Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Discussing Dylan Larkin Breaking Mike Gartner's Record In The Fastest Skater Competiton

01/31/2016 at 7:11am EST

I received an email last night from a hockey fan regarding Dylan Larkin breaking Mike Gartner's record in the fastest skating challenge.

The sender said it was ok to post the email and I made a few minor spelling corrections but otherwise it is untouched.

How could they immediately commentate and post Dylan Larkin's time for speed skating beating Mike Gartner when it is completely controversial. You can't say he beat Gartner when they used to start from a stop position at the line. Now they all start way back and are at full speed when the time starts at the line.

It is ridiculous to take away somebody's record when it's not the same rules. For any type of race, you start at the line from a full stop.

I can't stand hearing over and over that Dylan Larkin broke the record for the overall best time. How can these commentators be so stupid as to not notice the huge advantage from a running start and the time starting at the line when the skater is already at full speed.

I think a huge apology is owed to Gartner from all the commentator's that jump all over it announcing it over and over and from the NHL who change the rules year and year. If the rules are different, a record can't be broken. It can only be a new record for a running start for lack of a better word.

This is more than just my opinion and I hope it gets rectified publicly.

Thank you for allowing me to rant, but I hope it goes further than just you reading it.

In the comment section of a The Malik Report post, there is some discussion on it too.

Below, videos of Mike Gartner's performance back in 1996 and then Larkin's performance last night is posted twhich does include parts of Gartner's skate.

Sportsnet's version of Larkin's skate and in the beginning of the video, you can see an old clip of Gartner's start and see the difference to Larkin's 'running' start'.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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