Why? The Science of Athletics

RECORDS AND RECORD BREAKING I77 is perhaps due to the fact that hurdle races require the use of at least 40 and preferably 6o hurdles, which are fairly expensive to purchase and exceedingly awkward to store, for which reason fewer hurdling than running races are held. At least, this was so until Mr. Harry Rotten– burg invented his adjustable Cantabrian hurdle. Indirectly, therefore, we may draw from our graphs of records three inferences, i.e. that improvement is due to better apparatus, better style and better facilities and opportunities for competition. Where running is con– cerned the greater volume of competition was probably the biggest factor up to the time when Norman Taber did better than W. G. George's best. That, however, is by no means the whole story, as I shall hope to show presently. Meanwhile the fact remains that with all the world striving to set up new running records the greater incen– tive thereby provided is an essential factor of success. We come now to the question of the degree of accuracy with which future record breaking can be predicted from the graphical analysis of past and present records. Geo. P. Meade claims that predictions of record breaking can be, and have been, made byanalyticalstudiesoftherelation– ship between the various running events. In support of his theories and his contention he points out that the best records are obviously those with the lowest relative value·s, and that, as might be expected, these are the 220, 440, and 88o yards, and the one mile. Races at these distances, together with the Ioo yards, make up the fundamental basis of every standard athletic pro– gramme throughout the world, metric distances being substituted in some countries of course. Thus, in his Herald Tribune article Meade wrote, "We can assume the role of prophet and declare that some day Nurmi, or some future Olympic champion will run the I500 metres in 3 mins. 5 I secs." At that time Nurmi's record was 3 min. 52.6 secs., and in the following summer the German Otto Peltzer returned exactly 3 mins. 5 I secs. for a new world's record. M