Just a little different perspective:
"Will this race be valid for record ratification?"
Does it matter? It's clear, from correspondence on this thread, that
"validity" hinges on a narrow interpretation of what may be minimally
within the rules. In the end, a record, if such ensues, will stand beside
other records, tainted or untainted.
I'm curious about what other records may have survived contemporary doubts
about the conditions under which they were established.
I have a nominee. I think the great, first "four-minute mile" was run under
conditions that violated the spirit of rules of the time against
"rabbiting." Running with similar team-mate assistance, I think it certain
that Landy and probable that Santee would have been under 4:00 before
Bannister.
Does it matter?
