• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

WMA2009 Timetable – Scheduling the 200m and 400m

You are here: Home / 400 meters / WMA2009 Timetable – Scheduling the 200m and 400m
0
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

March 11, 2009 by Jimson Lee 1 Comment

Last Updated on April 19, 2013 by Jimson Lee

I am very please to see the schedule for the upcoming 2009 World Masters Athletics.

In the qualifying rounds, how you place in your race guarantees your spot in the next round, but your time guarantees your lane assignment. The fastest qualifying times are assigned Lanes 3, 4, 5, 6 and the slower times gets Lanes 1, 2, 7, 8, hence a good reason not to run your rounds too easily.

In the 100m, 200m, 400m, and both hurdle events, the magic number is 25 and 81 declared entries:

  • 24 entries = 2 rounds with 3 heats of 8 runners, with the “2P2T” rule (top 2 Places and fastest 2 Times on non-automatic qualifiers)
  • 25 or more = 3 rounds of 4 heats or 3P4T. Advancing to the Semi-Final race consists of 16 athletes.

  • 80 = 3 rounds of 10 heats or 2P4T. Advancing to the “3 heat” Semi-Final consists of 24 athletes.
  • 81 or more = 4 rounds of 11 heats (or more) or 3P7T. Advancing to the “5 heat” Quarter-Finals consists of 40 athletes.

2007 WMA Revisited

At the 2007 WMA, only 3 rounds were scheduled. I guess they didn’t expect that many athletes to declare (they must have used the “overbooking” airline system method) so “bonus rounds” were added to the M40, M45 200m and 400m.

The 200m had 3 rounds scheduled over 2 consecutive days with Heats one day, then Semi-Final & Final on the next day. Because there were more than 81 declared athletes, a fourth round was required according to IAAF rules. The bonus QF round was held 2 hours immediately following the Heats.

2 hours is perfect for running back-to-back 100m or 200m races, as you are already loose and warmed up, and you don’t have time to cool down. Of course, if you are confident on qualifying, you can run those early rounds with ease (**cough cough** Bill Collins **cough cough**).

The M45 400 meters was a different story, which will be my new age category this time around.

In the 2007 WMA, the 3 rounds were scheduled on 3 consecutive days. With 86 declared athletes, a fourth round was also required. With all the age groups and the number of participants, plus each race requiring 5 minutes for block setup and photo finish results, it would be impossible to schedule the Quarter-Finals right after the Heats, so the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Final were scheduled on the same day 6 hours apart, with the Finals on the third day.

In the 2009 WMA schedule, we see the Preliminaries & Quarter-Finals on the same day (Tuesday), followed by the Semi-Final on Thursday, and Finals Friday. There are no track events scheduled for Wednesday, August 5th.

Wow, they will have to use 2 stadiums or 9 AM start times. Ouch! That means waking up at 5am to allow 4 hours for the body to wake up. Let’s hope the dorms are close by, so we can go back and take a nap.

Actually, in Masters meets, Women start before men, and older age groups go first. But in this case, they would schedule the Preliminaries first, then proceed with the Quarter-Finals. Yes, it may translate to a 9am start time, or even 8am, so be prepared.

The Early Days of 400 meters

It is not uncommon to have two 400m races in one day. In the early days of the Olympics, they would run the Semi-Final and Final on the same day. The 1960 Olympics was the first time the Semi-Final and Final were held on different days, resulting in a World Record of 44.9 seconds.

Between 1960 and 1996, racing on consecutive days was the standard.

Today, with emphasis on records and performances, organizers at the World & Olympic level are inserting a rest day between the semi-final and finals for both the 200m and 400m. Why does a 200 meter race deserve a rest day? The Semi-Final and Finals were usually held the same day. Remember the MJ and Mo dual at the 2000 USATF Olympic Trials? The 2 races were exactly 2 hours apart for live prime time TV coverage.

Michael Johnson – The Iron Horse

Michael Johnson’s 1995 Stuttgart & 1996 Atlanta performances were the true test of the “Iron Horse” for durability, in my opinion.

With 8 races and 1 rest day on 7 consecutive days, he ran:

  • 1995 Stuttgart, Aug 5-11. 400m P, QF, SF, F, 200m P & QF, SF & F (rest day Aug 8 between the 400m SF & F)
  • 1996 Atlanta, July 26 – Aug 1. The same schedule as 1995 WC with one rest day on July 30 between 400m & 200m races.

Let the games begin… the 2009 WMA that is. If we can survive the rounds.

See also  Inside the Competition - Part 1

Category icon400 meters,  Featured Story,  Masters,  Track & Field,  WMA2007 Tag icon200 meters,  Michael Johnson,  Olympics

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}