Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

nuentes t1_j10bz7m wrote

Leading to the term "Beamon-esque" - a term for outlier performances that just cannot be contended with.

One of my favorite Beamon-esque performances is the Michael Carter HS shot put record. Michael was already the national shot put record holder at 77 feet. On his very last throw of his very last track meet of High School in 1979, he threw the 12-pound ball 81 feet 3.5 inches. The record is so ridiculous, that it STILL has not been touched 43 years later.

Ryan Crouser broke the shot put world record last year. He was one of the closest to ever come to the record during his HS career. From memory, I believe he threw 77 feet in HS. Many believe he would have broken it had he not had an injury that prevented him from throwing for much of his senior year. But that's the thing. Being able to break a record and actually breaking a record are two very different things.

302

Traditional-Pair1946 t1_j10i4uc wrote

Some context: I was decently good at a mid range high school. I would win meets with throws around 45 feet.

224

Garper t1_j112j8g wrote

Have you tried throwing further?

194

10ton t1_j11k3st wrote

Seems like more of a minimum is good enough kind of shot putter.

23

SerCiddy t1_j118tkr wrote

I'm unsure of what maths are involved, anyone smarter than me know what the line look like in terms of feet thrown/energy required?

Does it get exponentially more difficult to throw the ball? I wonder how much more energy would have been required of Ryan to throw the ball the extra ~4 feet needed to break the record.

10

liammo32 t1_j11ansi wrote

as an average thrower from high school to a year in college- one of the coolest things about throwing is it’s all physics. think of it like a cannon, throwing hard doesn’t exactly move the weight far effectively. moving the weight quickly is what matters a lot more to the distance. the abrupt stop at the end, finish, block, etc. is where the weight gets sped up a LOT for a big throw. ryan crousers instagram has a lot of great representation of this in action. being a great thrower like michael carter or ryan crouser takes doing a lot of very small things right and accelerating through the end of your throw at the right time.

17

SoySauceSyringe t1_j11wjya wrote

Yeah, I play disc golf and this is super true for drives. You can “muscle” a disc out there about 300’, but you’re going to hit your limit around there unless you develop good technique. The best throwers don’t throw with any more force, but they whip that thing at the end of the motion. People smaller and weaker than I am can throw hundreds of feet further than me.

The Mountain of Game of Thrones fame plays. I love that he’s into it and posts videos of his rounds, but he’s clearly not a pro player and it’s plain to see that his immense strength isn’t helping him to throw his drives any farther. Paige Pierce could throw farther than him all day without getting tired even though he could probably bench press her all day long without getting tired.

15

Tartalacame t1_j13uq3h wrote

It's a quadratic (x^2 ) function. Back-of-the-enveloppe math: 81' is 5% further than 77', it means you'd need (1.05)^2 =1.10, so 10% more energy.

There are definitely a bunch of other factor, but that gives you a ballpark estimate.

2

BigL90 t1_j10y0b6 wrote

Ahh, throwing records and stats are always my favorite. They're such an interesting microcosm of athletics at a really fundamental level.

The discus world records, the redesign of the javelin, hammer vs weight, the 12 v 16lb shot. All interesting topics with regards to throwing.

21

VeryJoyfulHeart59 t1_j166qr9 wrote

I love this and want to remember it in case I'm ever in a situation where I can use the term. Do you know, is it pronounced bee-man, bay-man, bow-man, or ???

1

NairobiMuzungu t1_j10kmrl wrote

Am always amused by the pundits and fans which disparaged Beamon's feat by saying that it was due to Mexico City's high altitude. As if his competitors were jumping in a different stadium.

211

JackisbackHallo t1_j10y1yw wrote

“8.9 meters. Now, like most Americans, Bob doesn’t understand just how far that is. When someone tells him in feet and inches, he is no closer to understanding”

74

thehemanchronicles t1_j127d96 wrote

"Soviet long jumper Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, said, of the jump: 'compared to this jump, we are children.'"

25

sleepfighter7 t1_j10uiz0 wrote

if you want to learn more about him and other Sports Bobs, this video is absolutely incredible https://youtu.be/lvh6NLqKRfs

71

Thetallerestpaul t1_j10z3jp wrote

I know thats going to be Jon Bois before I click it. And I'm still going to watch it again.

16

jabels t1_j117go5 wrote

His segment of the Bob Emergency is honestly so inspiring it's chilling.

6

LocalMexican t1_j126ige wrote

I sent The Bob Emergency to a friend who has negative interest in sports. I was confident he'd love it. He trusted me and watched - he loved it.

8

jabels t1_j126s4v wrote

Yea I really only watch baseball and some miscellaneous other events but I'll watch Jon Bois talk about basketball, football, world championship bowling like whatever dawg this man kills

6

WinoWithAKnife t1_j140pb6 wrote

I love Jon Bois so much. His 17776 is a masterpiece of modern creative fiction and is one of my favorite things ever written. Do yourself a favor and take a few hours to read it. Then do yourself another favor and take another few hours to read the sequel.

3

zihuatapulco t1_j121wrd wrote

I saw Beamon break that record live at the Mexico City olympics in '68 when I was a kid. The announcers and the entire stadium went bananas. Some spectators started shouting, "¡Hombre pájaro!" (Birdman!)

50

bobcat7781 t1_j158mlb wrote

That beats my version of seeing it live ... on t.v. Way cool.

2

zihuatapulco t1_j160oee wrote

My dad knew someone who knew someone and I got lucky.

1

Lagavulin16_neat OP t1_j1076x8 wrote

From the wiki:

"Prior to Beamon's jump, the world record had been broken thirteen times since 1901, with an average increase of 6 cm (2+1⁄2 in.) and the largest increase being 15 cm (6 in.)."

39

Aqquila89 t1_j10updw wrote

Lynn Davies, the defending Olympic champion, told Beamon, "You have destroyed this event." Beamon's record stood until 1991, when it was surpassed by Mike Powell (by 5 centimetres). That record is still standing.

33

new-username-2017 t1_j11bssj wrote

That was a crazy competition. Carl Lewis jumped 8.91, wind assisted so it didn't count for a WR but did count for the competition. Then Powell jumped 8.95. Lewis also did 3 other jumps all over 8.80.

19

my4coins t1_j10avan wrote

I did first read "broke the world record for the high jump by nearly 2 feet". Was this man raised by kangaroos?

9

sm0klnj0e t1_j10jb18 wrote

There is a good short YouTube video about this jump

1

LocalMexican t1_j126c7a wrote

One of the great "Bob's" of our time.

1

HPmoni t1_j158iyg wrote

Sports records tend to be new.

1

Zomg_A_Chicken t1_j15q0br wrote

Damn this and the Fosbury Flop at the same Olympics

1

sergev t1_j12ssvm wrote

Plain English with Derek Thompson

−1

dressageishard t1_j11z2f2 wrote

Isn't the air thinner in Mexico City? The altitude itself could have been the reason Beamon's long jump was so high.

−17

JackisbackHallo t1_j128igx wrote

It probably did have at least some effect, as was mentioned by several participants in the event, but the margins it would effect don’t matter at all because of the absurd amount that Beamon cleared the record by.

8

ARoundForEveryone t1_j12gtzt wrote

Sure, thinner air and weaker gravity due to higher elevation. But those alone don't come close to accounting for the record, compared to the previous record. The previous record holder could've done his jump from Everest altitude and, mountain slope notwithstanding, not beaten Beamon.

5