Olympic 1500 Meter Run
Sorry, I've got to run...
The 1500 Meter Run
A part of the Summer Olympics Track group, the 1500 meter run is an event which requires tons of endurance, the element of speed, and a whole lot of math. The 1500 meter run has been a part of the Olympics for over 100 years. Math plays a large role in aerodynamics and speed of the runners. These people train for glory and fame in one of the hardest Olympic events.
My Own Investigation
Why does it matter...
The reason for my own investigation into the Olympic event, the 1500 meter run, is to help determine the direct correlation between the times, and then compare and see the similarities and differences between them. I hypothesize that the men were slower than the woman, but then passed them sometime in the 1900's.
Goal of the Study
The goal of this project is to find out the differences between the women's and the men's 1500 meter run times. When taking data from the past 40 years from both the men and the women, it can help predict when they will cross, or how long ago they crossed. This graph will also show us the correlation between the men and women, and whether their times are increasing or decreasing.
Data 1
Data Table with Year and the times of both the Men and Women.
Data 2
Data Table continued.
Data 3
Data Table continued.
The Scatter Plot
The scatter plot to the left is the data from the tables, which shows the Men's gold medalists times in the green, and then the women's gold medalists times in the blue. These were the gold medalists times for the past 40 years(or 10 Olympics).
Lines of Best Fit
This graph is the same scatter plot graph, but including the lines of best fit. The lines of best fit are used to show where the intersection point is. The blue line represents the Men's best fit line and the red line represents the Women's best fit lines.
The Intersection Point
The graph above shows the intersection point of the Men and Women lines. The x coordinate is approximately 1896, which means they crossed in 1896, which is actually the very first Olympics. The Men's line is obviously decreasing, which means they are actually speeding up and getting faster. As for the women, their line is increasing, which means their time is longer and they are slowing down. The women were faster than the men before 1896. But when the lines crossed, it means the men finally surpassed the woman and became faster. This intersection point shows when the men became faster than the woman in the 1500 meter run.
The X Coordinate
The X Coordinate is the years of the Olympics. The Olympics happen every four years for the Summer, so the graph goes on the X axis by 4 years. This means that every 4 years for the past 40, there is a point on my graph.
The Y Coordinate
The Y Coordinate is the time, in seconds, that both the men and women ran their 1500 times in. All of the runners were the gold medalists times from the past 10 Olympics.
Conclusion
The Olympic 1500 meter run continues to this day of being one of the hardest events. It requires speed, endurance, and also a bit of math. Before the first Olympics in 1896, the women were faster than the men, but at approximately 1896, the men surpassed the women and will continue to get faster times. The women are slowing down and they will never cross again.
Taoufik Makhloufi (ALG) Wins 1500m Gold - London 2012 Olympics