On April 15, 1970, fifty-six years ago, the record for distance travelled from earth by humans to outer space was set by the Apollo 13 mission. That distance was 248, 655 miles.   Yesterday that record was beaten by Artemis II with a 4,105 mile improvement to 252,760 miles.   That is a 1.65% improvement over the old record.   This 1.65% gain is getting incredible publicity at the moment. Since this is a track and field blog, I thought I would look at and compare   some track and field record improvements over the same time period.  On those same dates   the records for several track and field events and their improvements are seen below.   Interestingly women’s performance increases have exceeded men’s in all events.     Hardly any women were pole vaulting in 1970, so that makes that improvement somewhat less significant, but in all else, I think women have beaten men in increased performance. A more extensive enquiry would also ne...

                                                                        Copy article link This Easter morning in beautiful British Columbia I decided to open my hometown newspaper. The Dayton Daily News and see what was happening.  I don't have a subscription to the paper, and normally the stories don't open completely for me to read.  But today for some unexplained reason they opened (divine intervention?), and I was treated to this incredible story of resilience in a family of not so ordinary people.   The Kash family of Oakwood, Ohio, which touches the south boundary of Dayton have had an incredible journey in the world of track and field, music, and medical challenges.  While none have made a big name in the track world that you will recognize, there is still optimism that it may s...