# sexist rules in college track and field

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 15, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090 "2002-07-15T18:18:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090/1 "2002-07-15T18:18:32Z")

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I noticed that in outdoor track, at US schools anyway, the long distance races are:

Men  
5000m  
10,000m

Women  
3000m  
5000m  
10,000m

and the hurdle sprint is 10m shorter for women. My ? is: do we eliminate the 3000m race, or offer it to men? I’d choose the former.

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**Author:** ![perspective](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@perspective](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perspective)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090/2 "2002-07-15T19:28:11Z")

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You haven’t really made the case that shorter=sexist. Men race the 100m don’t they?  
I don’t see anything wrong with the 3k race. Why not have men run it too?

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**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090/3 "2002-07-15T19:39:06Z")

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There isn’t a female decathalon, is there? They’ve got the septathalon (or heptathalon, can’t remember).

Seems to even out, doesn’t it?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexist-rules-in-college-track-and-field/119090/4 "2002-07-15T20:09:55Z")

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The NCAA doesn’t have a 3000 meters for women at its championship. It now has a 3000 meter steeplechase to bring it in line with the men’s championship.

I believe all of the other events are identical except that the women run 100 meters for hurdles and the men run 110 and the men have a decathlon and the women have a heptathlon.

I have no idea why the women have a shorter hurdles race.