[thaumasiotes]

> No, that's according to a theory to which you've added a strange caveat that a year is insufficient

I'm not the one who specified multiple years.

You're making my point. Scarblac claimed people set personal records at the Olympics because they plan to set that record years in advance, adopting a personal regimen with the goal that their performance before the Olympics won't be as good as their performance during the Olympics, because that would mean an embarrassing failure to set a personal record.

You're saying that (1) that can't happen, because people don't know they're going to be at the Olympics years in advance; and (2) the personal records result from short-term efforts, not long-term efforts.

And you're saying that, in particular, people don't know they'll be going to the Olympics at all until they see their own results from a recent high-stakes competition in the same event.

So... why aren't they devoting the same short-term efforts towards their performance in the Olympic qualifiers, or towards other annual competitions for their sport?

[BoringTimesGang]

People who are capable of setting world records are capable of beating the competition, to allow them to qualify for a more prestigious competition, without 100% effort.

[thaumasiotes]

Those are people who do know that they're winning the qualifier before it happens.