It's me, I'm the track pedant, it's me. (Ask me about the grammar of the shot put.) It's true that a capital W R World Record is one which is ratified by World Athletics; anything else is a World Best. BUT in the days of yore before World Athletics/the IAAF/whoever took up ratifying records, it was not unheard of for a track to be set up with a 200m straightaway (basically a 100m extension behind where the current 100m start would be). If you dig back far enough in the archives, there are books which maintained separate records for the straightaway 200m and a 200m on the bend (the way it's run in the Olympics). I think Tommie Smith, of the gloved protest in 1968, held the 200m straightaway record for a while, but I am not going to go looking for documentation of that.
Anyway bravo to Rich Kenah and the Atlanta Track Club for being creative.
1. Event names are a noun (or adjective) and a verb. It's the pole vault because you vault with a pole. It's the shot put because you put a shot. There is no implement called a "shot put"; it's just a "shot". (I learned this in 7th grade, I don't know why it's so hard for professional journalists.)
2. You do not *throw* a shot, even though the event group (SP/DT/JT/HT) is called "throws" and specialists in the shot put are often referred to as "throwers". The shot may be put, pushed, or tossed. Maybe flung. But "throw" implies an overhand motion which would undoubtedly wreck the shoulders of even the fittest athletes. Never say throw. (I got some very specific instruction about this when I was writing for the IAAF.)
3. Following on #2, the six attempts in a standard shot put competition are attempts, or puts, or tosses, or even efforts; they are not throws.
There are people in the USA who insist that the beginning of the end of track as a mass-popularity sport in this country was the move to adopt international-standard metric measurements and event distances over imperial units. These people are mostly dinosaurs who are perfectly happy announcing puts measured to quarter-inches. However, metric results make a ton more sense: a woman putting the shot over 20m is probably an Olympic medalist. A man putting over 20m is likely national class. (18 US men bettered 20m in 2024.) That kind of round-number ballparking just doesn't exist in feet and inches.
This is genuinely useful information for any time this comes up in formal writing. Take it from a guy who writes about gymnastics, I get the insistence on correct terminology.
Texas A&M probably isn't technically #1 in cricket, since my alma mater, the liberal arts D-III athletic powerhouse Haverford College, claims to have the only varsity team in the nation.
the Europa League final is even funnier than you're giving it credit for; Manchester United and Tottenham are 16th and 17th in the Premier League, are both having their worst league season in multiple decades, and one of them is going to walk out of it with a trophy and a Champions League spot
also not quite sure if this is obscure enough but shoutout to Robert Shwartzman getting pole position at the indy 500, as a rookie, with an italian team that most people expected to barely qualify if at all
“But those haters are just trying to prevent you from personally setting the world record in the 473-yard steeplechase on a course you set up in a strip mall parking lot using a kiddie pool.”
My favorite sports thing of the weekend was literally everything about Jordy Bahl and Nebraska softball. Pitch to Jordy? Sorry, that's a home run. Pitch around her? Someone else will hit a home run instead. Oh also she's going to pitch against you and win.
The only thing I want out of this tournament more than an OU five-peat is NiJa Canady and Jordy Bahl as two-way players against each other. (NiJa didn't pitch when the teams played in February.)
OU softball fan here. Bahl scared me enough that I was rooting for TN because, as intimidating as their lead pitcher is, I can really picture Bahl going full Shohei Ohtani and ending the Norman Conquest singlehandedly.
Ha, also an OU softball fan, just still also very much a Jordy fan. But this outcome does make it a lot easier to just root 100% for OU this next week.
It's me, I'm the track pedant, it's me. (Ask me about the grammar of the shot put.) It's true that a capital W R World Record is one which is ratified by World Athletics; anything else is a World Best. BUT in the days of yore before World Athletics/the IAAF/whoever took up ratifying records, it was not unheard of for a track to be set up with a 200m straightaway (basically a 100m extension behind where the current 100m start would be). If you dig back far enough in the archives, there are books which maintained separate records for the straightaway 200m and a 200m on the bend (the way it's run in the Olympics). I think Tommie Smith, of the gloved protest in 1968, held the 200m straightaway record for a while, but I am not going to go looking for documentation of that.
Anyway bravo to Rich Kenah and the Atlanta Track Club for being creative.
What about the grammar of the shot put?
AHAHAHA you opened Pandora's box!
1. Event names are a noun (or adjective) and a verb. It's the pole vault because you vault with a pole. It's the shot put because you put a shot. There is no implement called a "shot put"; it's just a "shot". (I learned this in 7th grade, I don't know why it's so hard for professional journalists.)
2. You do not *throw* a shot, even though the event group (SP/DT/JT/HT) is called "throws" and specialists in the shot put are often referred to as "throwers". The shot may be put, pushed, or tossed. Maybe flung. But "throw" implies an overhand motion which would undoubtedly wreck the shoulders of even the fittest athletes. Never say throw. (I got some very specific instruction about this when I was writing for the IAAF.)
3. Following on #2, the six attempts in a standard shot put competition are attempts, or puts, or tosses, or even efforts; they are not throws.
There are people in the USA who insist that the beginning of the end of track as a mass-popularity sport in this country was the move to adopt international-standard metric measurements and event distances over imperial units. These people are mostly dinosaurs who are perfectly happy announcing puts measured to quarter-inches. However, metric results make a ton more sense: a woman putting the shot over 20m is probably an Olympic medalist. A man putting over 20m is likely national class. (18 US men bettered 20m in 2024.) That kind of round-number ballparking just doesn't exist in feet and inches.
This is genuinely useful information for any time this comes up in formal writing. Take it from a guy who writes about gymnastics, I get the insistence on correct terminology.
Texas A&M probably isn't technically #1 in cricket, since my alma mater, the liberal arts D-III athletic powerhouse Haverford College, claims to have the only varsity team in the nation.
I can't believe nobody's said it yet, ULM MENTIONED!!!
the Europa League final is even funnier than you're giving it credit for; Manchester United and Tottenham are 16th and 17th in the Premier League, are both having their worst league season in multiple decades, and one of them is going to walk out of it with a trophy and a Champions League spot
also not quite sure if this is obscure enough but shoutout to Robert Shwartzman getting pole position at the indy 500, as a rookie, with an italian team that most people expected to barely qualify if at all
“But those haters are just trying to prevent you from personally setting the world record in the 473-yard steeplechase on a course you set up in a strip mall parking lot using a kiddie pool.”
This is good content Rodger.
My favorite sports thing of the weekend was literally everything about Jordy Bahl and Nebraska softball. Pitch to Jordy? Sorry, that's a home run. Pitch around her? Someone else will hit a home run instead. Oh also she's going to pitch against you and win.
The only thing I want out of this tournament more than an OU five-peat is NiJa Canady and Jordy Bahl as two-way players against each other. (NiJa didn't pitch when the teams played in February.)
OU softball fan here. Bahl scared me enough that I was rooting for TN because, as intimidating as their lead pitcher is, I can really picture Bahl going full Shohei Ohtani and ending the Norman Conquest singlehandedly.
Ha, also an OU softball fan, just still also very much a Jordy fan. But this outcome does make it a lot easier to just root 100% for OU this next week.
Solid Hyksos reference! Long live the 15th dynasty!
Liberty is indeed "the runaway leader of the 'most ethically bankrupt college in NCAA athletics' rankings." Thanks for pointing this out.