The following pages list the best performance known to have been achieved in each lane of the track in each of the lane- affected events (200, 400, 400H), for men and women.
In contrast to the usual research technique common in our discipline -- a search for superlatives of one sort or another -- this project involved more a process of elimination. It is not too difficult to find a world-ranking performance achieved in each lane. The trick is to be sure that it is the best. My method was, on the basis of preliminary research, tentatively to determine a "record" for each lane in each event and then to seek to find out the lane of every performance in that event which surpassed the tentative record. Only when the lane of every mark that could be a record for a lane has been determined, can one have 100% confidence in the results.
Though 100% certainty has not yet been achieved for all of the listed marks, I have a high degree of confidence that virtually all of them are, in fact, the records. This confidence stems in part from the knowledge that marquee athletes are most unlikely to have been asked to run in lanes 1 or 8 in invitational meetings (and, except for Michael Johnson's preference for lane 2 in 400 in the early 1990's , are generally placed in a middle lane) and from the fact that seeding rules in championship meetings place runners who have performed best in the prior round in lanes 3-6 in the next round. For these reasons, for example, any number of performances that better 20.15 for the men's 200 (the low altitude record for lane 1) can be judged most unlikely to have been run in that lane, even if one does not know the exact lane in which they were achieved.
This project is, of course, a work in progress. Any one wishing to help may obtain a list of marks for which the lanes are still needed from the author. Assistance from Germany would be particularly welcome, though all help is gratefully accepted.
Requests for the list and amendments should be sent to:
Jed Brickner
885 Third Avenue
Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
USA
jed.brickner AT lw.com
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