Why? The Science of Athletics

CHAPTER XI RECORDS AND RECORD BREAKING Graphs-Time Lag and Speed Factors-Average Speeds of World's Records-Records as Scientific Data-Percentile Increase in World Records-Record Breaking Factors. THE list of world's records as in 1934, when the Finnish Scoring Table was adopted by the I.A.A.F., with which the last chapter was concluded, will give a good idea of the very high standard of athletic achievement to which the human race has now attained ; but it is the examination of those records, and the consideration of the statistics which may be derived from them, that is of the most absorbing interest for those who wish to study athletics in the light of an exact science. The knowledge which may be obtained in this way is of the first importance, because of the effect it is bound to have upon future record breaking. The scientific measur– ing of athletic performances, moreover, enables the scientist to predict with a surprising degree of accuracy· the extent to which running records can be improved and are likely to improve. What is really needed for the building·up of our further knowledge is the exhaustive study of athletics quantita– tively, because even a study of world's records plotted graphically does not present a true picture ; since the records have been made by many individuals competing in varying circumstances, whereas results produced by only one individual, for instance a Decathlon expert, would give us a range of performances suitable for analysis on a physiological basis. Even ·so, the results would be by no means complete, since there is bound to be diver– gence in the individual, who cannot be equally the sprinter, developing enormous horsepower, and the distance runner, 169