Can you believe what Bobby Morrow could have done with today’s technology at his plate? Registering 10.2 seconds for a 100-meter race in the 1956 Olympics is just stupendous. Usain Bolt’s 9.58 came in 2009. We are talking about the best sprinters that track and field has ever seen. In this era, it’s Noah Lyles’s time. The fastest man in the world had his best run at 9.79. We all know what edge the modern generation has – technology, money, equipment, science, etc. Yes, some legends continue to lose their prominence in the sport.
It’s no wonder athletes are getting faster and sports are becoming more streamlined. But to what extent? Well, numbers are forever. And as the stats of a legendary US runner come to the fore, the comparison with the figures of the modern athletes shows us how track and field has come a long way. So, without further ado, let’s plunge into a polarizing opinion.
We are sure we don’t have to tell you who Steve Prefontaine is. The iconic US runner was a specialty in long-distance tracks, like the 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m. Yes, the Prefontaine Classic comes under his name. The US Track and field star’s legacy will be forever etched in gilded letters, no doubt. However, one reporter took to Twitter to show how the world is getting quicker and quicker, such that this historic phenomenon’s numbers are no longer the benchmark. It’s not even at the college level.
On March 6, Letsrun.com staff writer Jonathan Gault posted a pic showing Steve Prefontaine’s personal bests in mile, 3000m, and 5000m distances. And his caption read, “None of Steve Prefontaine’s pbs would be fast enough to qualify for the 2025 NCAA indoor championships (his 5k pb was actually 13:21.87, but that still would not have made it).”
In case you are wondering if the facts are correct, only the 5000m PB is slightly wrong. It should have been 13:21.87 instead of 13:22.87. But the journalist has a glaring point.
Okay, this is pretty wild. None of Steve Prefontaine’s pbs would be fast enough to qualify for the 2025 NCAA indoor championships (his 5k pb was actually 13:21.87, but that still would not have made it).
May 30 marks the 50th anniversary of Pre’s death.https://t.co/mPJOuzzKdd pic.twitter.com/7F0cqGLiar
— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) March 7, 2025
Do you know the best time in the 3000m race in the recently concluded ACC Indoor Championships? – 7:36.69. If you look at Prefontaine’s Personal best (PB), it was 7:42.6.
In fact, all the podium finishers broke Prefontaine’s PB, but only one got the Gold. In the 5000m race, the winner, Ethan Strand (13:26.60), was way behind Prefontaine’s 13:21.87. So there’s a win for the icon of the tracks. But it’s not like nobody overtook his PB.
In 2022 only, Adriaan Wildschutt of Florida State ran the 5000m in 13:09.30 – wild, right?
Even though we still haven’t mentioned it, what do you think? Has Prefontaine’s mile PB time of 3:54.6 been broken at the NCAA level? Continuing the trend, the answer is yes. On January 31, Ethan Strand of North Carolina ran 3:48.32 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston to become the third-fastest indoor runner at the mile distance. Even the previous record of 3:50.39 that Ethan broke was achieved in 2021 – faster than Prefontaine’s.
The NCAA Track and Field division has been operating at a superlative level for quite some time. No wonder the legendary levels from 2-3 decades ago are being challenged and broken repeatedly, sometimes by multiple people of the same race. There are numerous reasons for this.
Science, Technology, Money, and Data – the 4 pillars of NCAA track and field domination
We all know the limitations that the athletes had 59 years ago. Science was nowhere near what it is today. We didn’t know so much about our bodies, and we also had the wrong conceptions. The leaps that science and technology have made are astronomical. Anyone can access their favourite role model’s runs and teachings from the internet. The equipment now is not only fancy, they are efficient.
Another parameter is Data analytics. It entered the sports industry and changed the landscape forever. No longer is any judgment ambiguous and subjective. The evaluation is data-driven and backed by facts. It’s used in most industries these days.
Add to that the revolutionary NIL deal. Money is no longer a bottleneck – both for the colleges and the athletes. Before the NIL era, many stars didn’t opt for college because they could go pro and earn multi-million dollar contracts because of their talent. The NCAA system didn’t allow it back then. Now, things have changed.
Quincy Wilson trains at Bullis High School under a reputed coach like Joe Lee, gets his education and learning covered, and still appears on the front of the New Balance website, all thanks to NIL. And mind you, you probably noticed the point we infer – he’s still a school-going kid!
Likewise, Ethan Strand has an NIL deal with Nike. That means he will have the resources to make himself more efficient and faster. The opportunities available now with the athletes are endless. And the Conferences aren’t leaving it just to the colleges and athletes. With a revenue-sharing model, SEC earned $852 million in revenue in 2024 and distributed around $808 million among its 16 colleges.
That’s 50 million per college. The funds are going into facilitating track and field scholarships, better facilities, and healthcare programs to look after the physical and mental aspects of the athletes. Just amazing, right?
The modern era came with perks and gains. The results had to follow suit. It’s not unnatural that collegiate youths are overtaking the PBs of historic greats. It means the NCAA is on the right path. Yet, breaking Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record? That may not be possible! Some records are here to stay.
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