A Nigerian track star named Tobi Amusan just set the world record for the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the World Track and Field Championship. Some people think her time was a little too fast, compared to the previous record.
There were some people who thought that the official timer was off, or that Amusan benefitted from a strong tail wind, because her time of 12.12 seconds beat the previous world record by 0.08 seconds, a huge margin in track. Amusan also beat her personal best time of 12.40 seconds by 0.28 seconds. World records are typically only beaten by 0.01-0.04 seconds.
Another anomaly in this particular race was that almost every other runner made their best time. This was either a huge coincidence, or the result of a clock malfunction or a strong tailwind. In fact, there was a strong tailwind during the race, but it was below the threshold that would invalidate the race’s results.
Track legend Michael Johnson thought this was a questionable result and felt that the tail wind was much higher than measured. “I don’t believe [the] 100h times are correct,” said Johnson. He mentioned that one of the racers said they thought they were running slowly but still beat their best time.
Johnson immediately received criticism for his comments. Some thought he was mad that an American didn’t hold the record any longer.
Johnson responded that “As a commentator my job is to comment. In questioning the times of 28 athletes (not 1 athlete) by wondering if the timing system malfunctioned, I was attacked, accused of racism, and of questioning the talent of an athlete I respect and predicted to win. Unacceptable. I move on.”
Amusan went on to win the finals with another amazing time 12.06 seconds. This time, the result didn’t count because the tailwind was stronger than the allowed force. There was no doubt that Amusan could win this event, but questions about the accuracy of the timekeeping cast a shadow over her results.
There were some people who thought that the official timer was off, or that Amusan benefitted from a strong tail wind, because her time of 12.12 seconds beat the previous world record by 0.08 seconds, a huge margin in track. Amusan also beat her personal best time of 12.40 seconds by 0.28 seconds. World records are typically only beaten by 0.01-0.04 seconds.
Another anomaly in this particular race was that almost every other runner made their best time. This was either a huge coincidence, or the result of a clock malfunction or a strong tailwind. In fact, there was a strong tailwind during the race, but it was below the threshold that would invalidate the race’s results.
Track legend Michael Johnson thought this was a questionable result and felt that the tail wind was much higher than measured. “I don’t believe [the] 100h times are correct,” said Johnson. He mentioned that one of the racers said they thought they were running slowly but still beat their best time.
Johnson immediately received criticism for his comments. Some thought he was mad that an American didn’t hold the record any longer.
Johnson responded that “As a commentator my job is to comment. In questioning the times of 28 athletes (not 1 athlete) by wondering if the timing system malfunctioned, I was attacked, accused of racism, and of questioning the talent of an athlete I respect and predicted to win. Unacceptable. I move on.”
Amusan went on to win the finals with another amazing time 12.06 seconds. This time, the result didn’t count because the tailwind was stronger than the allowed force. There was no doubt that Amusan could win this event, but questions about the accuracy of the timekeeping cast a shadow over her results.
