More fun by cub reporters.
Amazing, how certain track and field events are in metric, but anything involving throwing something or vaulting over something gets dumbed down, and then screwed up. Carleton From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John M. Steele Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 14:51 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:45205] Re: Metric Muddle at The Washington Post As reported, it is wrong on so many levels that it is hard to know where to start: *If it were metric, it should be in xx.xx m format, not mixed meters and centimeters. *The world record for men is 74.08 m and for women 76.80 m (throwing a lighter discus), so "beating" the world record by that much would be noteworthy, or a s ign the report is screwed up. *Whether recorded in "english" or recorded in metric and converted, long throws (discus, hammer, javelin) are reported to the lesser inch, not half inch. --- On Sat, 6/6/09, Carleton MacDonald <[email protected]> wrote: From: Carleton MacDonald <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:45204] Metric Muddle at The Washington Post To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, June 6, 2009, 2:19 PM >From the Corrections listings in The Washington Post, Friday, June 5, 2009, >page A2: -- A June 2 Sports article misstated the distance of Wilson High School junior Ibrahima Kebe's winning discus throw at the DCIAA track and field championships. Kebe's throw was 120 feet 11.5 inches, not 120 meters 11.5 centimeters. The article with the alleged error – <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/01/AR2009060103851.html> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/01/AR2009060103851.html One of the most intriguing individual events of the day was the boys' discus, even though it wasn't expected to be close. Wilson junior Ibrahima Kebe, who this spring became the first D.C. public school boy to ever qualify for the Penn Relays in that event, fouled on his first three attempts, leaving him with only one remaining. After replacing one of his track shoes with a sneaker for better traction, and changing the discus he was using because of the wind, Kebe had yet another shaky throw. But it landed inbounds and was just good enough to win at 120 meters 11.5 centimeters, a little more than three meters farther than second place. "I got points for the team, so in that way I'm happy," said Kebe, whose longest throw this year is 162 meters. "But personally, I'm not happy with what I did." As Tigers Coach James Green said, however, "A win is a win and in a championship meet, it doesn't matter how far it is. It matters if you're first, second or third." - I wonder if it really was an error. Carleton
