Kim, Here is my personal (i.e. NOT as a TFN editor) response. Let me also say that Witherspoon's time is a great effort but simply doesn't stand up to the test as a record.
Let's start with a quote from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on Witherspoon, "Meet officials were operating under U.S. Track and Field rules, which they say do not specify which turn must be used 'It is still 400 meters no matter if you break at the third or second turn,' said Bob Rothenberg, a member of the games committee at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. 'As far as we are concerned, it is a valid record. Show me the rule that says it is not and I will apologize. We did nothing illegal and Mr. Witherspoon deserves the record.'" Here is that rule: 62.8.b "The 400 Meters shall be run in lanes around two turns." Based on this rule alone I believe that no records/governing body shoud accept Witherspoon's mark as a record. Why does a three turn stagger matter? Using a three turn stagger (~250m before breaking) allows athletes to stay in their lanes for ~100 more than a two turn stagger (~150m before breaking). And thus the nature of the event is changed. There is less jostling, less work for position early in the race, etc. Because of this calling it a record when it cannot be effectively compared with Reed's time, or any other time for that matter is extremely problematic. In private discussions, three of us with a combined track watching experience of more than 100 years could not think of a single chanpionship 400 run with a three turn stagger. So, why on earth would any official, coach, or meet director even let the idea cross his or her mind that this was an acceptable practice? This is enough for us to start with. I won't get into all the "who should be doing this job" issues as I feel that any records body should come to the same decision. Ben -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Kimberley Spir Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 10:59 PM To: Robert Hersh Cc: Kebba Tolbert; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: Witherspoon's NCIS HS Record Perhaps I missed the indepth discussion regarding the three-turn stagger and why it appears in some rule books and is not included in others. What was done right, or wrong, according to regulation and why should this excellent athlete be denied a well-deserved record? Who decides the high school records in this country and what platform is acknowledged internationally and by whom in the US? Why are some records kept, others not? Are these sorts of regulations administered, by whom? Who is responsible for the record-keeping and decision-making for this sport in this country if secondary after-the-fact decisions like this can be made when an official, at the meet, determines, after a review of the rules at hand, that for safety reasons this is the best way to run the race? Please clarify why the Witherspoon performance, beautiful and awesome, in fact his whole weekend of sprint ecstacy, is just a wash to you official record decision-makers? Who are you? Kim On Tue, 18 Mar 2003, Robert Hersh wrote:
