 Tim MackUSA 15.9.72 188/782 Donetsk 24 Feb 02 5.85 Lars Börgeling GER 16.4.79 192/831 Leverkusen27 Jul 02 5.85 Alex Averbukh ISR 1.10.74 178/761 München 10 Aug 02 5.85 Patrik Kristiansson SWE 3.6.77 191/851 Helsinki 23 Aug 02 5.82 Derek Miles USA 28.9.721 Vermillion16 Feb 02 5.82 Danny Ecker GER 21.7.77 193/801 Dessau24 Feb 02 5.81 Nick Buckfield GBR 5.6.73 185/801 Bad Segeberg 8 Feb 02 5.81 Tye Harvey USA 25.9.74 185/732 Flagstaff 17 Feb 02 5.81 Okkert BritsRSA 22.8.73 198/841 Hof 22 Jun 02 5.81 Adam Ptácek CZE 8.10.80 177/642 Chemnitz 7 Feb 03 5.80 Lawrence JohnsonUSA 7.5.74 183/831 Knoxville 6 Jan 02 5.80 Ruslan YeremenkoUKR 31.7.78 1= Erfurt 1 Feb 02 5.80 Pavel Gerasimov RUS 29.5.79 190/823 Donetsk 24 Feb 02 5.80 Vasiliy GorshkovRUS 5.2.771 Cheboksary11 Jul 02 5.80 Viktor Chistiakov AUS 9.2.75 203/901 Naimette-Xhov 27 Aug 02 5.80 Romain Mesnil FRA 13.7.77 188/79 1cA Mondeville15 Feb 03 5.80 Brad Walker USA 21.6.811 Fayetteville 14 Mar 03 5.76 Stepán Janácek CZE 12.6.77 188/813 Praha 17 Jun 02 5.76 Scott SloverUSA 9.7.75 185/771 Los Gatos 11 Jul 02 5.75 Piotr Buciarski DEN 22.11.75 187/80 1 Fort-de-France 27 Apr 02 5.75 Denis Yurchenko UKR 27.1.78 173/701 Donetsk 12 Jun 02 5.75 Nick Hysong USA 9.12.71 183/773 Lausanne 2 Jul 02 5.75 Aleksandr Korchmyd UKR 22.1.82 184/741 Brovary8 Feb 03 5.75 Michael Stolle GER 17.12.74 192/782 Leipzig 22 Feb 03 5.75 Rens Blom NED 1.3.77 178/753 Birmingham15 Mar 03 5.75 Russ Buller USA 10.9.78 178/72 1c3 Walnut CA 19 Apr 03 5.75 Toby Stevenson USA 19.11.76 1cA Stanford 29 Mar 02 5.75 Daichi Sawano JPN 16.9.80 182/601 Yokohama 8 Jun 03 5.73 Lars Börgeling GER 6.4.79 192/831 Karlsruhe 28 Feb 03 5.73 Richard Spiegelburg GER 12.8.77 182/762 Sindelfingen 8 Mar 03 5.72 Björn Otto GER 16.10.771 Potsdam9 Feb 03 5.71 Vadim StrogalyovRUS 9.2.75 184/752 Ostrava 12 Jun 02 5.71 Dennis Kholev ISR 21.10.75 182/711 Tel Aviv 11 Jul 02 5.71 Fumiaki Kobayashi JPN 10.12.74 179/671 Chiba 21 Jul 02 5.71 Giuseppe Gibilisco ITA 5.1.79 180/702 Donetsk 16 Feb 03 5.70 Paul BurgessAUS 14.8.79 183/781 Perth 13 Jan 02 5.70 Adam Kolasa POL 2.8.75 191/733 Praha 14 Feb 02 5.70 Montxu Miranda ESP 27.12.76 191/831 Valencia 23 Feb 02 5.70 Radion GataullinRUS 23.11.65 189/785 Donetsk 24 Feb 02 5.70 Thibaut Duval BEL 1.2.79 185/785 Wien 2 Mar 02 5.70 Brian HunterUSA 28.3.79 185/881 Baton Rouge 31 May 02 5.70 Yevgeniy Mikhaylichenko RUS 13.2.79 1 Kalamáta 1 Jun 02 5.70 Ilian Efremov BUL 2.8.70 185/701 Plovdiv7 Jul 02 5.70 Paul Terek USA 20.10.791 Seattle1 Feb 03 5.70 Dmitriy Kuptsov RUS 9.11.822 Moskva27 Feb 03 5.70 Jeremy ScottUSA 1.5.81 206/912 Boston 1 Mar 03 5.70 Christian Tamminga NED 30.4.74 172/672 Pretoria 4 Apr 03 5.70 Spas Bukhalov BUL 14.11.80 186/851 Plovdiv 31 May 03 5.70 Artem Kuptsov RUS 22.4.84 183/651 Tula 7 Jun 03 5.70 Adam Kolasa POL 2.8.75 191/734 Firenze 22 Jun 03 5.65 Yuriy Yeliseyev RUS 27.5.75 182/771 Moskva21 Jan 02 5.65 Dmitri Markov AUS 14.3.75 182/802 Kalamáta 1 Jun 02 5.65 Matt Phillips USA 28.12.771 Shoreline WA 8 Jun 02 5.65 Yevgeniy Smiryagin RUS 17.5.76 185/781 Moskva14 Jun 02 5.63 Jean Galfione FRA 9.6.71 184/821 Pierre-Benité 14 Jun 02 5.62 Matti Mononen FIN 25.11.83 176/701 Haapajärvi10 Jun 02 5.61 Mikko Latvala FIN 8.7.801 Kuortane 27 Jan 02 5.61 Nick Buckfield GBR 5.6.73 185/804 Erfurt31 Jan 02 5.60 Chad HartingUSA 20.2.72 180/77 5cA Reno NV 11 Jan 02 5.60 Massimo Allevi ITA 23.11.69 182/721 Zweibrücken1 Feb 02 5.60 Grigoriy YegorovKAZ 12.1.67 184/794 Zweibrücken1 Feb 02 5.60 Laurens Looije NED 12.1.73 185/812 Bad
t-and-f: WPV WC Qualifiers, corrected
A standard = 4.40m B standard = 4.30m Qualifying period 1 Jan 02 - 13 Aug 03 4.78 Svetlana Feofanova RUS 16.7.80 163/501 Stockholm 16 Jul 02 4.78 Stacy Dragila USA 25.3.71 172/631 Boston 2 Mar 03 4.77 Annika Becker GER 12.11.81 170/671 Bochum 7 Jul 02 4.73 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS 3.6.82 170/591 Polnan29 Jun 03 4.70 Tatyana Polnova RUS 20.9.791 Moskva11 Feb 03 4.70 Yvonne BuschbaumGER 14.7.80 170/571 Ulm 29 Jun 03 4.66 Christine Adams GER 28.2.74 182/721 Sindelfingen 10 Mar 02 4.65 Mary Sauer USA 31.10.752 Madrid 3 Jul 02 4.62 Monika PyrekPOL 11.8.80 168/522 London23 Aug 02 4.60 Mel Mueller USA 16.11.721 Flagstaff 9 Feb 02 4.60 Pavla Hamácková CZE 5.2.78 170/661 Velenje 21 Jun 03 4.58 Kellie Suttle USA 9.3.73 170/582 Poznan29 Jun 03 4.53 Amy Linnen USA 15.7.821 Fayetteville 8 Mar 02 4.53 Krisztina MolnárHUN 8.4.76 168/513 Rieti 8 Sep 02 4.52 Yelena BelyakovaRUS 7.4.76 178/552 Gdansk27 Jul 02 4.51 Kirsten Belin SWE 2.3.81 175/581 Göteborg 27 Aug 02 4.50 Thórey Elísdóttir ISL 30.6.77 180/673 Athína 6 Mar 03 4.50 Jillian SchwartzUSA 19.9.792 Jonesboro 16 Jun 02 4.50 Carolin Hingst GER 18.9.803 Bochum 7 Jul 02 4.47 Anna Rogowska POL 21.5.81 170/521 Praha 19 Feb 03 4.47 Becky Holliday USA 12.3.80 160 1 Stanford 30 May 03 4.46 Tatiana Grigorieva AUS 8.10.75 178/652 Salamanca 10 Jul 02 4.46 Marie Poissonnier FRA 4.5.79 166/531 Saint-Etienne 13 Jul 02 4.46 Vanessa Boslak FRA 11.6.82 167/522 Saint-Etienne 13 Jul 02 4.45 Gao Shuying CHN 28.10.79 179/66 3= Sindelfingen 10 Mar 02 4.45 Kym HoweAUS 12.6.80 175/631 Perth 16 Mar 02 4.45 Monique de Wilt NED 21.3.76 172/601 Gent 15 Feb 03 4.45 Tania KolevaBUL 8.3.72 170/512 Velenje 21 Jun 03 4.45 Lacy Janson USA 20.2.831 Fayetteville 15 Mar 03 4.44 Janine Whitlock GBR 11.8.73 165/594 Birmingham17 Feb 02 4.41 Floé KühnertGER 6.3.84 1-19 Mannheim 15 Jun 02 4.40 Nastja Ryshich GER 19.9.774 Bochum 7 Jul 02 4.40 Naroa AgirreESP 15.5.79 177/671 Valencia 27 Jul 02 4.40 Anna Rogowska POL 21.5.81 170/52 3q München7 Aug 02 4.40 Agnes LivebardonFRA 31.5.80 167/611 Aubière 18 Jan 03 4.40 Natalya Kushsch UKR 5.3.83 170/561 Donetsk 15 Feb 03 4.40 Anastasiya Ivanova RUS 3.5.793 Moskva26 Feb 03 4.40 Melina Hamilton NZL 15.6.76 172/641 Gold Coast12 Apr 03 4.40 Tracy O'HaraUSA 20.7.80 168/57 1c3 Walnut CA 19 Apr 03 4.40 Yeoryía Tsiliggíri GRE 21.6.721 Trikala 26 Jun 03 4.38 Lesa Kubishta USA 19.4.78 Jan 02 4.36 Dana Cervantes ESP 18.8.78 166/635 Salamanca 10 Jul 02 4.36 Zsuzsanna Szabó HUN 6.5.73 176/631 Budapest 12 Jul 02 4.35 Tamara DilesUSA 5.11.82 176/691 Reno 11 Jan 02 4.35 Sabine Schulte GER 29.1.76 169/58 10 Sindelfingen 10 Mar 02 4.35 Stephanie McCannCAN 22.4.77 171/591 Edmonton 21 Jun 02 4.35 Andrea Wildrick USA 23.12.79 170 4 Stanford 23 Jun 02 4.35 Yuliya Golubchikova RUS 27.3.832 Moskva28 Jun 02 4.35 April Steiner USA 22.4.803 Fayetteville 15 Mar 03 4.35 Alicia Warlick USA 11.10.771 Tucson24 May 03 4.34 Sandra Van de Geer NED 25.5.722 Beckum25 Aug 02 4.32 Floé KühnertGER 6.3.84 1u19 Wipperfürth 24 May 03 4.31 Arianna Farfalletti-Casali ITA 22.6.761 Conegliano28 Sep 02 4.30 Martina Strutz GER 4.11.81 160/534 Dortmund 27 Jan 02 4.30 Francesca Dolcini ITA 28.12.742 Zweibrücken1 Feb 02 4.30 Katerina Badurová CZE 18.12.82 166/582 Praha 16 Feb 02 4.30 Tünde Vaszi HUN 18.4.72 170/601 Budapest 17 Feb 02 4.30 Vala FlosadóttirISL 16.2.78 181/691 Malmö 24 Feb 02 4.30 Masumi Ono JPN 5.12.75 160/481 Tianjin3 Mar 02 4.30 Brigid Isworth AUS 15.10.81 168/621 Hamilton 6 Feb 02 4.30 Emma George AUS 1.11.74 172/641 Perth 24 Feb 02 4.30 Alejandra GarcíaARG 13.6.73 174/601 Mar del Plata 27 Apr 02 4.30 Hanna-Mia Persson SWE 11.2.78 177/618 Kassel 14 Jun 02 4.30 Natalya Belinskaya RUS 21.1.83 1u19 Kazan25 Jun 02 4.30 Jenni Dryburgh NZL 30.8.781
Re: t-and-f: WPV World Championship Qualifiers
After I posted a list of vaulters who had met the world championship standards in what I said was the qualifying period of 1 January 2003 and 10 August, Walt Murphy responded with, I'm sure Roger meant to write ...between 1 January 2002 and 13 August 2003 (Unless the IAAF has made some changes since publishing its 2003 Directory and Calendar) Actually, what I meant to write was just what I did write. Unfortunately, what I wrote was wrong and I appreciate Walt's correction and another, off-list. I had taken the qualifying period from a website that posted the IAAF standards and gave the qualifying period as I copied it. It even continued by saying that performances in 2002 would be considered only in exceptional circumstances. I can only assume their 1 Jan 2003 beginning point for consideration was one established by that national federation for its own selection procedures. In a sort of reflexive defense of my own mistake, though, I would note that I had first searched for a statement of entry standards on the IAAF, USATF, and AthCan websites, without success, before turning to Google as a more general resource. There, if you should be interested, the search term world championships locates 1,200,000 hits, world athletics championships narrows it down to only 190,000, and Paris world championships to a tidy 571. Looking at the first 125 of those today, I finally found a second citation of the IAAF entry criteria, this time on the New Zealand Athletics site, quoting the IAAF qualifying period as 1 Jan 02 to 23(!) July 03. So it goes. I'm happy to learn, off-list, that someone with far better data resources and computer skills than mine is contemplating pursuing qualifying lists in all events. I'll be looking forward to seeing them. Cheers
