Page 2 | Mixed 4 x 400m relay heats

FannyCann · 31/07/2021 08:13

They had swimming mixed relay overnight. What a picture.

twitter.com/sharrond62/status/1421305556862599169?s=21

KimikosNightmare · 31/07/2021 01:41

I enjoyed the mixed triathlon (and I don't usually like sport) Congratulations Team GB.

Flora Duffy and Georgia Taylor Brown were magnificent in the women's triathlon. I was pleased Flora Duffy won- imagine being your country's first gold medallist.

notangelinajolie · 31/07/2021 00:26

I'm really not liking these mixed races. However, I say bring it on. A sure fire way to show just how much advantage a male body has over a female.

Original poster

NotBadConsidering · 31/07/2021 00:12

The mixed triathlon is on now. The BBC live blog understands:

OP posts:

FemaleAndLearning · 30/07/2021 23:47

I thought it was a great example if why we have separate sex categories. The commentaries all knew the difference between a male and a female. We were discussing how the IOC can't see this when they have this event.

ErrolTheDragon · 30/07/2021 23:27

Now if they could come up with a way that women and men could somehow show different but equally valid forms of skill, we could really applaud.

Torville and Dean?

TurquoiseBaubles · 30/07/2021 23:05

@rosy71

I love athletics and quite like the idea of a mixed relay in theory. However, I found I didn't like watching it when the Nigerians ran their competitors in a different order so a man was running against the women and vice versa. It did highlight the speed difference dramatically. I also noticed how the men seemed to have a different running style to the women, which was really interesting. I hadn't ever noticed that before.

The different running style is explained by hip alignment - women's bodies have a completely different hip to thigh angle. It's very obvious in running, but is even more pronounced in cycling and other sports where leg strength is important.

It explains why it's not possible to negate sex advantage by balancing for height and weight. The very stark skeletal differences mean that females can give birth, males can run (and cycle) faster. Not to mention muscle twitch speed, lung capacity, etc etc etc ad blood nauseum.

We all know this. We have always known this. Why the IOC insists on trying to tell us it has to be proven I have no idea.

Oversize · 30/07/2021 22:40

[quote LemonSwan]@meg70

I think you need to buy 1984 for the Christmas stocking[/quote]
YES!

Original poster

NotBadConsidering · 30/07/2021 22:39

I think it does help highlight the obvious, but also highlight why it’s such an obvious difference that it’s a question that shouldn’t even be asked. It does help the GC argument but it shouldn’t even need to be an argument.

A 4x100m mixed relay would be more interesting. Smaller margins of difference plus more technical changeovers.

I think it’s hard to watch because there is less of a precedent for it in athletics. In swimming it makes more sense. All swimmers grow up doing mixed relays. At our swimming club the club night competition ends every week with a mixed relay of all the swimmers. The coach lines them all up and divides them equally into three groups by sex and ability because he knows them all so well. Occasionally he will throw in a handicap like making the teenagers swim with four kick boards, or insisting on butterfly for some etc. He invariably gets it right and it’s usually close. The kids love it, and those swimming in the mixed relay will have done similar and will enjoy the team aspect of that.

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KimikosNightmare · 30/07/2021 22:34

@Claymorekick

Maybe i am missing the point but if every team has 2 men and 2 women running in whatever order, does it not even itself out over the 4 legs? So if the Nigerian team had ordered themselves the same way the other teams did, they would still probably finished in the same position?

I realise that the point of the OP is that it clearly demonstrates the differences between the sexes when they are actually running against each other

I would have thought so. It's interesting to watch.

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 30/07/2021 22:06

@TeiTetua

I think this kind of event is a little dispiriting. It just reminds everyone that men run a faster race than women do; better to have separate competitions. Now if they could come up with a way that women and men could somehow show different but equally valid forms of skill, we could really applaud.

In athletics the fastest, often the strongest person wins. That favours men.

If you have a sport where, say, the most flexible person wins, then women will be better than men at it, and it will be so much more exciting to watch women competing against each other. Gymnastics or synchronised swimming spring to mind.

The mixed archery events where interesting - no difference between the men and women's performances. Perhaps there are more examples? I haven't seen a mixed doubles tennis match for a while.

Sophoclesthefox · 30/07/2021 21:59

@rosy71

I wonder if having the women run 300m and the men 500m would make it more interesting...

Jess Ennis-Hill said something similar but the others seemed to shut her up.

I liked how she was talking about it, and I agreed with her most out of the four commentators. I also think she’s an entirely wonderful human, so she doesn’t ever have to say much to get me onside

Sophoclesthefox · 30/07/2021 21:58

I found it a very interesting race to watch, and an interesting conversation to have. I liked seeing the contrast between what men and women at the top of their game look like - what does a powerful muscular male runner look like standing next to a powerful, muscular female runner, what do their running styles look like, etc. And the differences are stark when you saw the Nigerian man power away from the woman, and then the Nigerian women get mowed down by all the men.

I liked it also because it provokes the inevitable conversation that I want everyone to be having, obviously

rosy71 · 30/07/2021 21:50

I wonder if having the women run 300m and the men 500m would make it more interesting...

Jess Ennis-Hill said something similar but the others seemed to shut her up.

Thewinterofdiscontent · 30/07/2021 21:50

Won’t this help the GC discussion though when eventually men are up against trans women rather than born females?
I think once the problem affects men ( trans men won’t pose a similar issue to mens sports) it will get a more critical analysis. I guess it’s still mixed if it’s men and trans race but people will see the problem with division on gender not sex hopefully?

rosy71 · 30/07/2021 21:50

I love athletics and quite like the idea of a mixed relay in theory. However, I found I didn't like watching it when the Nigerians ran their competitors in a different order so a man was running against the women and vice versa. It did highlight the speed difference dramatically. I also noticed how the men seemed to have a different running style to the women, which was really interesting. I hadn't ever noticed that before.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 30/07/2021 21:46

I wonder if having the women run 300m and the men 500m would make it more interesting...

TeiTetua · 30/07/2021 21:40

I think this kind of event is a little dispiriting. It just reminds everyone that men run a faster race than women do; better to have separate competitions. Now if they could come up with a way that women and men could somehow show different but equally valid forms of skill, we could really applaud.

Original poster

NotBadConsidering · 30/07/2021 21:25

It also highlighted how utterly wasteful it is, both emotionally, time-wise, resource-wise and common sense-wise, for organisations to being trying to “prove” that males have an advantage. In everyday competition, on the ground, every single one of those teams would have discussed how best to minimise the loss of time the two women. There would not have been a single minute wasted on “maybe Polish runner XX is faster than American runner XY, let’s see if that eventuates.” But the IOC seem to think it’s a worthy discussion to have .

OP posts:

LemonSwan · 30/07/2021 20:37

@meg70

I think you need to buy 1984 for the Christmas stocking

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 30/07/2021 20:31

@NotBadConsidering

Just on now.

First heat. All teams started with men first, then women 2nd leg. Nigeria then gambled, but a man 3rd when all other teams had a woman on the 3rd. The Nigerian man powered ahead making the women look very slow. He gave his team mate a 50m head start for the final leg. She was passed by the first man by about 250m and then all the others in the home straight and came last (USA just disqualified).

Second heat about to start.

I thought exactly the same OP. The differences were so stark and self-explanatory.

meg70 · 30/07/2021 20:28

Watched with my Dd (15). Asked her at the start why most teams would put the men first and last...she totally got it. Watched the race, she was wowed by the Nigerian male's advantage in leg 3, and in leg 4 she was cheering for the Nigerian woman "please don't come last, please don't come last" ....BUT at the end (she came last) as soon as I said "don't you see how this proves that it's just not fair for women to have to race against men" - she lost it and went back to woke, frankly. So disappointed.

RufustheBadgeringReindeer · 30/07/2021 17:50

The women have absolutely no chance against men. I hope this opens some more people’s eyes

Not aimed at you hermione just a pertinent quote…

But I don’t get it…honestly I don’t. I’m nearly 52 and ive known since about 3 that daddies are stronger than mummies…everything ive seen sports wise and documentary wise and crime wise in the last 49 years have shown this without a shadow of a doubt

So why are some plonkers acting like this is not a thing…are they actually that stupid

I mean they can’t be surely…dawins law would have kicked in by now

HermioneKipper · 30/07/2021 16:51

I thought this was really interesting and my DH also commented on how much this highlighted the difference between men and women. The women have absolutely no chance against men. I hope this opens some more people’s eyes

Chickenyhead · 30/07/2021 16:20

There just won't be any space left for women anymore.