On February 4, 2023 at Notre Dame, Baidy Ba went sub 4 in the famed mile, and he became the 689th man to break the barrier. He is the ninth man from Maryland to achieve the accomplishment. Baidy is a 2021 graduate of Oakland Mills High School, where he was a two time state champion, a two time state record holder, and Gatorade Runner of the Year in Maryland. Coming out of high school, his PRs were 1:51.46, 4:12.09, and 9:11.32. Though he excelled in high school, Baidy has raised his focus in college at Kent State, and he has continued to trust the process and pursue his goals. This weekend Baidy is set to race the 3000 and 800 in preparation for MAC Championships.
Below is the interview with Baidy in audio format. Below that is a commentary on super shoes and the sub 4 Mile.
Even with such an accomplishment, there has been controversy over recent performances, including the sub 4 barrier. Track and Field News, the most respected track and field publication, recently put a hold on updating the sub 4 performance list. The reasoning for this is that so called “super shoes” have recently come in to play, which give athletes a time advantage over their predecessors. How many seconds these super shoes potentially take off has been up for debate.
There is no doubt there have been advances in technology and training methodologies. Roger Bannister broke 4 minutes on cinders wearing spikes we would cringe at today. Even just ten years ago, prior to the advent of super shoes, athletes had an advantage over Bannister. These advantages include superior tracks, superior spikes, and a greater understanding of training and the biology and science of training.
At what point with the advancement of technology do we say:Â “This is where we stop.”
One would expect to see a greater volume of athletes going sub 4 over time. That’s the natural progression of the sport. Of course, there is also greater access to the sport which allows for a greater pool of athletes to potentially run sub 4.
Another point, with the lore of the sub 4 mile, while Americans take the plurality of the sub 4 list, is how many Americans perform well on the international scene. Americans are time trialers. They aren’t racers.
As of this writing, 714 Americans have run sub 4. This year takes the cake so far with 50 new runners added to the list. But keep in mind 50 new Americans in a population of 330 million. So the accomplishment is still tremendous. 2022 saw 63 new Americans run under 4.
The NCAA and World Athletics have standards for all sorts of things including thickness of a track, reaction time for sprinters, and wind regulations for sprint/field events. A sprint time is considered illegal if the wind is greater than +2.0 m/s. Will the NCAA and/or World Athletics limit thickness of shoes for competition (as an aside, these super shoes are largely produced by Nike, which just so happens to financially own the sport)?
About 15 years ago, a brand called Spira introduced shoes that had springs. These shoes were showcased at the Boston marathon. Going into the race, everyone knew these shoes were illegal. Why are those illegal but these super shoes are not?
None of the above is to take away from the sub 4 performance. Baidy’s performance is fantastic and should be respected and honored as a sub 4 performance.
