Did Usain Bolt finish with 9.4 and not 9.58s on the 100 m dash? Video and image included.

Originally posted by octotom
I could imagine that the time was bumped up because of the wind. In fact, I think I even remember the announcer saying this when this race occurred, but I might be remembering incorrectly.

No, they don't change the time because of the wind. I would find it very hard to believe that a digital clock is altered due to the wind, and what you are talking about may have meant that due to the wind, he could have run faster because the wind slows you down. They don't ever alter the time to compensate for the wind.

from wikipedia

A strong head wind is very detrimental to performance, while a tail wind can improve performances significantly. For this reason, a maximum tail wind of 2.0 m/s is allowed for a 100 m performance to be considered eligible for records, or "wind legal".

en.wikipedia.org...

What this means is that if the wind was a factor, they would not count 9.58 as being a legitimate record. It wouldn't be "wind legal" as wikipedia states. But since they did count it as a world record, this would not factor into it.

reply to post by filosophia


I just watched the first video that you posted, and it seems to me that the clock that ZDF (the German broadcaster in the video) was using just wasn't calibrated correctly. Toward the end, you can see the clock on th field and it clearly says 9.58.

I found something interesting. The exact same question but for Bolt's 200m world record in Berlin too the same week. Someone noticed the same glitch as you filosophia. Link to the article. It's not in english but look at the pic, he is seen crossing the line at 18"9 while the official time and new record is 19"19.

So here are the explanations of a French TV journalist, tracks specialist, he is well-known in France. The screen clock is the official time. The official clock signal is connected to the TV control room and appears on screen.
But our French expert says there are corrections because photoelectric cells can fail to detect the passing of the athlete or can be set off by an outside factor. He says usually the difference is in the hundredth of seconds but sometimes can be more important... (Alright but it's 29 hundredth of seconds here, it's a huge difference.).

So how is the official time 'corrected' ? I will translate straight.
Journalist's question : It cannot be any mistake?
Expert's answer : Anyway, there is a double timing which TVs do not have access. It does just that, to ensure that the officially imparted time is the good one. I am not worried over this.

He is not worried over this The first timing system is off by 3 tenth of seconds but there is a second system with infallible superpowerful cells.

The journalist has contacted Susan Boobyer from Seiko, sponsor and official timekeeper.

Question : Which time should we believe ?
Her answer : We must accept the fact that the two systems in place to generate the unofficial and official time are credible, tested and reliable. And this is the official time of 19" 19s.

I guess we have to accept it

Q : How do you explain that the time shown on television when Usain Bolt crosses the line is not correct?
A : It is true that when we make a still picture on TV, the time is different, but the clock does not stop: it continues and, in parallel, the cell recorded the unofficial time of 19"20s and it's the time the television has stopped.
There will always be a short while for the time generated by the cells to be sent graphically on television, but that does not mean that the measured time is less accurate, it just means that the data and image are not completely synchronized. But we're talking about small time differences, the human brain can not discern it.

So what I understand is that the clock shown on screen is the official time. But, a big but, the official time is apparently routinely corrected by an unofficial timer Very odd method !
I can accept that the clock and the image are not completely synchronized tough. it might explain the differences.

Originally posted by Tharsis
Very interesting.

I've heard that Bolt wanted to set and break the record numerous times. I can recall him saying (or reportedly saying), that he only wants to break the record by a little bit to leave room for another world record run. Since he isn't able to time himself as he runs, maybe he is getting help from the officials.

Perhaps he and the track and field governing body are slow-rolling his success to bleed extra viewership or sponsorship, or to bring more notoriety to the sport.

Very pertinent point ! I have already heard it before and it's a very good reason why it's not desirable he goes too fast too soon.

reply to post by octotom


The wind speed is measured. If it is above 5m/s, the times can't be validated as records but they are never ever corrected.

Edit : or rather it's 2 m/s as shown by filosophia

Originally posted by octotom
reply to post by filosophia

 

I just watched the first video that you posted, and it seems to me that the clock that ZDF (the German broadcaster in the video) was using just wasn't calibrated correctly. Toward the end, you can see the clock on th field and it clearly says 9.58.

The clock does not alter at all throughout the entire race. Also it ends on the official time. I'm not really sure why you think that this clock on the screen is the one the German broadcaster is using. If it was wrong, how was it fixed so quickly? But I don't think this is the broadcaster's clock. The fact that it ends up on the official time makes me think that it really is the official clock. Another poster said that the on field clock can not be shown in any video angle. Can anyone post a view of the runners with the on-field clock visible?

Originally posted by Manouche
I found something interesting. The exact same question but for Bolt's 200m world record in Berlin too the same week. Someone noticed the same glitch as you filosophia. Link to the article. It's not in english but look at the pic, he is seen crossing the line at 18"9 while the official time and new record is 19"19.

Great find! I see this too. 18.9 and not 19.19.

Here is a video of Michael Johnson winning the 200 m in 19.32 seconds. Notice how the time is 19.32 just as he crosses the line and there is no delay like there is with the (now two) Bolt races

~1:14-1:15 is when he crosses the line, and the clock says 19.32.

reply to post by filosophia


Mate - what on earth are you going on about - one clock is the broadcasters clock on the screen - nothing at all to do with the official time - the official time is on the stadium ground, you can clearly see it. You can see it is set to .58 - the broadcasters clock is then set to reflect this time - they do not have their broadcast clock linked in to the official Olympic Timing clock - they are estimating based on their own start stop time, and then simply recalibrating it to what is the official time.

They are two separate clocks. The broadcasters time is estimated - and is automatically set to the official time as soon as the race is complete.

What a ridiculous thread.

reply to post by Aristophrenia


No, the clock on screen is the official time. Look at the thread again. Yes, the broadcast clock is linked to the official clock says a TV professional who was a commentator for the race and has been regularly commenting track and field events on TV for 25 years.

I found this site whilst searching on the topic.. it depicts Bolt as doing a 9.4 at the olympics had he not done his little song and dance before crossing the line..

A very interesting read;

Since that very memorable day at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, a big question on every sports commentator’s mind has been “What would the 100 meter dash world record have been, had Usain Bolt not celebrated at the end of his race?

Imagine this! Photo montage showing Bolt’s position relative to his competitors for real (left Bolt) and projected (right Bolt) world records.

speedendurance.com...

Come complete with a nice little picture.

Originally posted by Aristophrenia
reply to post by filosophia

 

Mate - what on earth are you going on about - one clock is the broadcasters clock on the screen - nothing at all to do with the official time - the official time is on the stadium ground, you can clearly see it. You can see it is set to .58 - the broadcasters clock is then set to reflect this time - they do not have their broadcast clock linked in to the official Olympic Timing clock - they are estimating based on their own start stop time, and then simply recalibrating it to what is the official time.

They are two separate clocks. The broadcasters time is estimated - and is automatically set to the official time as soon as the race is complete.

What a ridiculous thread.

any ridiculous links you can provide to verify your ridiculous claim that contributes to this ridiculous thread? I just have one ridiculous question: if it is the broadcaster's clock, how does it change so quickly over to the official time? If it is not linked to the official clock as you ridiculously claim, how do they change it so ridiculously fast? And why was it that the Michael Johnson clock was so ridiculously on? Just ridiculously lucky I guess?

Bolt was somewhat criticised for not running until the end of the race. It was considered arrogant by some pundits. If you can go for a record on an Olympics race then go all for it, there is no better race to give your best. And he simply didn't try. You never know how good you'll be in a couple of months, let alone in 4 years but Bolt is very, very confident. He knows what he can do in training and an athlete is expected to be faster in competition than in training because of the emulation and the adrenaline. He might well be timing his biggest time mark for the next Olympics.

reply to post by filosophia

The clock does not wait until the entire body clears the line, it's the first body part to clear the line.

I don't think this hurts your stance but just for the information "The winner is determined by the first athlete with his or her torso (not including limbs, head, or neck) over the nearer edge of the finish line." - en.wikipedia.org... Also "When Bolt ran in Beijing, there was no measurable wind speed at all," - speedendurance.com... But I think filosophia is correct. Bolt looks like a 9.4 or less.

Sorry , I got berlin mixed up with Beijing.

reply to post by Manouche

I think he was criticized in Beijing not the Berlin tape the Op is showing.

What do you think would be the "un-breakable" time record for the 100m dash? The record seems to fall every year or so now.

reply to post by Himal

I'd say maybe a 9.2 without medicinal help. But I don't think you'll see that for a while.

Originally posted by pigwithoutawig
reply to post by filosophia

 

The clock does not wait until the entire body clears the line, it's the first body part to clear the line.

I don't think this hurts your stance but just for the information "The winner is determined by the first athlete with his or her torso (not including limbs, head, or neck) over the nearer edge of the finish line." - en.wikipedia.org... Also "When Bolt ran in Beijing, there was no measurable wind speed at all," - speedendurance.com... But I think filosophia is correct. Bolt looks like a 9.4 or less.

I read on how stuff works that there is a photo-light on the finish line and when that is breached the clock stops. I also know that if a race involves a ribbon of some sort, then you can rip it down with your hand. For this particular race, you may be right, I'm not confident enough to say one way or the other, but either way it's safe to say his torso crossed the line at 9.4.

The only real angle of debunking here is to say that the clock on the screen is not the official clock, yet it ends on the official clock without any adjustment. You'd have to convince someone that they are slightly off with the official clock but adjust it immediately to the official time. This is even harder if the so called clocks are not lined up. I've been trying to find more information but haven't found anything saying that there is a broadcasters clock and an official clock and these times somehow line up. From the looks of the video, the clock does not adjust at all and goes right into 9.58. If it was a broadcaster's clock, it would stop at 9.4 and then they would wait pending official time. However, the clock makes no such suggestion that Bolt crosses at 9.4, it keeps going until it ends at 9.58, which makes me think that this is the official time.

Originally posted by filosophia
Come on debunkers, where are you? Isn't it against your nature to allow so many positive agreements on a thread without trying to disprove the claim? I just made the claim that the world's fasted time for the 100 m dash is wrong, and since I put this in the conspiracy section I'm implying that it's a conspiracy, and I'm not apologizing for my claim. Isn't it your sacred duty to try and debunk this claim and tell me that not everything is a conspiracy?

I think it's because when bolt is dead on the line, the clocks time still hasn't yet moved on to 9.58. Simply put, it took the clock a bit longer to calculate bolts time.