Roger, Anyone not training or living at low altitude was at a disadvantage. Why select Jim Ryun over, say, Ron Clarke one of the greatest runners in the history of long distance. As for Keino running "only" 3:34/9 to Run's WR of 3:33....come on... that's an Olympic race for victory. The last time a 1500M Olympic runner broke a WR was when the most fantastic of them all, Herb Eliot, smashed his own WR in Rome, 3;35.6. Nothing even remotely resembling such a feat was seen in tactical races for victory. Regards, Uri(soon to be on my way to smoggy Beijing...)
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Roger Ruth Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2008 2:59 AM To: t-and-f@lists.uoregon.edu Subject: t-and-f: Smoggy Olympics The considerable publicity that has been given to the high smog levels in Beijing has caused me to speculate on a world record holder who would not have been able to compete in the Olympics if they had been held there in 1968. If I'm wrong in the details, maybe someone will offer correction. I'm thinking of Jim Ryun, world record holder in the 1500 meters (3:33.1) from 1967 to 1974 and notably handicapped in some venues by chronic asthma. I don't think he was ever called upon to compete under such severe smog conditions as those shown at Beijing, but I can't imagine any severe asthmatic even attempting that level of hazard--Los Angeles would have been bad enough. Of course, the 1968 Olympics weren't held in Beijing, but in Mexico City, where high altitude posed another kind of threat to asthmatics and others with breathing disorders. The consequence for Ryun was apparent: He trailed Kip Keino by a full twenty meters at the finish, with Keino's time nearly two full seconds off Ryun's year-old record. Anyone know whether disadvantages a given venue may pose for some athletes ever enter into the considerations of the IOC in selecting a location for the Olympic Games?
