Disqualifying Women?s Marathon Records
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 6th, 2011 4:36 am by HL
Disqualifying Women?s Marathon Records
If someone has a good reason why it makes sense to retroactively void the world record Paula Radcliffe set in the marathon because she ran with male pacers, I would like to hear it, because it’s making large amounts of steam come out of my ears. It’s one thing to say that in the future, […]
If someone has a good reason why it makes sense to retroactively void the world record Paula Radcliffe set in the marathon because she ran with male pacers, I would like to hear it, because it’s making large amounts of steam come out of my ears. It’s one thing to say that in the future, men and women will run separately because male pacers help make women run faster, but Radcliffe set her record in a way that was totally legal at the time she set it, and she shouldn’t have it taken away from her.
And even that doesn’t really make sense, and will cause logistical challenges for marathons that typically run men and women together. It’s not as if Radcliffe was running in circumstances that are wildly abnormal for the sport. The presence of men may make women run a little faster. I’ve never run 26.2 miles all at one go, but I imagine that weather, courses, and road conditions all make for variable performance. Are we going to limit world records to races run on days when the temperature varies between 55 and 72 degrees? The presence of men is not an artificial stimulant. Instead, maybe it’s evidence that competing together can help women reach their personal best.
Top Campaign Advisor Admits McCain Team Discussed Constitutionally Questionable Plan To Keep Palin From Being Sworn in As VP
Former George W. Bush aide and John McCain’s 2008 campaign adviser Nicole Wallace has written a novel. In It’s Classified, the vice presidential character is “mentally ill” — an inspiration Wallace says came directly from her observations of Sarah Palin. Like the character, Palin “was often withdrawn, uncommunicative and incapable of performing even the most […]
Former George W. Bush aide and John McCain’s 2008 campaign adviser Nicole Wallace has written a novel. In It’s Classified, the vice presidential character is “mentally ill” — an inspiration Wallace says came directly from her observations of Sarah Palin. Like the character, Palin “was often withdrawn, uncommunicative and incapable of performing even the most basic tasks required of her job as McCain’s running mate.” Wallace even noted that “there certainly were discussions — not for long because of the arc the campaign took — but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in.” This certainly is a shocking admission, in no small part because the Constitution does not provide any process short of impeachment to remove a vice president. The statement also shows just how much McCain’s team distrusted, disliked, and wanted to ditch Palin as the vice presidential pick.
