2012: Year in Review (Men)

[EPelle]

OK, now that the final meet of merit is over, I'm calling it a season. But how good was 2012 vis a vis 2011? 2008, the last Olympic year? The men saw a total of four world records. The women? One.

2008 had six performances under 9,80 in the 100m vs. three last year and seven during the last Olympic season. The Olympic champion defended his title, but lost his national championships prior to winning the big show. A previous Olympic medalist (Gatlin) placed on the London stand. The men's 100m was only one of two events this entire season with a post-championships best mark recording.

Fifteen 200m races were sub-20 clockings vs 10 in 2011 and 12 in 2008. Again, the Olympic champion defended his title, but not short of losing his 200m national championships race. Sub-44,00 was achieved once this season in the 400m -- the first time a non-USA athlete has achieved this mark. Neither of the two previous Olympic champions made the London final. No one ran sub-44 last season, and five sub-44 times were recorded the last Olympic season. The world champion became the Olympic champion. The 800m also saw Rudisha turn from world champ to Olympic champ, set the world record and become the first under 1.41 in history. Eight sub-1.43 times were recorded this season in this event. Last year had three. All by the same athlete (Rudisha). Three sub-1.43 clockings were made during 2008, the previous Olympic year. Only one of those three athletes was in the London 2012 final (Kaki). The men's 1500m has had five under 3.30,00, with the defending Olympic (and world) champion not defending his OG title. The 1500m season leader (Kirprop, on time) was also last year's yearly leader, but didn't break 3.30 last year. The previous Olympic year had none under 3.30, either.

The men's 5.000m had a historic six sub-12.50 in Paris; 18 performances under the 13-flat barrier and offered a new Olympic champ who was neither the 2008 Olympic champ nor 2011 world champ. Rupp became the sixth American to run sub-13. Twenty-two sub-13 performances were recorded in 2011; seven sub-13 times were recorded in 2008. The men's 10.000m saw the pre-race favourite become the Olympic champ and win on home soil, though he did not have to set a new PB this season to win the big show. It wasn't until Bruxelles, however, post-championship, that the season had it's first sub-27 runs (four). Sixteen sub-27 performances were recorded in 2011 and five were noted in 2008.

[EPelle]

Three steeple marks breached the eight-minute mark, with Paul Koech twice running sub-8 on the season. Three marks by two individuals were also in the sub-8 frame in 2011; no one was able to run sub-8 in 2008, the previous Olympic season.

The men's 110m hurdles have been raced with extreme prejudice by American Aries Merritt, who not only won the Olympics and set the world record (12,80) in Bruxelles last Friday. He's become the most prolific sub-13 hurdler in history. Nine sub-13's have been recorded on the season vs. David Oliver's lone sub-13 in 2011 and nine sub-13's by two athletes in 2008.

The 400m hurdles saw Olympic champion Felix Sánchez's re-emerge in brilliant style. A total of 10 marks were recorded under 48,00 seconds compared to nine last season and four by two athletes in 2008.

The high jump appeared to be dominated by Russian Ivan Ukhov at 2.39m, but it was to be Robbie Grabarz who would steal the show -- and the hearts of world-wide fans. Until lanky Qatarian Mutaz Essa Barshim leaped the furthest post-championships best in history following the Olympics in defeating Ukhov and Grabaraz as well as a host of others. Six performances were over the 2.35m barrier compared to four last season and four in 2008.

The pole vault had one over six metres followed by four at 5.90 and above compared to four at/over 5.90m in 2011; and four performances over six metres in 2008 with 10 at 5.90m or higher.

I haven't gotten to the decathlon nor the road races or relays. Yet, the season was amazing, indeed, with some surprise performances achieved under immense pressures whilst others were simply not part of the script on the year. What's your impression of the 2012 season? What was the surprise mark/occasion/meet for you?

[aaronk]

I'm a marks/records person first, medals/honors/awards person second.
For me, competition, and competitive races are good, but FAST competitive races are better!!
Thus, to rank the quality of this year, I'll wait to see what the 100th best marks were in each event.
Athletics Annual provides this, as well as the 10th best marks.

That said, it's always exciting to see WR's being broken, so the 9039, 36.84, 40.82, 12.80, 1:40.91 WR's made this a pretty good year.

The best meets for me were the US Trials and the World Juniors.
The Olympics were great, as always, but for excitement and great marks...and great competitive events, the Trials and the WJC couldn't be beat.

Being a distance fan, the most exciting athletes were Evan Jager, Mary Cain, Tirinish Dibaba, Cayla Hatton, and Brianna Nerud.

In fact, I think the long list of fabulous High School performers at the WJ's was the most exciting for me.

Amd having never been a big Walks fan, I LOVED the walk races at the Olympics, especially the women's 20K. What a finish....and in WR time!!

So I'd give 2012 an overall B+ grade.
There have been several better...but there've been a whole lot more worse!!!

P.S. And then there's the "extra-curricular" stuff. The drug busts. The new CEO at USATF. Shocking newcomers and shocking losses.
And to make things REALLY exciting, we always have S-E-X!! (See: Michelle Jenneke's pre-race shimmy shake.....and whatever LOLO did/said!!)

[Mighty Favog]

Meh. I have a math degree yet the numbers don't thrill me. I like gut-wrenching competition, and the only thing I detest more than athletes who compete against the best competition is an athlete who doesn't compete much at all.

[Alan Shank]

The men's 10.000m saw the 2011 world champ become the Olympic champ and win on home soil, though he did not have to set a new PB this season to win the big show. It wasn't until Bruxelles, however, post-championship, that the season had it's first sub-27 runs (four). Sixteen sub-27 performances were recorded in 2011 and five were noted in 2008.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt! The 2011 world champ did not even make the Ethiopian team this year. Ibrahim Jeylan was a big surprise in Daegu (for me, at least), but did not even finish a 10,000 this season. I have to admit that I mistook Jeylan for Sileshi Sihine on that last lap in Daegu, screaming my head off because I thought Sihine had finally gotten a gold medal after all those silvers. He was in the race and in contention late, but couldn't keep up when the real racing started.

It certainly looked like Farah had the race sewn up on the last backstretch, and Farah's last lap (per TN) was actually .3 faster than Jeylan's but Jeyland ran 26.3, 13.0, to edge Mo.

That race, ~17 seconds faster than the Oly 2012, finished faster, too:

2011 2012
last 1600 4:05.8 4:07.6
last 1200 3:00.0 3:01.4
last 800 1:53.4 1:55.5
last 400 53.7 53.4

Cheers,
Alan Shank

[EPelle]

Yes, thank you. I did have that backward. No excuse. Farah won the 5, missing out on gold in the 10.

[jazzcyclist]

OK, now that the final meet of merit is over, I'm calling it a season. But how good was 2012 vis a vis 2011? 2008, the last Olympic year? The men saw a total of two world records. The women? One.

Didn't the men set four world records?

[EPelle]

800m, 110h, decathlon and 4x100m. Sure enough.

[errolM]

mLJ - my feeling is that 8.35 is the lowest WL of any year since forever... might beat 1978, but nothing since. Can anyone confirm?

[EPelle]

Yep. Nenad Stekic's 8.32m (+1,9) in Rovereto -- in 1978 -- was the last time a season leading LJ mark has been this low.

[no one]

I wonder what year produced the most WRs. Without research I would think '68 has a pretty good shot, no?

[gh]

I'm guessing '56. Start with 5 entries in men's 100y and 11 at 100m.

[Conor Dary]

I'm guessing '56. Start with 5 entries in men's 100y and 11 at 100m.

If we skip the sprints, I would say 1965.

[Per Andersen]

Why skip the sprints?
I'll say 1960.

[EPelle]

A few "firsts" on the season:

• First time in Olympic history a 9,80 doesn't win a medal. Of any colour.
• First time Bolt fails to win his signature event at the Jamaican National Championships.
• First time in Olympic history a 19,44 doesn't win a gold.
• First time in history a sprinter (Bolt) has won gold in the 100m/200m/4x100m in consecutive Olympics.
• First time in history a ninth-consecutive career sub-20 season has been recorded (Bolt, 2004-2012).
• First time in Olympic history the men's 200m has had a third-consecutive sub-20 winning time.
• First time in history any male (Bolt) has repeated as Olympic 200m champion.
• First time in history a sub-44,00 (James, 43,94) was recorded by a non-American.
• First time in history the sub-44 club includes two 19-year-olds (Lewis, 43,87/James, 43,94).
• First time in history a sub-1.41 (Rudisha, 1.40,91) was ever recorded.
• First time in history a 1.41 performance didn't win a race.
• First time in history two Americans (Solomon, 1.42,82/Symmonds, 1.42,95) were sub-1.43,00 in a race.
• First time in history any Kenyan 800m world champion (Rudisha, 2011) has bettered that feat by winning the subsequent Olympic 800m gold.
• First time in history an in-season sub-3.29,00 runner (Kiprop, 3.28,88) does not medal in the Olympics.
• First time in history a British athlete has won double Olympic distance gold.
• First time in history six men (Paris) ran sub-12.50 in a race.
• First time in K. Bekele's Olympic history that he fails to medal.
• First time in Rupp's history that he does medal.
• First time in history sub-37,00 (Jamaica, 36,84) had ever been achieved.
• First time in Olympic history a 37,04 (USA) could not secure gold.
• First time in Olympic history a height over 5.95m (5.97m, Lavillenie) had ever been achieved.
• First time in history a hurdler (Merritt) has had six sub-12,95 times on the season.
• First time an American (Eaton, 9032) has ever broken the 9000-point barrier.

There are several other noteworthy "firsts" on the year. By all means, please add your own.

[Conor Dary]

Why skip the sprints?
I'll say 1960.

Because with hand timing there were about 15 or so WR performances in the 100 meters at 10.0 from 1960 to 1968. Needless to say the variability of the timing had more to do with it than pure ability of the runners.

[j-a-m]

There are several other noteworthy "firsts" on the year. By all means, please add your own.

First time in NFL history a starting QB was born in the 1990s (and that guy used to run the hurdles, which is why I mention it in here).

[Davidokun]

I haven't gotten to the decathlon nor the road races or relays.

What about the horizontal jumps and the throws?

[EPelle]

Feel free to recap those. Or other events. Or start a women's thread. The year didn't unfold in a day. Add what you believe was relevant to this season and events/times/places/people which played an important role within the sport.

[kuha]

[*]First time in history a 1.41 performance didn't win a race.
[*]First time in history two Americans (Solomon, 1.42,82/Symmonds, 1.42,95) were sub-1.43,00 in a race.

Hadn't quite focused on these two before, but they are both rather major.

Nice list--thanks!

[marknhj]

Five medals awarded in the HJ?

[aaronk]

For me, over and above what happened in all the "adult" meets, the World Junior's results made me VERY hopeful for the future...including next year's WC and Rio!!
Especially for the USA!!

Mary Cain SHATTERED the HS record in the 1500 with 4:11.01.
And Faith Kipyegon showed MAJOR talent up front!!

Brianna Nerud TWICE shattered the HSR in the 3K SC, with 10:08 (by 7 secs), then with 10:00 (another 8 secs!!).

Kendell Williams broke the Hept mark with her 5578

Cayla Hatton, who earlier in the year had run the 2nd fastest HS 10K with her 33:17, ran the 2nd fastest HS 5K with her 15:50.

Shelbi Vaughan (again) shattered the HSR in the DT, reaching 198.9.

Aldrich Bailey. performed great in the sprint events.

Kaliese Spencer ran 50.50 in the 400, faster than they had in the NCAA!!

While not USA, Consesus Kipruto showed his MAJOR talents in the SC, and we saw Adam Gemilli run 10.05, and Nijel Amos display some of his 800 speed with his 1:43.79.

Not forgetting Gabrielle Williams and Haley Crouser, not to mention both Jessica Judd and Ajee Wilson in the 800!!

All in all, a FANTASTIC WJ meet....and a BIG rewrite of the USA all-time HS and Junior lists!!

[Powell]

Five medals awarded in the HJ?

This has happened before. Barcelona 92 also had 3 men tied for 3rd.

[EPelle]

With respect to the high jump, this was the first season ever that any competitor had been able to clear a height over 2.38m in a post-championship invitational (Barsham 2.39m). Ukhov's 2.39m is the second-highest mark ever achieved on a Thursday (Sotomayor, 2.43m). Moreover, Ukhov's Olympic victory assured that Russia became the first nation to defend an Olympic high jump title since the introduction of the Fosbury flop.

[andyjgt]

Prior to this season Rudolf Povarnitsyn, with a 2.37m best, held the distinction of having been the highest first name begins with the letter "R" jumper. This obscure fact now belongs to Robbie Grabarz (2.38m).

Actually Povarnitsyn jumped 2.40 (a 14cm improvement in one event!) to set a WR in 1985, so he still holds the 'R' best.

[EPelle]

Cheers, Andy. I did miss that one. He won that event in with an 18cm margin in Donyetsk.

[Per Andersen]

Prior to this season Rudolf Povarnitsyn, with a 2.37m best, held the distinction of having been the highest first name begins with the letter "R" jumper. This obscure fact now belongs to Robbie Grabarz (2.38m).

Actually Povarnitsyn jumped 2.40 (a 14cm improvement in one event!) to set a WR in 1985, so he still holds the 'R' best.

For a little while Rudolf also held the record for the highest last name beginning with the letter 'P'.

[EPelle]

M-LJ: The 2012 season, in addition to being a year with an inferior top mark to every season from 1979 to 2011, also saw the third championship this decade with a winning mark under 8.40m. The Beijing Olympics were won by Saladino with an 8.34m mark; the 2003 world championships were won by Dwight Phillips with an 8.32m effort. On a positive note, the London Olympics saw a UK athlete win the second ever gold medal in this event (Lynn Davies, 8.07m/1964 was the first). Since the inception of the 1983 world championships, Rutherford became the first long jumper to ever win the Olympics without first procuring a world champs medal. Rutherford's previous best placing was fifth in 2009.

[EPelle]

Another 'first' for the year: Most users (563) ever online on this site occurred 2012.06.30/09.57.

[k3ck3c]

Epelle wrote

>>>The pole vault had one over six metres followed by four at 5.90 and above compared to four at/over 5.90m in 2011; and four performances over six metres in 2008 with 10 at 5.90m or higher.

I tend to disagree.
outdoor
Lavillenie, Ostrava, 5,90
Mohr 5,91
European championships (Helsinki)
Otto 5,92
Lavillenie 5,92 and 5,97
Brad Walker, Jockgrim, 5,90
London Olympics
Otto 5,91
Holdzeppe 5,91
Lavillenie 5,97

If I add the indoor season
Otto 5,92
Lavillenie (later on the same day) in Nevers 5,93
German championships, Otto 5,92
World indoor Istanbul Lavillenie 5,90 and 5,95

It seems to me we have more than four

[EPelle]

Yes, there are more than four between 5.90m and 5.97m. I failed to include Walker, who makes five at 5.90m or higher. I haven't included indoors on any highlight of the 2012 season. Lavillenie and Otto are two of the five who vaulted 5.90m or higher outdoors. And, I didn't include indoors for the vault comparisons between 2012/2011/2008. However, I do appreciate your disagreement, as it brought Walker deservingly back into the fold.