[jonmc12]

Was wondering why the 1896 time of 12s was so slow - found this pic of the race - https://www.olympic.org/news/speed-merchant-burke-shines-in-.... Running surface, shoes, starting blocks.. exactly. Today there are 8th graders that can run faster than 12s 100M.

[mehwoot]

The 1896 olympics were very amateur, both in facilities and level of competition, even compared to 4 years later. Many top athletes did not compete.

[ghaff]

I also like the "interesting" experimentation with starting technique.