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Tyson Gay Manchester 200 meter 19.41 World Record Video

Posted: 16 May 2010 11:14 AM PDT

I am sure Tyson Gay is saying (in his head) “Veni, vidi, vici”

It’s a famous Latin phrase reportedly written by Julius Caesar in 47 BC as a comment which literally translates to “I came, I saw, I conquered”.

Tyson Gay came. Tyson Gay saw. Tyson Gay conquered.

When Tyson Gay ran a 19.41 FAT at Manchester, he now has the ultimate world record without controversy.

That’s because Tommie Smith's previous WR of 19.5 could be the FAT equivalent of 19.74 or possibly "slower".

Tyson Gay’s splits en route to his 19.41 200m:

9.88 100m
14.41 150m
19.41 200m

His last 100m split was 9.53.

Progression of the 200 meters straight World Record

21.2 Bernard Wefers (USA) in New York, 30 May 1896
21.2 Ralph Craig (USA) in Philadelphia, 28 May 1910
21.2 Donald Lippincott (USA) in Cambridge, Mass, 31 May 1913
21.2 Howard Drew (USA) in Claremont, 28 Feb 1914
21.2 George Parker (USA) in Fresno, 2 Oct 1914
20.8 Charlie Paddock (USA) in Berkeley, 26 March 1921
20.8 Charlie Paddock (USA) in West Orange, 6 Sept 1924
20.6 Roland Locke (USA) in Lincoln, 1 May 1926
20.6 Ralph Metcalfe (USA) in Budapest, 12 Aug 1933
20.3 Jesse Owens (USA) in Ann Arbor, 25 May 1935
20.2 Mel Patton (USA) in Los Angeles, 7 May 1949
20.1 David Sime (USA) in Durham, NC, 11 May 1956
20.0 David Sime (USA) in Sanger, 9 June 1956
20.0 Frank Budd (USA) in Villanova, 12 May 1962
20.0 Tommie Smith (USA) in San Jose, 13 March 1965
19.5 Tommie Smith (USA) in San Jose, 7 May 1966
19.41 Tyson Gay (USA) in Manchester, 16 May 2010

UPDATE: Check back on this site in a few hours for the latest Tyson Gay Great Manchester City Games 200 meter 19.41 world record Video!

Controversy over Tommie Smith’s 19.5 200m Straightaway WR

Posted: 16 May 2010 10:02 AM PDT

POP QUIZ: What is the converted FAT time for a hand timed 200m straight or hurdles?

0.24?

Is Tommie Smith's WR of 19.5 really equivalent to a 19.74? Or is it "slower"

How about Don Styron's 200 meter hurdles WR of 21.9 set back in 1960?

This article is not to diminish Smith's or Styron's records. They ran what they ran. After all, Smith held 11 world records concurrently and is still not in the Hall of Fame (Geez, perhaps the raised fist caused some ill feelings?)

So when Tyson Gay ran a 19.41 FAT at Manchester, he now has the ultimate world record without controversy.

The Difference between 0.14 and 0.24

Timers use the smoke (not sound) from the gun to start the stopwatch. The closer you are to the gun, the better your visual reaction time to the smoke. Thus for any race where the starter is NOT at the finish line, like 100m and 200m starting lines, the conversion is 0.24 seconds.

For the 400 meters (and 4×100m and 4×400m relay) it is 0.14 seconds.

But wait! The 200m straightway is really far from the finish line! I remember in high school (a long long time ago) I had a hard time seeing the starter for this race. Imagine the timers!

In a research study back in 1973 using timers at the University of Giessen, they concluded:

timer and starter closest to gun (i.e. 400 meters) averaged a differential of 0.18 seconds
timer and starter at end of the 100 meter straightaway averaged differential of 0.24 seconds
timer and starter across the field of the 200 meter curve averaged differential of 0.26 seconds

The 0.24 conversion is "accurate". How they came up with 0.14 is another story. Maybe it's just a nice round number, just like the 0.100 reaction time for false starts.

If the above research is a true indication of visual reaction times, what should the conversion be for the 200 meter straightaway?

0.34? If that is the case, is Tommie Smith's WR of 19.5 really "19.84"? Is Don Styron's 200 meter hurdles WR of 21.9 really "22.24"?

Progression of the 200 meters straight

Just for historical purposes, here is the progression of WR for the 200 meters straight:

21.2 Bernard Wefers (USA) in New York, 30 May 1896
21.2 Ralph Craig (USA) in Philadelphia, 28 May 1910
21.2 Donald Lippincott (USA) in Cambridge, Mass, 31 May 1913
21.2 Howard Drew (USA) in Claremont, 28 Feb 1914
21.2 George Parker (USA) in Fresno, 2 Oct 1914
20.8 Charlie Paddock (USA) in Berkeley, 26 March 1921
20.8 Charlie Paddock (USA) in West Orange, 6 Sept 1924
20.6 Roland Locke (USA) in Lincoln, 1 May 1926
20.6 Ralph Metcalfe (USA) in Budapest, 12 Aug 1933
20.3 Jesse Owens (USA) in Ann Arbor, 25 May 1935
20.2 Mel Patton (USA) in Los Angeles, 7 May 1949
20.1 David Sime (USA) in Durham, NC, 11 May 1956
20.0 David Sime (USA) in Sanger, 9 June 1956
20.0 Frank Budd (USA) in Villanova, 12 May 1962
20.0 Tommie Smith (USA) in San Jose, 13 March 1965
19.5 Tommie Smith (USA) in San Jose, 7 May 1966
19.41 Tyson Gay (USA) in Manchester, 16 May 2010

It is the fashion,it is the world

Monday 17 May 2010