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[url= http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/7212726/paula-radcliffe-keep-women-marathon-record-iaaf-reverses-decision ]IAAF reverses decision[/url]
Good, I like Radcliffe. As 'clean' as they come , deserves the recognition for her previous achievments.
IAAF Council member Helmut Digel told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the governing body will keep the mark in the books, despite an August decision to only recognize records achieved in all-women races from now on.
Why is it that a level of sexism is permitted in sport that would seem laughable in any other sphere of life ?
good to see. regardless of the assistance of having men running around her (and it's a definite assistance, Mrs S is an elite marathon runner and "uses" men as wind shields in exposed races) it's a hell of a time. If you consider that Elite classification for London is 3:15, and you only need to go sub 3hrs to be ranked well within the top 100 in the country, 2:15 stands out as such an extraordinary result.
http://www.thepowerof10.info/rankings/rankinglist.aspx?event=Mar&agegroup=ALL&sex=W&year=2011
cranberry, its not sexist its just a fact of mixed race running at the highest level.
Running in a group of men can also be less tiring if they shield the athlete from incoming wind.
And she's had a problem with wind in the past.
Perhaps it wasn't clear ( my head is certainly far from clear this morning 🙁 ) - when I wrote sexism I meant in the separation of male and female competitors into groups based solely on gender.
.If you consider that Elite classification for London is 3:15, and you only need to go sub 3hrs to be ranked well within the top 100 in the country
I just had a look at some of the time cats.
So GFA men sub 3:10
GFA women 3:15->3:50
[url] http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/good-for-age-entries/ [/url]
Elite men sub 2:18
Elite women sub 2:38
[url] http://www.runbritain.com/weekly-news/2010-10-25/?page=2 [/url]
Which does raise the question what happens to women with times between 2:38->3:15 ??
ah, sorry I though 3:15 was elite women. I wonder what they call it then? As you say, whats the class between 2:38 and 3:15?
Sub 3:15 for women (2:45 for men) qualifies you for "championship" entry
http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/championship-entries/
Cool!, thanks for that
cheers aracer - Mrs S has gone out for a run so I couldnt ask her!
seen how she did here?
http://www.tdl.ltd.uk/results.php?checked=1&race_id=948&submit=sent&gender=F&submit_x=138
girl doing great at the moment.
So(following up on cranberrys comment) , if the Kenyas are so good at long distance running, why do our poor athletes have to compete against them? If there are different races for gender, why not race? Sexual apartheid is OK?Stoner - Member
cranberry, its not sexist its just a fact of mixed [b]race[/b] running at the highest level.
because its probably more just down to training than genetics
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/8886705.stm
because its probably more just down to training than genetics
Lifestyle too - I've lost count of the amount of times I've read of African runners saying they ran 5 miles to school and back every day, just on the basis that they had no other transport and it was quicker.
Running in a group of men can also be less tiring if they shield the athlete from incoming wind.
Thats an advantage to every runner out they're no matter what sex they are.
I can see the logic in the IAAF ruling, moving the goalposts retrospectively was wrong though.
seen how she did here?
That looks like a championship qualification - I presume it counts even if you don't do it on a normal flat marathon course 😉
The advantage of a championship entry over a GFA one if I understand correctly is that you can enter a lot later (GFA has to be in with the normal entry deadline) - that and presumably you also get a more favourable start position.
the star position is the main one - her london distance is at least 600m longer than a normal marathon from all the weaving you have to do 🙂
She's aiming for <3:00 at Gloucester in Jan I think.
if the Kenyas are so good at long distance running, why do our poor athletes have to compete against them?
We dont, we create the European cross country championships instead.
That looks like a championship qualification - I presume it counts even if you don't do it on a normal flat marathon course
Championship Entry application form for the London Marathon was waiting on the doorstep this evening.
Family trip to the big smoke next year then 🙂
I find it puzzling that in this day and age, so many sports are still separated into sexes, including those at schools.
There are both pluses and minuses for all involved, but how can men and women ever be viewed as equal in society when women are stuck with the image of often being the 'boring' side of sports watching, often ending up too with puzzlingly lesser challenges (say over shorter distances - cant they pace themselves like the guys or is it too much for their brains in the view of sports authorities?)
More mixed sports would bring more attention to women athletes and a lot more opportunities for them. Plus all sexes would have to up their game generally, a good thing for the sports and for sports viewers.
Yeah but Paula's quickest time without male pacemakers, set in 2005 at the London Marathon, is still the fastest 'women only' time in history; 2hr17'42". And if you consider she lost a chunk of time due to enforced defecation, then it's all the more remarkable. Had she not had such problems in that race, it's possible she cooduv broken 2hr17', on her own!
She's an amazing athlete. I've had the privilege of watching Paula, Ingrid Kristiansen and Grete Waitz run in the Marathon, and they truly are the greatest in their sport. When you watch Paula run, you know you are seeing one of the greatest athletes [i]ever[/i]. She is truly phenomenal.