Answers to relay races, elections dates and competition winners
The Sunday Nation
Nairobi,
08 May 2022
Today, I will respond
to some questions that have been siting in my inbox for some time now.
Peter Shikhule of Nairobi wrote to ask about the 100m race versus the 4
x 100m relay. He notes that the world record for 100m is 9.58s that for
the 4 x 100m is 36.84s. He continues: “if you divide 36.84s by 4, [you
get] 9.21s, [which is] way faster than the 100m world record. If you
factor in the slowed pace at the change of a baton, the time should be
higher than 9.58s. How is this?”
Peter, in the 100m,
the runners start off from zero and then accelerate for a few seconds
before reaching their “cruising” speed. In the 4 x 100m, this initial
(and time-wasting) acceleration only happens to the fast runner.
Contrary to what you
claim, 4 x 100m runners do not slow down while changing the baton. The
recipient starts running and picks it while in motion. In fact, they
don’t even look behind – they just run. This is where they gain the
time.
Also, bear in mind
that the 4 x 100m teams are comprised of the top runners of the 100m
race. Usain Bolt, the 100m record holder, was in the Jamaican team that
set the 4 x 100m record.
Raxy Ngure from
Alliance High School asked about the calculation of the dates of general
elections. He says he has tried to work out how it comes to 8th of
August this year but without success.
Well, Raxy; you and I
are in the same boat. I don’t know how the IEBC arrived at this date. I
wrote to them asking for the calculation but they did not respond –
despite many reminders. I have written about that date many times over
the last ten years. The correct day should have been 17th August 2021 –
last year!
Finally,
Kamichore Mutindira from Gatura in Murang’a county says he has noted
that the telephone numbers of winners in radio station competitions are
announced with prefixes like 072... or 073.... and the last [three]
digits. He wonders: “How long would it take…to identify the winner using
this information.?”
Our telephone numbers
have ten digits. If you reveal six, then four remain hidden. In the
four, there are 9,999 possible telephone contacts. You would need a lot
of patience and luck to identify a winner. And that’s assuming that once
you have the correct number, you can get their name!
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