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Olympics WR race comparison

See realtime current race/world record comparisons
 
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When showing the 100 metres races .. place a white 7foot high white sheet along the whole length of the course.

Project onto this image realtime (from behind) the side-film footage taken of the person who holds the current world record -- a film of that exact event when he/she actually performed the amazing time. This film footage will be syncronised with the starting gun for the current race.

Now viewers get to see the athletes 'virtually' racing against the world record holder's actual effort -- making a better spectator sport. A lot easier than trying to mentally compare a 9.93 second run with the 9.89 world record (or whatever it is). Most importantly, adds excitement.

Could be imported to other events .. swimming, hurdles etc. Also useful for special events .. directly compare athletes of different era's. Watch Jesse Owen from the 30s vs Carl Lewis. Get those viewing figures back up!

britboy, Jul 22 2004

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       I like this. It could be done (crude but simple) on television by simply overlaying a moving line across the track that would indicate the world record pace.
luecke, Jul 22 2004
  

       Something similar is done on TV with the special stages of the RAC rally, but obviously not live and not real time.
This is rather good, even though I never watch athletics.
angel, Jul 22 2004
  

       I like the idea, if not the implementation. Putting up a sheet means there are people in the stadium who can't see the action.   

       This could be done via CGI, like the yellow "first down" stripe seen on television during US football games. This also allows events like pole vaulting or ski jumping to be included. People in the stadium interested in the feature could watch on overhead monitors.   

       For strictly race events, a light could be shone on the course to represent the relative position of the "ghost". I do foresee an issue with deciding which "ghosts" are used.
phoenix, Jul 22 2004
  

       And narcissistic racers may even be racing themselves.
sophocles, Jul 22 2004
  

       But allowing racers to be 'paced' by the moving image would change the conditions they're racing under.
hippo, Jul 22 2004
  

       [sophocles] Might be good for training purposes.
[hippo] I can't tell if you think that's good or bad.
phoenix, Jul 22 2004
  

       bad
hippo, Jul 22 2004
  

       I think I prefer the idea of doing it on TV only.   

       And I think the mens' 100-m record is 9.64 seconds.
shapu, Jul 22 2004
  

       //place a white 7foot high white sheet//
As opposed to a black 7 foot high white sheet??
  

       I like the idea however, but not for TV. You could do it much more effectively on TV using digital technology. This would be good for people in the stadium. It might also be good for athletes aiming for the world record to actually compete against a phantom runner.
Another branch on this idea is to have figures of past runners (Jesse owens, Carl Lewis etc) also in ht equation, just to give people a comparison on how far weve come since then.
If you wanted to simplify it, you could have an electric bunny (like in the dog races) instead of the whole 'white 7 foot white sheet' thing.
  

       Have a bun (+)
energy guy, Jul 22 2004
  

       I like the TV/cgi version.
krelnik, Jul 22 2004
  

       The "World record moving white line' is regularly used on Australian television for swimming events and uses the actual split times of the world record setter - thought it was widely known to exist around the world.
ConsulFlaminicus, Jul 23 2004
  

       Admittedly my original idea was for the live audience, not TV. But this is an interesting direction to take it.
britboy, Jul 23 2004
  

       Wasn't Ben Johnson a Cheetah?
energy guy, Jul 23 2004
  
      
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