Why? The Science of Athletics

I\ 176 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS Percentage of Increase in World's Records Where the running events are concerned the improvement ranges from 2% to 4% since the nineties. The Ioo yards dropping from 9.8 to 9 ·4, the 220 yards from 21.2 to 20.4, show a similar percentile improve– ment, while the record, made on a fifth of a mile track, for 440 yards stood from I899 until I9I6, when Ted Meredith, U.S.A. returned 47·4 secs., and that record stood for another sixteen years, until Time brought together in one athletic generation three such phenomenal quarter-milers as the Americans Vie Williams, Ben Eastman, and Bill Carr ; Ben Eastman has now re– duced the record to 46.4 secs., which represents a 3%. improvement in the space of 33 years. He holds, also, the world's half-mile record of I min. 49.8 secs. for 88o yards, which shows a slightly greater percentile improve– ment upon C. Kilpatrick's I min. 52.4 secs., set up in I896. The one mile provides an interesting problem, for W. G. George, the English professional, made a record of 4 mins. I 2f secs. as long ago as I886, and no professional has ever run a faster mile, nor, until I9I5, did an amateur, Nor.man Taber, U.S.A., set a faster time when he returned 4 mins. I 2 3/5th secs. Then Nurmi startled the world with 4 mins. Io.8 secs., in I923. But up to I930 only half a dozen men had shown 4 mins. I3 secs., or better time. Then there was a sudden advance and we began to look on something about 4 mins. I 2 secs. as the proper form for a real world-beater, numbering in that class Nurmi, Finland ; Wide, Sweden ; Ladoumegue, France ; Beccali, Italy ; Lovelock, New Zealand and the Americans ; Venzke, Bonthron and Cunningham. The last named has now reduced the record to 4 mins. 6.8 secs., which is just over 2% better than George's professional record and some 3% better than the amateur record made by Tommy Conneff, U.S.A., in I895· The improvement in running records is probably due to the greatly increased amount of competition. Con– versely. the lower comparative standard of hurdle racing