Also, Shorter was 24 when he won Olympic Gold in the marathon correct (and
was 5th in the Olympic 10,000m)? He arguably improved little if any after
that time (though he did dominate the sport for years at his peak).
On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, Ed & Dana Parrot wrote:
> > Hmm, let's see. 30-year-old Carl Lewis set his first record in the 100,
> was succceeded by 27-year-old Leroy Burrell who was suceeded by 28-year-old
> Donovan Bailey. MJ set the 200 record at 28, the 400 record (finally) at 30.
> >
> > Meanwhile, Geb holds the 5K and 10K marks set when he was 25.
>
> And Komen before him was not exactly geriatric, either. Even if you don't
> believe the stated ages, the Africans are clearly having world class success
> at the distance events well before age 25. I suspect if you look at the top
> ten in any given year, there won't be that much age difference between
> sprinters and distance runners any more.
>
> The comparison IS made more difficult (actually impossible) by the fact that
> we can't judge many of the Africans' ages accurately. But the last 15 years
> of sprinting has seen 25-30 become the peak age.
>
> - Ed Parrot
>
>
*******************************
Paul Talbot
Department of Geography/
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder CO 80309-0260
(303) 492-3248
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
