Jeff Hartwig stays on trajectory to go 19 feet at age 40
Jaff Hartwig, continuing to defy age and gravity, yesterday cleared 5.65 (18-6 1/2) on his first try at a meet in Germany. He thus, again, shattered his own M40 world indoor pole vault record. In the process, the word “masters” has become ubiquitous in every report chronicling Jeff’s season. Technically, masters begins at 35, but many folks are still under the impression that 40 is the entry age. No problems! Just keep generating publicity for the movement. Last year, he went 5.80 indoors. That’s 19-0 1/4. To better appreciate Jeff’s latest jump, consider this: On the IAAF decathlon scoring tables, 5.65 is worth 1116 points. That’s comparable to these marks: 26-11 in the long jump, 7-7 in the high jump, 9.9 in the 100-meter dash. At age 40? Otherworldly.
4 Responses
Take that a step further, age-graded that is equal to 6.24, about 4 inches above Bubka’s superhuman World Record.
And that is an age graded 1311 on the decathlon scale.
Look up 1311 in almost any other event, now that would be otherworldly:
9.17 in the 100, 40.39 in the 400, 11.58 in the hurdles, sub 3:15 in the 1500, 2.52 High Jump. OK, there are 4 World Records 1311 doesn’t beat–all throws and it only equals Powell’s Long Jump.
We have known for a while now that age graded factors are certainly not without flaws–We know that sprints and jumps get higher age grading percentages than do middle distance races for example. All events on the age grading scale are not equal so why do we Masters make such a big deal about them. I don’t believe in Horescopes but they are entertaining to read–that’s about how I feel about age grading.
Age graded factors for the most part are only really good for comparing your own performances every few years or so as you age.
I ran X time at age 40, now what may be possible for me to run at age 45 or 50? It helps with comparisons to other age groups, but loses a bit of validity when comparing to World records especially in other events.
Jeff is breaking new ground, truth is we know it is humanly possible for 40 year olds to jump 19 feet or higher but because he is the first it really skews the age graded percentages. 19 feet at age 40 is really like 19’7 or 8″ in his prime. Every year those age grade standards should be revised.
Regardless of what is or isn’t equal to, 19′ is a helluva good vault. I was damn happy to long jump 19′ last week!!
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