How to Increase Indoor Track Attendance & TV Coverage

I have an idea on how to increase the indoor Track and Field attendance, as well as TV coverage… chase after obscure World Records.  That is, chase after WRs set in Yards from over 25 years ago.

A recent case of this type of marketing was the special 500 yards WR setup for Jearl Miles-Clark, who ran it in 60.61 in 2000.

Another case was the rare 300 meters for Men with the WR bonus sponsored by Tyson Foods.  However, Wallace Spearmon’s indoor 300m WR used a 3 turn stagger instead of the IAAF 2 turn stagger rule.  So that becomes a “World Bests” and not a recognized World Record.

The 100 yard or 100 meters indoors may be a bit of a challenge.  They can hold that event in an indoor 400 m track like Ottawa, Canada or Alaska!

Of course, a 40 yard dash anywhere in the USA would do wonders!

The Magic 1 Minute Barrier

I like the Men’s 500m or Women’s 500 yards.. because the 1 minute barrier has yet to be broken!

Other than Jearl Miles-Clark’s 500 yards in 60.61, Ken Lowery’s 60.17 500 meters dates back to 1987!

Bring on LaShawn, Jeremy and Sanya!

Men’s Indoor World Bests

(LEGEND: Distance – Athlete, Country, Performance, Date)

• 50 yards – Stanley Floyd, United States, 5.22, Jan. 22, 1982.
• 60 yards – Lee McRae, United States, 6.00, March 14, 1986.
• 100 yards – Three tied at 9.50. – Soren Schlegel, Germany, Feb. 15, 1981; Thomas Schroder, Germany, Jan. 7, 1984, and Jan. 22, 1984; and Steffen Bringmann, Germany, Feb. 16, 1986,
• 100 meters – Frankie Fredericks, Namibia, 10.05, Feb. 12, 1996.
• 300 yards – Terron Wright, United States, 29.27, Feb. 7, 1981.
• 440 yards – Sunder Nix, United States, 46.40, March 3, 1984.
• 500 yards – Lee Evans, United States, 54.4, Jan. 8, 1971, and Jan. 30, 1971.
• 500 meters – Ken Lowery, United States, 1:00.17, Jan. 16, 1987.
• 600 yards – Mark Everett, United States, 1:07.53, Feb. 7, 1992.
• 880 yards – Johnny Gray, United States, 1:46.8, Jan. 17, 1986.

Women’s Indoor World Bests

• 50 yards – Evelyn Ashford, United States, 5.74, Feb. 14, 1983.
• 60 yards – Two tied at 6.54  – Evelyn Ashford, United States, 6.54, Feb. 26, 1982, and
  Jeanette Bolden, United States, 6.54, Feb. 21, 1986.
• 100 yards – Heike Drechsler, Germany, 10.15, Feb. 8, 1987.
• 100 meters – Marita Koch, Germany, 11.15, Jan. 12, 1980.
• 220 yards – Marita Koch, Germany, 22.89, Feb. 28, 1986.
• 300 yards – Merlene Ottey, Jamaica, 32.63, March 13, 1982.
• 440 yards – Diane Dixon, United States, 52.20, Feb. 22, 1985.
• 500 yards – Jearl Miles-Clark, United States, 1:00.61, Feb. 19, 2000.
• 500 meters – Olga Nazarova, Soviet Union, 1:07.67, Jan. 8, 1988.
• 600 yards – Delisa Walton-Floyd, United States, 1:17.38, March 13, 1982.
• 880 yards – Mary Slaney, United States, 1:59.7, Feb. 22, 1980.

UPDATES:

500 meters

On January 27, 1986, Arkansas’ Roddie Haley set a WR for the 500 meters in (1:01.18). Canada’s Doug Consiglio set a Collegiate Record in the 1000m (2:19.64).

On March 15, 1986, Roddie Haley lowered the WR for the 500 meters with a 59.82 clocking.

600 yards

On January 27, 1987, Ohio State’s Butch Reynolds bettered Martin McGrady’s World Record for 600-yards (1:07.6) when he ran 1:06.87 at East Tennessee on a 280m over-sized track.

2nd place went to Chip Jenkins, the son of 2-time Olympic gold medalist Charlie Jenkins, ran 1:07.51.

These two times are faster than the current record held by Mark Everett’s 1:07.53 set in 1992.