Are We Reaching the End of World Records?
Will there be no more Michael Jordans,
Michael Phelps or Muhammad Alis? The article “Are We Reaching the End of World
Records?” argues whether humans have reached the peak of performance abilities
and will no longer be able to break world records.
I learned from this article that
world records have been hindered by illegal doping, social changes, and rule
changes. But also progressed with a better understanding of fitness, health,
and exercise science. A great example is the Fosbury flop jump technique in
high jump. This technique is when a person turns their back to the bar when
jumping, what is typically preformed nowadays. Although this jump when first
preformed didn’t break the world record, over time and with more practice it dramatically
increased a jumper’s average by .5 meters.
To me this article is interesting because
it seems every year you hear people say things like “Kobe will never be as good
as Jordan.” It makes me question if a sport like men’s basketball has reached
its peak and if it has progressed as much as it can. Also relating to women’s
athletics in the article it addressed how females weren’t allowing to play completive
until recently. So my question is if females, for example will use basketball, will
every reach the intensity and high performance that males have. In fifty years
will they be able to get up and down the court as fast as males and be able to
dunk? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-reaching-the-end-of-world-records/
I found your article really interesting because with every new olympic game or athletic event, new world records are constantly being set. Do you think that athlete's performance has no room to improve - without the use of illegal performance drugs? Do you think advances in athletic medicine and training could push performances higher? What about advances in diet and training equipment? I'm interested in the topic because I graduated in Exercise Science and there were some interesting advances in the field of the science of athleticism. I wonder how that is going to affect the future of athletics. Comment published by SRH.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your first questions I believe that an athlete's performance always has room to improve. Being a collegiate athlete, there is always some new skill or technique that I learn everyday. Also with every skill that you do obtain there is always room for improvement!
DeleteTo answer your second and third question I do believe that advances in medicine, training, and training equipment can greatly improve skills. Just from experience I have learned that there are a lot of new training equipment that can help an athlete preform at a high level. Recently this year I have been using External Leg Compression Pumps, these help stimulate blood and fluid movement in the legs after an intense workout. How they work is that they compress your leg starting from the foot making its way up to the hip, pushing the blood up. Because of this technology it makes it easier for me to recover and to preform at a higher level.
JH
I found your article really interesting because with every new olympic game or athletic event, new world records are constantly being set. Do you think that athlete's performance has no room to improve - without the use of illegal performance drugs? Do you think advances in athletic medicine and training could push performances higher? What about advances in diet and training equipment? I'm interested in the topic because I graduated in Exercise Science and there were some interesting advances in the field of the science of athleticism. I wonder how that is going to affect the future of athletics. Comment published by SRH.
ReplyDeleteI think that even without drugs and illegal supplements, people will excel and break current records. So much of athleticism is mental, and when barriers are broken people realize that it's possible to get to that point themselves but still seek to improve, and will keep trying until they break more barriers. I think that people will always break records even if technological advances were to stop. Something else to take into consideration is genetics. You never know when someone can come along who has more potential to succeed solely because of their genes.
DeleteAB
This is a response to the October 13 post, with this question: "Do you think advances in athletic medicine and training could push performances higher?"
ReplyDeleteI remember reading an article a few years ago observing the mile run in men's track. The article stated at the birth of the 20th century, that the human body was physically not capable of breaking a 4 minute mile, and that this feat would never be accomplished. We later see in 1956, mid-century, Roger Bannister ran a 3:59.4. Now the fastest mile is 3:43.13 held by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. Yes many records have been a result of enhancement drugs, but mankind has always seen the records, and pushed themselves to get there and break it. We may be nearing the end of all the world records, but I believe man will always have the potential to conquer an unbeatable feat, maybe just not as often as recent years.
TL
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis post raised a lot of questions for me, and was very interesting. Do you think that women might have a better chance at breaking records for a longer period of time because they haven't been able to compete for as long as men? Also, if some sports changed their tactics, like a high jumper jumping a slightly different way, would more records or different records come about?
ReplyDeleteM.E.
To answer your first question I do believe that women will be breaking records that men have and catching up to men's physical performance because they haven't competed as long. From personal experience I can use basketball as an example. This last decade I have notice a rise in the sports intensity on the women's side with knowing many girls who can dunk and run just as fast down the court as men. Compared to the late 1800s where women were only allowed to hold the ball for three seconds and can only dribble three times before passing, the game nowadays is moving at a fast pace making it a very competitive sport.
DeleteTo answer your second question I believe that there will always be some new tactic or technique learned and then taught to improve skills and break records.
JH
This was a really cool article. I think that there are going to probably be a lot of chances for improvement in athletes in the coming years but this might be coming soon. I also think that women athletes world records will continue to improve since they haven't had as much time to play competitively.
ReplyDelete-KI
This is an interesting article. The goal of any competitor is to compete at the highest level possible. To be the best at their sport and to try their hardest to be successful. Does this mean that athlete will break records? Maybe, maybe not. You ask if women will be able to dunk and run down the court like men do now and break more records. It seems that over the years it has been pointed out that women are sculpted differently when it comes to muscle regions. Not sure how much this will impact the ability of women to break some of the same records of men. Take the Olympic world swim records for example; in the 50 mm freestyle the time is 21.30 for men, that record was set in 2008 and 24.05 for women and that was set in 2012. None of the records were broke in Rio. Most of the men's swimming records were set in 2008 and most of the women's swimming records were set in 2012. The swimming records are from 2008 and 2012. When looking at the records it seems like the men have faster speeds in all of the events. Since swimming is a sport that both men and women compete in at the Olympics it is easy to compare the records set. Some of the track and field records were broke in 2016 but some of the records have been held since years like 1968, 1992, and 1996. On the flip side of that Simone, a female Olympic gymnast was doing things on her floor routine that normally males do.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good topic for research though. With sports medicine and gene therapy and new medical breakthroughs the human body might be capable of even more. Thoughts?
Thanks,
RW
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree that with more advances in medicine the body will be capable of more. I also think that as technology advances better training gear will be available. More advanced weight lifting machines for example.
DeleteKI
This is a response to M.E.'s question:
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a very great question. I would say that honestly I don't see why women wouldn't be able to enhance their genes, because men have incorporated it in for years, so I'm sure women would be able to do the same. Ofcourse I haven't done extensive research and study for this, but I feel they should be able to evolve in time, that is if they are all active and compete for the most part.
To answer your second question, there are always different techniques and tactics that can improve competing in sports and breaking records so I would say yes and no depending on the way it is being executed.
-Joseph P
To answer the first question, yes I do think that advances in medicine could continue to push people to better abilities, but will it be by much? I'm not sure. Eventually there just has to be a barrier that cannot be broken. When it comes to running or swimming, there are limits, but there are other things that people can continue to set records at as well I believe.
ReplyDeleteThat actually very interesting i never thought that maybe humans had a limit that once they have reached it you couldn't go any further unless you took steroids, i noticed you said there were always rule changes do you think that after time when there are no more records to set that would they consider steroids?
ReplyDeleteRuth Guerra
reading your summary has me convinced that we are reaching the end in a sense that the same old records may be reaching a limit within the evolution range. theres always new things to be good at and always someone that will be better than you. someone more specialized than you at a particular thing. that is what i learned form your article.
ReplyDeleteMC
I believe either through game evolution or human evolution there will always be room for improvement, maybe that improvement is to do as good as people who play taking medications and drugs. as for the girls I believe in certain areas women are already equal to men, while men will always be better at a select few things there isn't much a a difference between the two. K.F.
ReplyDeletei find this article extremely interesting based on the fact that an opinion on this topic can go both ways. in your review you pose the question if mens basketball has reached its peak. I don't believe so. i believe that we as a human population are evolving and our bodies are becoming stronger and faster in order to keep up with the environments around us. i think as the Human population continues to grow the sports which we participate in will always have a performance rate that is going to be higher than before. We will never reach a peak in mens or womens sports, they will always be evolving and becoming better.
ReplyDelete-MM
It does seem that our bodies have “max-out” in a sense that we are reaching very peak of our physical limitations, it seems to be that in a few years when we can more fully understand how to properly take care of our bodies that we will have reached our maximum limits.
ReplyDelete-JA
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