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From TFA: “ Also, javelins were increasingly landing flat, instead of poking upright into the turf, making distance-marking difficult, so in 1986 the Internatio
by mikehotel 5y ago
From TFA:
“ Also, javelins were increasingly landing flat, instead of poking upright into the turf, making distance-marking difficult, so in 1986 the International Association of Athletics Federations' technical committee authorized a new javelin design. The center of gravity was moved 1.6 inches forward, the tip was modified to make the javelin less aerodynamic, meaning it would nose down earlier and land sooner, reducing average flight distance by about 10 percent.”
- peeters 5y agoThat doesn't explain why a WR from 10 years after those changes hasn't been even close to beaten recently.
- p1key 5y agoBut it has been close? Johannes Vetter got a result of 97.76m under a year ago, that is only 0.72m shy of the world record. Also the reason he was underperforming in the olympics was that the surface of the run-up track was not able to take his weight on the final step and he would slip, making it impossible to perform on his normal high level.
- vikiomega9 5y agoSource for the reason Johannes Vetter failed? Does not look like this was covered well in the press.
- random314 5y agoI think the throwing surface had poorer grip than standard for various reasons. So Vetter couldn't use his typical speed without slipping.
- nAwYz 5y agoIn german news it was quite widely reported that he had problems with the surface of the runway
- p1key 5y agoMy source for this was watching the final myself. When I watched the broadcast myself it was clear to me that this was the problem. Also the (Finnish) commentators were very knowledgeable in the sport and pointed out the problem many times. I was unable to find a clip of his throws in YouTube, but here's a Google Translated article from a Finnish newspaper: https://bit.ly/3xvZWMk https://bit.ly/3xvZWMk.
- getlawgdon 5y agoVetter's official performances and progressions can be found on the World Athletics (formerly IAAF) website: https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/_/14408144 https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/_/14408144 His 97.76 was in 2020 in Poland.
- sdwr 5y agoThat's some high-quality journalism. Matter-of-fact, primary sources, asks illuminating questions.
- vikiomega9 5y agoThanks. Seems like a technical problem on his throw then? I'm not aware of the intricacies of surface and I assumed it was a standardized setup.
- throwawaylinux 5y agoOP was talking about a record set 10 years after that change. I suggest avoiding terms like "TFA", which can be taken to insult someone's reading comprehension. I'm sure that's not what you intended but it can easily be misinterpreted.