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Limitless

Track & Field Olympians live up to motto

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Carl Lewis won gold in the long jump four times over four Olympiads. He set Olympic records in the 100 and 200 meters. Mike PowellAllsport

By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com

Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Nothing illustrates the Olympic motto of "Swifter, Higher, Stronger" more than the track and field events.

Over the years, three in particular -- the 100 meters, high jump and shot put -- have displayed the increasing abilities of world-class athletes.

Nobody is better testimony to this than Dennis Mitchell. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Mitchell became the first sprinter to crack 10 seconds and not medal. He was fourth in 9.99.

Before 1968 in the thin Mexico City air, no runner had broken 10 seconds. It didn't happen again until 1984, when Carl Lewis ran a 9.99. Three runners did it again in 1988 and one in 1992.

The time of the last-place runner in '96, 10.16 by Michael Green, would have placed second in 1984 and first in 1980 and would have won every race from 1896-1960.

The last place high jumper in 1996, Korea's Lee Jin-taek (7' 6 1/4''), would have won gold in every Olympiad from 1896-1976.

In the shot put, Dragan Petric's last-place distance of 65' 10 1/4'' in 1996 was farther than any Olympian could do until the 1964 Games.

Swifter (Citius)
A look at how the winning times in the 100 meters have improved over four-Olympiad intervals over the years.
Donovan Bailey (right) set a world record time of 9.84 in 1996. Ato Boldon claimed bronze at 9.90. Ross Kinnaird/Allsport
	Years	Games	Avg. winning time	Best time
	1896-08	I-IV	11.2	10.8 (1908)
	1912-28	V-IIX	10.75	10.6 (1924)
	1932-52	IX-XII	10.33	10.3 (1932, 1936, 1948)
	1956-68	XIII-XVI	10.16	9.95 (1968)
	1972-84	XVII-XX	10.11	9.99 (1984)
	1988-96	XXI-XXIII	9.91	9.84 (1996)

Higher (Altius)
A look at how the winning heights in the high jump have improved over four-Olympiad intervals over the years.
Charles Austin took the event to new heights with a record leap of 7' 10'' in 1996. Mike Hewitt/Allsport
	Years	Games	Avg. winning height	Best height
	1896-08	I-IV	6' 1/4''	6' 3'' (1908)
	1912-28	V-IIX	6' 4 2/3''	6' 6'' (1924)
	1932-52	IX-XII	6' 7''	6' 8 1/2'' (1952)
	1956-68	XIII-XVI	7' 1/4''	7' 4 1/4'' (1968)
	1972-84	XVII-XX	7' 6 1/3''	7' 8 3/4'' (1980)
	1988-96	XXI-XXIII	7' 9 1/4''	7' 10'' (1996)

Stronger (Fortius)
A look at how the winning distances in the shot put have improved over four-Olympiad intervals over the years.
Randy Barnes won with a distance of 70' 11'' in 1996, the third Olympics in a row with a winning shot put above 70'. Mike Cooper/Allsport
	Years	Games	Avg. winning distance	Best dist.
	1896-08	I-IV	44' 6''	48' 7''(1904)
	1912-28	V-IIX	50'	52' 3/4'' (1928)
	1932-52	IX-XII	54' 2''	57' 1/2'' (1952)
	1956-68	XIII-XVI	64' 3''	67' 4 3/4'' (1968)
	1972-84	XVII-XX	69' 1 3/4''	70' 1/2'' (1980)
	1988-96	XXI-XXIII	71' 4''	73' 8 3/4'' (1988)

 

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