Brianna Rollins 12.26: Was Wind a Factor? No

One of the most impressive performances this past weekend was Brianna Rollins’ 12.26 100mH.

Right away, people we speculating two things.

One is the usual “get-good-quick” suspicions.

The other was the faulty wind reading.

We’ve seen both before, tight?

But I need to give a course in photography and explain how telephoto lens can make 2 objects appear close to each other, when in actuality, they are not.

Brianna Rollins 12.26

When Brianna Rollins won the NCAA Championships a few weeks back, I knew she could improve based the video of her race, but honestly I didn’t expect a near World Record.  Nobody ever does… when you try too hard, you usually fail. 

Let’s hope she can go to Europe and get the perfect conditions, just like Aires Merritt did last year in Brussels.

And let’s give credit where credit is due!

In the first video, taken at 120 fps, you can see the camera man within 3 feet of the wind meter in the direction of the wind (i.e. favorable wind):

But in the second video, he is standing about 3 feet back from the wind gauge.

Trick photography?  No, that’s just how focal lengths work in  zoom photography.