Wariner, Richards win Owens Awards

Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards were named Jesse Owens Awards winners (outstanding male & female athletes) by USA Track & Field this morning. They are both coached by Clyde Hart, who was yesterday named coach of the year.

These were both no-brainers, as each was undefeated in the 400 and ran some impressive times; you can read the lengthy details in the USATF press release. What you won't get is a realistic understanding of just how fast Richards was this year.

Her American Record of 48.70 puts her 7th on the all-time list with the 16th-best mark of all time. On its face, that doesn't sound like a hugely impressive. But let's be realistic about why almost all the top marks are more than 20 years old--anti-doping rules were barely enforced prior to the 1990s, and today's athletes are essentially competing under a completely different set of rules. If we eliminate pre-1991 marks, as well as those of athletes who have taken a "doping vacation", then the all-time list looks much different:

48.25 Marie-José Pérec FRA Atlanta 29.07.1996
48.63 Cathy Freeman AUS Atlanta 29.07.1996
48.70 Sanya Richards USA Athínai 16.09.2006
48.83 Marie-José Pérec FRA Barcelona 05.08.1992
48.89 Ana Guevara MEX Saint-Denis 27.08.2003
48.92 Sanya Richards USA Zürich 19.08.2005
49.05 Olga Bryzgina UKR Barcelona 05.08.1992
49.05 Sanya Richards USA London 28.07.2006
49.07 Tonique Williams-Darling BAH Berlin 12.09.2004
49.10 Falilat Ogunkoya NGR Atlanta 29.07.1996
49.11 Ana Guevara MEX Zürich 15.08.2003
49.11 Cathy Freeman AUS Sydney 25.09.2000
49.13 Marie-José Pérec FRA Tokyo 27.08.1991
49.15 Tonique Williams-Darling BAH Saint-Denis 23.07.2004
49.16 Ana Guevara MEX Zürich 16.08.2002
49.18 Marie-José Pérec FRA Monaco 10.08.1996
49.19 Marie-José Pérec FRA Atlanta 28.07.1996
49.25 Ana Guevara MEX Monaco 19.07.2002
49.25 Sanya Richards USA Stuttgart 10.09.2006
49.25 Tonique Williams-Darling BAH Roma 02.07.2004
49.27 Sanya Richards USA Indianapolis 24.06.2006
49.28 Marie-José Pérec FRA Göteborg 08.08.1995
49.28 Pauline Davis-Thompson BAH Atlanta 29.07.1996
49.28 Sanya Richards USA Carson 25.06.2005
49.29 Charity Opara NGR Roma 14.07.1998
49.30 Lorraine Fenton JAM Monaco 19.07.2002
49.30 Tonique Williams-Darling BAH Zürich 19.08.2005
49.31 Sanya Richards USA Roma 14.07.2006
49.32 Marie-José Pérec FRA Frankfurt 29.06.1991
49.34 Ana Guevara MEX Eugene 24.05.2003
49.34 Ana Guevara MEX Monaco 14.09.2003
49.35 Falilat Ogunkoya NGR Monaco 10.08.1996
49.39 Cathy Freeman AUS Oslo 04.07.1997
49.40 Jearl Miles-Clark USA Indianapolis 14.06.1997
49.41 Tonique Williams-Darling BAH Athínai 24.08.2004
49.43 Lorraine Fenton JAM Saint-Denis 27.08.2003
49.45 Marie-José Pérec FRA Lausanne 03.07.1996
49.47 Marie-José Pérec FRA Paris 28.06.1996
49.48 Cathy Freeman AUS Bruxelles 23.08.1996
49.48 Cathy Freeman AUS Monaco 18.08.2000
49.48 Falilat Ogunkoya NGR Monaco 16.08.1997
49.48 Marie-José Pérec FRA Barcelona 03.08.1992
49.49 Olga Zaytseva RUS Tula 16.07.2006
49.50 Marie-José Pérec FRA Nice 15.07.1992

The only other athlete who ran sub-49.50 five times in one season was Marie-José Pérec in1996; Pérec's average was 49.11 to Richards' 49.12. Statistically, Richards had the best season in a decade.