OT: Women's 100 meters - SPOILER ALERT

[Blakeon18]

In the 100 finals the Jamaicans swept the three medals.

The winner....Elaine Thompson-Herah...broke the Olympic record in 10.61.
The prior record was 10.62...33 years ago set by Florence Griffith Joyner.

The world record set in 1988 by Flo-Jo is still 10.49. Nobody has really challenged that time.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Feeling proud over here in SoCal!!!

 

[ShmiCO]

This was an amazing race. To make it a little more amazing, Thompson got her 10.61 running into a -0.6m/s headwind. Flo-jo's 10.49 WR is widely believed to be wind-assisted. I'm was (and still am) a huge fan of hers, RIP, but wind does make a difference. The current crop of 100m runners is super talented, so I expect to see the WR challenged soon.

 

[Blakeon18]

My impression is that if a record is officially recognized then the benefit of wind assistance has to be under a specific [low] pace. That still might mean Flo-Jo had a bit of help which Thompson did not.

Thanks to Nan who changed the wording in my title and added 'warning'. I just did not think of it.

 

[Plebe]

This was an amazing race. To make it a little more amazing, Thompson got her 10.61 running into a -0.6m/s headwind. Flo-jo's 10.49 WR is widely believed to be wind-assisted. I'm was (and still am) a huge fan of hers, RIP, but wind does make a difference. The current crop of 100m runners is super talented, so I expect to see the WR challenged soon.

The Jamaican women sprinters are truly in a golden age. This was a highly predictable sweep of the 100m podium — it's possible Sha'Carri Richardson might have spoiled the Jamaican sweep, but frankly I doubt it — but I don't think many would've predicted the Olympic record would fall in a headwind.

Thompson is 29 and could continue to get faster. She's been a bit injury-prone but has managed to peak at both Rio and Tokyo. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, amazingly a mom at 34, had the fastest time of the year coming into the Games. Could she run in Paris at age 37? Shericka Jackson's transformation from 400m specialist to short sprinter has been nothing less than stunning. She's only 27 and is one to watch.

The Jamaicans could break the world record in the 4x100 relay, although the reduction of the allowable pool of athletes from 6 to 5 will make it harder, since all 3 of the 100m medalists are doubling in the 200m and at least 2 of them would also have to run the 4x100 heats.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

. . . The world record set in 1988 by Flo-Jo is still 10.49. Nobody has really challenged that time.

But a lot of people have questioned it.

Track and field, like cycling, has had a long history of ped testers trying to stay ahead
of the dopers. Unfortunately, performances that are unusually outstanding are going
to be regarded with suspicion.

 

[ShmiCO]

@Blakeon18 The official wind reading for Flo-jo's record was 0.0. But witnesses (and video) saw things being moved by the wind, hence the decades-long controversy. The speculation was that the anemometer had malfunctioned. But it's almost to the point of not mattering, since the time today was a mere eighth of a second slower the WR, and into the wind. Getting very, very close.

@Plebe I was shocked when Jackson moved to the 100m, didn't think it could be done. She's made a believer out of me. My sentimental favorite for the race was SAFP though, it's just so special to see a mom run faster than the speed limit in a suburban neighborhood.