On the track and field, there are always some historical records like the old pendulum of "dominating one side", which is decades in a flash. Are these glories written in the dusty history unattainable genius moments, or are there hidden mysteries behind them? Walking through the history of athletics, we not only see the glorious moments of human beings challenging themselves from these unbreakable records, but also discover the stories that belong to that era.
Ranked tenth is the world record in the men's triple jump, a magical distance set by United Kingdom's Jonathan · Edwards in 1995 with a time of 18.29 meters, which has stood for 28 years. Edwards was in a beautiful year as if he had been born for the long jump.
His achievements once made people think that mankind could jump out of the endless future, but the latecomers no longer seem to be able to grasp such a "leap". Could it be that the shoes of that era were more elastic, or was Edwards "stimulant" for breakfast at that time?
Ninth place is the men's high jump record, which was left to the world by Cuban high jump prodigy Javier · Sotomayor in 1993 with a jump of 2.45 meters.
This height has not been reached for 30 years, is it because the athletes who came after him don't have enough foot strength, or because he hit the top of the ceiling that year? The myth of this legendary figure, known as the "High Wall", is an idea of encouragement or discouragement.
And when we talk about the men's long jump, we have to mention the earth-shattering showdown. At the 1991 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, United States's Carl · Lewis and Mike · Powell staged a classic "heaven and earth" war.
Powell made a stunning jump and broke the record of 8.87m set by Karl ·Lewis a few minutes ago with 8.90m, becoming an unshakable "stone monument". 32 years have passed, and this "stone monument" still stands, making people wonder if the starting line of modern athletes is "shorter".
Joyna, the "flying man" of women's track and field, has created more than one miracle. In the same race 35 years ago, she set new world records in the women's 100m and 200m with a time of 10.49 seconds and 21.34 seconds, respectively. Whether this American-style "female flyer" is really as blessed as the legend makes people wonder why wind energy was so helpful at that time.
In the women's long jump, the former Soviet Union's Galina · Chistyakova became an unshakable legend in history with a score of 7.52 meters. Thirty-five years have made this record like a lonely statue that still stands despite the wind and rain.
Let's take a look at the women's shot put, the former Soviet Union athlete Natalia's 22.63-meter giant throw in 1987 is still like a "bombshell" in the hearts of all female shot put players. 36 years have passed, is this "cannonball" like throwing blessed by the "magic of Eastern Europe" of that era?
In the men's event, the hammer throw and discus records are even more staggering. The records held by Yuri · Shedikh of the former Soviet Union and Dyngen · Schulte of the former East Germany are like two indelible imprints on the history wall of athletics. The 84.80m hammer throw and the 74.08m discus throw have not dared to challenge easily.
Yuri · Shedikh of the former Soviet Union
· Schulte of the former East Germany
The men's javelin record is even more impressive. Uwe · Horn instantly upgraded human understanding in 1984 with a throw of 104.80m, which directly led the IAAF to revise the Javelin specifications. Isn't that "you're too fierce, we've got to put a cap on you"?
The finale was the women's 800m world record, set by the Czech Republic's Kratokhvilova in 1983 in 1:53.28. This record is not only a miracle on the sports field, but also a ruler of time, and 40 years ago as a reminder that there was a time when it was so glorious.
Behind these records, it is not only the extraordinary performance of individuals, but also the background of the times. It was an era when technology, training methods, and even sports culture were developing rapidly, and behind every record, there were conditions and opportunities that could not be replicated. Today, while looking up at these records, perhaps we should think more about how to continue to surpass under different conditions.