Split requests seem to be all the fashion lately. I know they're perfectly legal, though I haven't read the rule itself. I'm wondering about them though ... It seems oddly unfair, for example, that a person never (or rarely) swimming open 50s could hold world or national records or #1 rankings in those events. (I'm just saying it's odd, while recognizing it could be perfectly legal.) But, aside from that and further, what if someone really played the system. What if, for example, someone was after a 50 free record. They entered a meet in the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 free and led off free relays and requested split requests in each event to try to set a record. Is this legitimate or legal? Would a meet director be bound to accept split requests for all these events? Is there a limit? Do meet directors have discretion to deny multiple split requests? I can see a situation where multiple attempts at a 50 might result in a better time ...
Jeff, in your hypothetical 1000 with Paul Smith, what would happen if he, in course of hell-bat-out-of swimming the first 100, he so exhausted himself that he was unable to continue on after setting the world record in his split?
If Paul does not finish the 1000, the event he entered, he would be disqualified from the 1000. But would his WR split still count?
If yes, then what is to keep people from swimming the split portion then just getting out prematurely?
If no, I would advise Leslie against trying to set a world record in the 50 fly during the first 50 of a 200 fly.
Actually, something almost like this scenario almost happened at Rutgers LCM Nationals 6 years ago. Todd Spieker was trying to set NR records for both the 800 and the 1500 frees. He went out really fast and just missed the 800 record by something like .01 seconds. He then continued onwards, tripping his heart into A-fib near the conclusion of the 1500. He very nearly did not finish. He was on a stretcher being cared for by paramedics for 45 minutes after the race concluded. (Note: some of the exact details here may be a little off, but the gist of it is basically correct.)
As far as the double suit business goes, especially with B70s, that really seems like cheating to me. Even though claims have been made that the suits don't float, they are made out of some sort of closed cell material that is not of an entirely different species than neoprene. Having two of them on has to be somewhere along the calculus curve that leads incrementally in the direction of a true wetsuit.
I thus humby offer this question:
How many B70s must be piled one on top of the other before you have a functional wet suit?
One way to answer this may be to ask yourself how many B70s would the average surfer need to wear before he or she would go surfing in New Jersey this time of the year?
I daresay 2 might be enough, but 3 or 4 almost certainly would!
Jeff, in your hypothetical 1000 with Paul Smith, what would happen if he, in course of hell-bat-out-of swimming the first 100, he so exhausted himself that he was unable to continue on after setting the world record in his split?
If Paul does not finish the 1000, the event he entered, he would be disqualified from the 1000. But would his WR split still count?
If yes, then what is to keep people from swimming the split portion then just getting out prematurely?
If no, I would advise Leslie against trying to set a world record in the 50 fly during the first 50 of a 200 fly.
Actually, something almost like this scenario almost happened at Rutgers LCM Nationals 6 years ago. Todd Spieker was trying to set NR records for both the 800 and the 1500 frees. He went out really fast and just missed the 800 record by something like .01 seconds. He then continued onwards, tripping his heart into A-fib near the conclusion of the 1500. He very nearly did not finish. He was on a stretcher being cared for by paramedics for 45 minutes after the race concluded. (Note: some of the exact details here may be a little off, but the gist of it is basically correct.)
As far as the double suit business goes, especially with B70s, that really seems like cheating to me. Even though claims have been made that the suits don't float, they are made out of some sort of closed cell material that is not of an entirely different species than neoprene. Having two of them on has to be somewhere along the calculus curve that leads incrementally in the direction of a true wetsuit.
I thus humby offer this question:
How many B70s must be piled one on top of the other before you have a functional wet suit?
One way to answer this may be to ask yourself how many B70s would the average surfer need to wear before he or she would go surfing in New Jersey this time of the year?
I daresay 2 might be enough, but 3 or 4 almost certainly would!
