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Regardless of the climate, the Bannister Miles assembly in Oxford on Might 6 is for certain to see a world document with a “steeplechase mile” making its worldwide debut.
The day has been designed to have fun the seventieth anniversary of Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile. However historical past and custom apart, organisers are eager to embrace the age of innovation by together with a novel four-lap race over obstacles.
As a result of uncommon nature of a steeplechase mile, world data – or world bests, as World Athletics want to name them on this case – are assured. However how shut can the women and men come to the 4 and five-minute obstacles respectively?
A sub-four-minute mile over obstacles would have been the stuff of science fiction in 1954 when Bannister was at his peak. But in 2024 how close to would somebody like Jakob Ingebrigtsen come to breaking 4 minutes in a one mile ’chase?
The Norwegian holds the European document for the mile with 3:43.73, in spite of everything, whereas he ran a European under-20 document of 8:26.81 for the 3000m steeplechase when he was aged 16 in 2017. What’s extra, in the identical 12 months he gained the European under-20 title within the 3000m steeplechase in Grosseto and competed within the ‘chase on the World Championships in London, albeit ending eighth in his warmth.
Ingebrigtsen has hinted that he might return to the steeplechase in the future. Would racing a ’chase over one mile enchantment to him? The Olympic 1500m champion’s look charge will certainly be past the funds for the Bannister Miles occasion in Might, but when the occasion turns into extra established then we may feasibly see him deal with it in the future.
These steeplechase mile races might be held for women and men in Oxford throughout a sequence of British Milers’ Membership races within the afternoon. It’s not solely the BMC’s thought, although. As an alternative they had been approached by Jakob Larsen and Florian Weber from World Athletics – the identical progressive duo who’re exploring present lengthy soar guidelines, amongst different issues.
There have, in fact, been loads of steeplechase races previously at distances apart from 3000m. Fittingly, among the earliest steeplechase races had been within the College of Oxford sports activities occasions within the 1860s over cross-country. When the steeplechase made its Olympic debut on the observe in Paris in 1900 the races had been held over 2500m and 4000m. Since then there have been steeplechase races often over 2000m and even 1500m at colleges degree.
The world data over 2000m ’chase by the way are held by Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (5:10.68) and Beatrice Chepkoech (5:47.42).
Winfred Yavi and Beatrice Chepkoech (Getty)
The steeplechase mile in Oxford invitations specialist steeplechasers to drop down in distance whereas additionally encouraging milers to expertise the joys of the ‘chase by tackling some obstacles to interrupt up the rhythm of their favorite distance.
In terms of entry requirements, the BMC is asking for males who’ve run faster than 3:50 for 1500m or 9:00 for 3000m steeplechase with the ladies’s requirements being sub-4:30 or 11 minutes.
Might we in the future see a sub-four-minute ‘steeplechase mile’? Possibly.
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The distinction between the lads’s world data for 3000m flat (7:20.67) and 3000m steeplechase (7:52.11) is 31.44 seconds. However given the mile (1609m) is simply over half the gap of 3000m, you may argue that the distinction between a mile with obstacles and a mile with out obstacles can be roughly half of the time of the 3000m flat/steeplechase differential. In different phrases, about 16 seconds.
In that case, including 16 seconds to the world mile document of three:43.13 would lead to a 3:59 steeplechase mile, which might be a barrier-breaking efficiency in additional methods than one.
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