From: Post, Marty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> An AP story on the GP final said, "Hattestad... gained bonus points with
two
> world records this season..."
>
> I thought they only got bonus $$$ for WRs in Grand Prix meets, but these
> kind of points for Hattestad would be a way unfair advantage. It seems
> pretty absurd to award the same kind of bonus points to someone who needs
to
> top a pre-2000 WR of 68.19m in the [new] women's javelin as opposed to say
> 10.49 in the 100 meters.
Nobody beat 10.49 this season. It might be an issue if there were other
records involved, but there aren't. Some records may be nigh unbeatable in
this day and age, but that's hardly Hattestad's fault.
A WR is a WR is a WR, and WRs are basically what the crowds want to see.
Granted, women's javelin and pole vault have an advantage over the women's
100m or men's 200m, but how does one measure the "freakiness" of a world
record? By the quality of a record or the quality of the challengers?
Besides, it's a no-win situation; if many athletes can come close to a
particular record that record is called "easy"; if an athlete sets a mark so
far ahead that no-one else stands a chance, that record is called
"drug-enhanced".
greets,
Elliott
