Monthly Archives: February 2022

Peopletypicallyassociate junk food with weight gain and obesity, but new research suggestsmany ofthe plastic products used in everyday life, fromshampoo bottlesto dishsponges,mayplay a role inpackingon the pounds.

Researchers studied 34 different plastic productssuch asyogurt containers, drink bottles and kitchen spongesin a laboratory to see what types of chemicals theycontained.They foundmore than55,000 different chemical componentsandmanagedto identify629 ofthem.

Within that subset, they found 11 chemicals known to interfere with metabolism, called metabolism-disrupting chemicals.

Our experiments show that ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity, saidMartin Wagner, an associate professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology,in a statement.

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Historically, scientists believed that most plastic chemicals stay within the materialtheyreused in, but Wagners team found that plastic products leachmanychemicals under real-world conditions, whichmeanstheyreable to enter the human body.

Wagners team also noted previous research has suggested that some plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that could affect a persons development and fertility, and Wagners new research is adding weight gain to that list.

About one-third of the plastic products investigated by Wagner and his research team were found to contribute to fat cell development in laboratory experiments, and these substances can reprogram precursor cells to become fat cells that then proliferate and accumulate even more fat.

However, while some plastic products did contain metabolism-disrupting substances, not all did. Some carried chemicals that could induce the development of fat cells,but theyrecurrently unidentified. At this point, scientists only know theycarry the potential to interfere with how the human body stores fat.

Its very likely that it is not the usual suspects, such as Bisphenol A, causing these metabolic disturbances. This means that other plastic chemicals than the ones we already know could be contributing to overweight and obesity, saidJohannes Vlker, the first author of the studywho isaffiliated withNorwegian University of Science and Technology.

TheU.S Department of Health and Human Servicesestimates that from 2017 to 2018,nearly1 in3 adults were overweightin the U.S.and more than2 in 5adults were considered obese.

Wagners research team estimated that2 billion people in the world are overweight, while 650millionfallunderthe obese category.

Thatcarriesseriousrisk, as the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionsays obesity is associated with poorer mental health outcomes and a reduced quality of life. Obesity is also associated with the leading causes of death in the U.S. and worldwide, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer.

Researchers' solution to plastic chemicalscontributing to weight gain is to scale back the use of plastics, writing, a shift toward chemically less-complex plastics represents a way forward to a nontoxic environment.

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ESG Efforts Recognized by Several Leading Independent Organizations

HARVEY, Ill., January 31, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atkore Inc. (the "Company" or "Atkore") (NYSE: ATKR) today released its 2021 Sustainability Report, detailing the Companys environment, social and governance (ESG) practices in key areas that include management of natural resources, health & safety, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and employee engagement. In addition, the Companys efforts related to ESG have been recognized recently by several leading independent organizations.

"Sustainability is central to the strength, safety, and longevity of Atkore, and we have continued to implement and execute a range of initiatives during 2021 to improve the sustainability and performance of our business," said Atkores President and CEO Bill Waltz. "In addition, we are committed to executing key initiatives that drive progress in these areas over the next several years as well with the announcement of our 2025 Sustainability Targets. As we continue our journey of Building Better Together, we remain focused on sustainable business practices for the benefit of our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities."

Highlights of Atkores 2021 Sustainability Report:

"Lets Make it Home": Atkores new safety brand, which represents the Companys dedication to creating a place where every one of its employees feels respected, appreciated, and safe, every day.

Electrification Transition: Atkores products are critical in the global transition to a lower-carbon economy and contribute to customers ability to generate clean energy. Atkore is committed to increasing investment in sustainable product development and adoption.

Water Transmission: Atkore offers a comprehensive line of PVC plumbing and water piping products, which are durable, effective, and provide our customers with peace of mind thanks to maintenance-free performance.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: In 2021, Atkore launched unconscious bias training for all salaried employees and introduced DEI topics into its onboarding and immersion programreflecting its ambition to embed equity and inclusion across all parts of its operations.

2025 Sustainability Targets: Atkore is committed to driving positive ESG impacts, and the Company has set four goals in the following areas:

Reduce Scope 1 & Scope 2 GHG intensity by 10% from 58.2 metric tons of CO2e per million USD to 52.4 metric tons of CO2e per million USD1

Increase percentage of sites meeting annual team-based safety observations (TBSO) targets to 80%

Achieve 30% diversity across the Senior Leadership Team

Increase participation in employee engagement and alignment survey to 80%

Story continues

Additionally, Atkore is pleased to announce that its ESG and sustainability efforts have been recently recognized by several leading independent organizations as follows:

Ranked 48th in Newsweeks list of Americas Most Responsible Companies for 2022.

Designated as a Great Place to Work Certified company for the second year in a row. Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture and employee experience and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue and increased innovation.

Earned the 2022 Top Workplaces USA award, issued by Energage, a purpose-driven organization that develops solutions to build and brand Top Workplaces.

Achieved a score of 85 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundations 2022 Corporate Equality Index based on the Companys inaugural submission. The Corporate Equality Index is the leading benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality.

Received a Bronze Rating from EcoVadis related to the Companys sustainability. EcoVadis is a trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains.

"We are excited and pleased to receive these external recognitions, as each is a testament to our strong culture and reaffirms our commitment to our mission and our values," added Mr. Waltz.

The 2021 Atkore Sustainability Report was prepared in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standard for Electrical & Electronic Equipment (RT-EE version 201810) but is not fully in accordance with either standard. The report is now available on the companys website.

About Atkore Inc.

Atkore is forging a future where our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities are building better together a future focused on serving the customer and powering and protecting the world. With a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide, Atkore is a leading provider of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions. To learn more, please visit http://www.atkore.com.

1 Revenue used to calculate future GHG emissions intensity will be adjusted to remove the impact of changes in average selling prices.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220131005172/en/

Contacts

Media Contact: Lisa WinterVice President Communications708-225-2453LWinter@atkore.com

Investor Contact: John DeitzerVice President Treasury & Investor Relations708-225-2124JDeitzer@atkore.com

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Atkore Releases 2021 Sustainability Report and Announces Sustainability Commitments for 2025 - Yahoo Finance

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A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified 25.3% of the American adult population as physically inactive.

That doesnt sound great. But what does it mean, exactly? That figure is the result of a multi-year survey conducted by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System(BRFSS), which called Americans up to ask them a simple question: During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise? Those that answered no were classified as inactive.

Across the board, the survey had some fascinating results:

Surveys that rely on self-reporting sometimes struggle to paint an accurate picture; consider that American obesity prevalence stands at 42.4%, well above the mark for inactivity prevalence. Obesity (like BMI) is an imperfect metric, but its fair to say that inactivity prevalence is likely a little higher from state to state than expressed here.

That said, the amount of activity necessary to answer yes to that BRFSS question is pretty light. Theres a widespread misconception that starting an exercise routine means putting in as much time and effort as Marvel movie stars or Instagram influencers. But recent longevity research has confirmed over and over again that you can radically change your biomarkers by putting in the bare minimum.

A walk a day some 10 to 20 minutes spent outside will work wonders for your health. As renowned evolutionary biologist Dr. Daniel Lieberman says, per The Washington Post: The most important message is that something is better than nothing. Just move more. You dont need a Peloton or a personal trainer if you dont want one. You just need some sort of activity that occurs away from a desk chair or couch. Because while the desk chair helps you make money, and the couch helps you relax, neither are a friend to your heart, brain or back.

A recent paper published by Dr. Lieberman and his fellow evolutionary researchers puts the damaging modern lifestyle into perspective. Titled The active grandparent hypothesis, it pushes back against the widely held myth that our ancestors lived shorter, unhealthier lives. Life expectancy, in fact, was hijacked by high infant mortality rates and childhood infections.

Adults of the time were actually less likely to suffer from chronic conditions that we now accept as inevitable (and spend the last 30 years of our lives fighting/pouring money into). Using the modern Hadza people, a Tanzanian hunter-gatherer tribe, as a proxy for ancestral living, the authors concluded that old age evolved in humans along with a highly active lifestyle. In other words, the human race only started living as long as it did because it moved around, constantly.

Early humans hunted animals for food and warmth, foraged berries and honey for sustenance, migrated to and fro in deference to water access and seasonal change. Those who lived through and after the Neolithic Revolution werent exactly sitting in armchairs all day, either. There is evolutionary debate over whether a transition to agriculture ruined the health of the human race, but according to Liebermans paper, all that digging and tilling still qualified as consistent movement, and kept humans fit.

Its once we stopped moving (especially in the last 50 years), and started behaving more like chimpanzees, that chronic conditions reached the mainstream. Weve come to accept that exercise burns calories and catalyzes an important repair and maintenance process in the body, but we cant forget that the absence of exercise isnt neutral its an actively damaging state, which breaks down the body in small yet permanent ways.

If youre someone whod answer no to that BRFSS question and feel overwhelmed by all this chat of chimpanzees and farmers, its best to start small. Get a daily walk in. You have the time. You know you do. From there, identify palatable activities. If it gets your body moving, and doesnt feel like a chore, thats all you can really ask for. From there, as your body starts to reward you, and you develop a taste for your natural setting again, start thinking about taking it to the next level.

Lots of people bemoan the idea of a long life but thats because theyre recalling the last 10, 20 or 30 years a loved one mightve suffered from chronic conditions. If you start now, you can live more years, and crucially, live more healthy years.

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What Percentage of American Adults Are Classified as "Inactive"? - InsideHook

The figure skating rivalry between Nathan Chen of the United States and Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan is enduring, but sporadic. Compelling, but infrequent.

Hanyu is the two-time reigning Olympic gold medalist. Chen has won the last three world titles. But they have met in the same individual competition just nine times over six seasons.

And that only makes the rivalry more compelling. Absence makes the heat grow stronger.

Never will it be more intense than next Monday, when Hanyu and Chen begin skating for the mens singles title at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

What happens next week can only embellish Hanyus legacy. By becoming in 2018 the first man to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in singles since Dick Button of the United States in 1952, Hanyu already became a permanent member of a pantheon open to few.

Chen, yet to win an individual Olympic medal, is seeking a career-defining singles gold. Even if he gets it, Chen understands his rivals place in the sports history will remain distinct.

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He is in a completely different status than I am as a skater, Chen told me before this season began. I will always respect that.

Among the most striking reasons for Hanyus status is his longevity at the top. His world championship bronze medal last March was not only his seventh at that competition, including two golds, but it came nine years after his first, also bronze, in 2012. No other man since World War II has won world singles medals over that long a span. Hanyus seven world medals match East German Jan Hoffmans as the most by any man since World War II.

I always say a multigenerational athlete like that, thats like all-universe status, thats difficult to find, Chen said.

Not only that, but Hanyu at 27 is still trying to push the athletic boundaries of the sport in a seemingly obsessive quest to become the first to land a clean quadruple axel, a jump that requires 4 revolutions in the air.

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SEE MORE: Yuzuru Hanyu wins Japan figure skating nationals

As was the case prior to the 2018 Olympics, when Hanyu was single-minded about getting consistency on his quadruple lutz, the axel quest has come with physical risk.

An ankle ligament injury on a failed quad lutz attempt left him out of competition from late November 2017 until the Winter Games the following February. At last years worlds, when Hanyu won the short program impressively but stumbled to fourth in the free skate, he said that frequent practice of the quad axel had overworked my body.

This season, when Hanyu once again is committed to the quad axel, he injured the same ankle and was out of competition until winning the Japanese Championships in late December. He made his first competitive attempt of the jump in the free skate at those nationals but landed on two feet after an under-rotation that downgraded it to a triple axel.

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When I spoke with Chen before the season, I asked if he found it strange that Hanyu appeared more fixated on the quad axel than on trying to win a third Olympic gold medal.

I dont think so, Chen said. Listen, if I was two-time Olympic champion, I wouldnotbe in this sport anymore, you know. I would be long gone.

Chen laughed, and then continued.

If I was in his position, if I could do one quad toe and still try to medal, okay, Im good. The fact he is still trying to push himself to do something no one has ever done before is unreal.

U.S. skater Jason Brown, headed for his second Olympics, trained with Hanyu in Toronto for the two seasons before the pandemic led Hanyu to return to Japan. Brown saw in Hanyu a relentlessness that offers an insight into his mindset about the quad axel.

He comes at everything with, Im going to get it done, no matter what, Brown said. Its almost like hes able to turn a switch and become this genius.

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Ive seen him have the most rough training days and struggle through. Then the Zamboni comes on the ice, and he gets back on and pushes himself five times harder. Theres no giving up, no surrendering. And hes always after more.

Im not surprised at all (about Hanyus quad axel emphasis). He has this unbelievably focused mentality, this determination, this persistence, this, Im getting this done, Im going to solve this puzzle.

For all that, for his being around Hanyu every so often at competitions and then training with him for nearly two years, Brown said he is no different than the rest of the world in puzzling over who Hanyu is when he is not skating.

To everyone, he is a bit of a mystery, Brown said.

SEE MORE: How to watch Figure Skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC and Peacock

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Hanyu is not only his sports singular current global superstar but also one who inspires nearly religious reverence among his vast number of fans, known broadly as Fanyus, many of whom travel the globe to see him at competitions major and minor. Some of his most passionate supporters act at times like members of a cult, unable to brook even justifiable criticism of their idols performances.

Yet Hanyu has done little to fuel such passions beyond skating brilliantly and exuding an ever-boyish charisma. He has no social media presence. He rarely does interviews other than those during press conferences at competitions.

After nearly eight years working with coach Brian Orser in Toronto, Hanyu has essentially been in seclusion most of the time since spring 2020. He has been training by himself at the rink in Sendai, Japan, he literally fled during the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the region in 2011. He has been very active in raising funds for the disaster relief, making donations in excess of $300,000 himself.

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Hanyu also used some of the time freed by pandemic shutdowns to finish his undergraduate thesis in Human Informatics and Cognitive Sciences at Tokyos Waseda University. The thesis is one of the few things Hanyu has revealed about his life outside the rink.

And then there is the Pooh thing. That a Disney character beloved by children has become his mascot and good luck charm adds to the air of innocence that further endears Hanyu to his fans. They have celebrated his skating by dressing in Poohraphernalia and throwing thousands of plush Poohs onto rinks around the world after he performs.

In a survey done by the Sasakawa Sports Foundation in late summer 2020, Hanyu was chosen as Japans most popular athlete, ahead of such global icons as Naomi Osaka and Shohei Ohtani. He also has remarkable worldwide appeal, as evidenced by an English-language fan site dedicated to him, the aptly named Planet Hanyu.

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Hanyu has a long list of sponsors, among them the airline ANA, Citizen watches, and Kos personal care products. Estimates of his recent annual income have been around $13 million.

Chen too is doing well financially, with several major sponsorship deals, including Panasonic, Bridgestone, Toyota and Visa. In 2020, he was included in Forbes 30 under 30 spotlight on the next generation of sports talent, a group that also included pro basketballs Klay Thompson and Breanna Stewart and pro footballs Patrick Mahomes.

NBC has been constantly promoting Chen leading up to the Olympics, with wide exposure during its NFL playoff telecasts and a joint campaign with the upcoming Universal Studios film, Jurassic World: Dominion. Yet even with Olympic gold, Chen may remain a domestic star of what has become a niche sport in the United States, where the best-known figure skaters have always been women.

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View social media post: https://twitter.com/JurassicOutpost/status/1487148870756933638

Hanyus identity as a skater is clear, if still a bit mystical. With a reed-thin, 5-foot, 7-inch body, he blends a sense of fragility, lithe grace and seemingly effortless athleticism into an ethereal whole underpinned by a fierce competitiveness. He was in the vanguard of the quad revolution in mens skating and the first to land a quadruple loop jump in competition. He has done four clean quads in a free skate several times.

His triple axel seems like sleight of foot. While most skaters telegraph its arrival with long glides across the rink, Hanyu makes it appear out of nowhere. Turn, takeoff, boom.

There is little question that Hanyu is thegreatest mens skater at least since Button.Another Olympic medal of any color would make a convincing argument that he is the GOAT, no matter how hard it is to compare across eras.

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Hes one of those athletes where when you step up (to him), youre a little star struckeven now. Chen said after beating Hanyu for the 2021 world title. He has just been around a long time and has been consistently successful. Thats really impressive.

Chens coach, Rafael Arutunian, unashamedly asked Hanyu for his autograph several years ago. Arutunian still has the magazine Hanyu signed.

Yet Hanyu has been unable to beat Chen in their three meetings at individual competitions since the 2018 Olympics, when he lost the free skate decisively to his U.S. rival. Chen has a 5-4 advantage in their nine overall meetings, the first coming at the 2016 NHK Trophy Grand Prix event.

There were quite a few times when I thought that my growth stopped when I was about 24 to 25 years old, and when I couldnt skate my free program well, Hanyusaid in an online press conferenceat Decembers Japanese Championships. But Im probably at my best now. Definitely.

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And anyone who dares count Hanyu out because of injury and time away from both practice and competition would be wise to remember what he did under similar circumstances four years ago.

Hes a man that rises to the occasion, 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano said. When you think there is little chance for him, he delivers.

Over the seasons since the 2018 Olympics, Chen has narrowed what once had seemed an unassailable edge for Hanyu in component scores (which broadly reflect artistic quality), and he has a potentially substantial advantage over Hanyu in technical base value. With the short and free program layouts each had at his national championships, Chens aggregate element base value is 13 points higher.

They are now both super well-rounded skaters, Boitano said.

SEE MORE: Nathan Chen finds peace in music, playing guitar

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At the 2019 Grand Prix Final, where Chen won by nearly 44 points with a world record total of 335.30, the second-place Hanyu expressed lighthearted exasperation over how high Chen, five years younger, had raised the technical bar. In that event, Chen did two clean quads in the short program and five in the free while getting positive grades of execution and maximum difficulty levels on all 19 elements in the two programs.

Nathan is really pushing harder and harder, Hanyu said. Why is he making it harder, because Im really older than him?

I really love competing with him. If I alone can get over the 300 (points), I feel like I am lonely and then I cant find the motivation for the skating, so its like here is my motivation. Finally I can feel like competing, and its sport on the ice.

Chen is the only skater to have cleanly done all five types of quadruple jumps that have been landed so far. He was the first to do five clean quadruple jumps in a free skate and the first to get full rotational credit for six in a free skate.

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I wouldnt want to go under four quads in the free, Chen said, in a matter-of-fact statement that he admitted sounded crazy but shows just how far the sports best skaters have pushed the envelope.

It also shows how Hanyu catalyzed Chens desire to master the technical content that has given him a better chance to defeat Hanyu.

He has unintentionally pushed me, Chen said.

I asked if Chen if he would be the skater he is today without Hanyu as a competitor. His answer was unequivocal: Certainly not.

I think Yuzuru completely pushed the sport into a different position, not just how he shaped me as an athlete, how he shaped the sport, Chen said. Everyone is doing bigger and better things because of him. Figure skating is definitely indebted to him for all he has done to progress the sport.

Coming into this season, Chen looked like an odds-on pick for Olympic gold. Yet he has made big errors in two of his three competitions, and a third place at Skate America ended a 14-event win streak that began with his first of three straight world titles in 2018. Chens dominance had reached the point that after Vincent Zhou won Skate America, he said, Obviously I dont expect to win everything Im not Nathan Chen.

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I think Chen is showing signs of being human after all and that Hanyu seems to be getting stronger despite age, wear and tear and lack of competition outings, said Kurt Browning of Canada, a four-time world champion.

Chen came into the 2018 Olympics as a medal contender but imploded in consecutive short programs during the team and individual events, falling twice and not managing a single clean jumping pass among the six he attempted. He finished 17thin the mens short program and, with nothing to lose, did six quads, landing five cleanly, to take first in the free skate and fifth overall.

That put skating and competition and all that in perspective, Chen said. As a kid, I thought if I bombed an opportunity to skate well in an Olympics, thats basically the end of everything for me, and its the only reason I compete.

I finished that competition and went to worlds and another competition and then another competition. Then I realized okay, yeah, I wish I could have gone back and changed it, but my life continues moving forward and skating continues moving forward.

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Looking back, Chen realized that he had been too fixated on medals and also had been getting input from too many sources about which jumps he should do.

What it comes down to, everyone wants the best (for you), but they dont necessarily always agree on it, and I have to make the final judgment call, he said. Being as young as I was and not really knowing what the right call was, just being inexperienced as a skater at that level, I didnt know what the best judgment was to make.

Having had a little bit more experience obviously Im still quite young and being able to use that competition as a learning experience definitely has better prepared me since then.

Chen and Hanyu are not the only gold medal contenders. Two other Japanese skaters, reigning Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno and reigning world silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, also can be factors should the top two make serious errors.

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Hanyu had not even fully committed in public to competing in Beijing until winning the Japanese Championships with a brilliant performance in the short and a strong, steady performance in the free after the opening mistake on the quad axel. This presumably will be his last Olympics and possibly his final competition, period.

Chen also may step away from competition after this season, at least for a while. He intends to go back to Yale, where he is a rising junior, after a two-year academic leave.

It kind of depends on how the Games go and how the season goes, Chen said. I hope the answer will be more clear when I finish the Olympics.

And that will more than likely be the end of a rivalry that has become more and more fascinating since the 2018 Olympics.

Think of what the mens event would have looked like if Hanyu or Chen had not had the other to chase or be chased by, Browning said. It would have been a one-man show, and those are always tough sells. Together, they make the Olympics much more interesting.

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Boitano knows how much intense rivalries can make each skater better. In the two seasons leading up to the Battle of the Brians at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, he and Orser traded world titles. Boitano won gold with one of the greatest free skate performances in Olympic history, and the outcome was decided by the smallest judging margin possible under the old 6.0 scoring system.

This has been going and going and going between Yuzuru and Nathan, and that is what is required to make a rivalry very special, Boitano said. It has been year after year of great skating against great skating. Now its down to this moment.

Philip Hersh, who has covered figure skating at the last 11 Winter Olympics, is a special contributor to NBCOlympics.com.

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In pushing each other, Hanyu and Chen have redefined the meaning of figure skating greatness - WDIV ClickOnDetroit

Two-time Olympic 1500m medallist Nick Willis broke four minutes for the mile at the Millrose Games on Saturday (29), running 3:59.71 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Manhattan.

The time itself is perhaps no surprise from an athlete of his calibre. But what made it special for Willis that night is that, at 38 years old, the New Zealander became the first man to run under four minutes for the distance for 20 consecutive years.

There are many iconic barriers in athletics.

For men, beating 10 seconds in the 100m or clearing six metres in the pole vault defines you as an athlete. Likewise, for women, leaping farther than seven metres in the long jump or breaking four minutes for 1500m is something to be celebrated.

All of this can seem futile or arbitrary. Distances and times are, after all, based upon basic unit systems, so being on one side of a mark or the other should not matter.

And yet, it does. Because it is precisely what makes the sport exhilarating and relatable to people. Breaking a barrier can act as your entry ticket to the world all-time lists.

Breaking a barrier 20 years in a row is something else. Not a world record per se, but an incredible demonstration of consistency and dedication to the sport.

Nick Willis in 2021 ( Tracksmith)

Running the mile within four minutes was, for a long time, considered impossible.

In the mid-1950s, as the barrier seemed to be standing still (after nine years without any progress made on Swedens Gunder Hggs world record of 4:01.40), the British press referred to it as the Everest on the track. A relevant nickname, since both the ascent of Earths highest mountain and the athletics feat ended up being accomplished for the first time only a few months apart.

At a time when nobody had ever broken 10 seconds for the 100m, breaking four minutes for four laps of a track was an extremely satisfying and ambitious feat to envision. So ambitious that some scientists called it unfeasible for the human body.

On a foggy evening in May 1954, however, Great Britains Roger Bannister, a medical intern from the University of Oxford, became the first man to do it, proving the world wrong in the process. At the Iffley Road Track now known as the Roger Bannister Track in Oxford, he ran 3:59.40.

The Everest was conquered.

Seven decades later, breaking four minutes for the mile has become something of a prerequisite for professional middle-distance.

Indeed, about 1300 more men in the world have now managed to complete the distance in a time that starts with a three.

While the 1500m is the standard middle-distance championship discipline, the mile is still extremely popular in some countries, especially in the United States where it is often run at collegiate level.

As a matter of fact, this is where Willis ran his first sub-four mark (3:58.15) while competing for the University of Michigan at the 2003 Notre Dame Meyo Indoor Invitational in South Bend, Indiana, just four years after Moroccos middle distance great Hicham El Guerrouj set a still-standing world record of 3:43.13.

The following year, and at the age of 21, Willis lowered his personal best to 3:56.55 at the same venue before eventually running 3:53.51 at the Prefontaine Classic for his first outdoor sub-four mark. A couple of months after that, he participated in his first Olympic Games in Athens, running 3:39.80 in the heats and 3:41.46 in his semifinal of the mens 1500m.

Nick Willis at the 2004 Olympic Games ( Getty Images)

It was in 2006 that Willis experienced international success for the first time, claiming 1500m gold at the Commonwealth Games in 3:38.49 ahead of Canadas Nathan Brannen and Australias Mark Fountain. That same year, he lowered his mile personal best to 3:52.75.

In 2007, Willis made his first world 1500m final, placing 10th in Osaka in 3:36.13.

The following year, Willis ran what he considers one of his best races to improve his mile personal best to 3:50.66, finishing second behind Kenyas Shadrack Korir at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Two months after that, he went on to claim 1500m silver at the Beijing Olympics in China.

At the following 2012 Olympic Games, Willis had the privilege of being his countrys flag bearer during the opening ceremony held at the London Stadium. He finished ninth in the Olympic 1500m final and had a season's best of 3:51.77 for the mile.

In 2014 at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Willis earned 1500m bronze, his third straight Commonwealth medal after the one he had taken in Delhi four years prior. It was also in 2014 that he set his lifetime best of 3:49.83 in the mile in Oslo.

In 2015, Willis clocked an Oceanian record of 3:51.46 for the indoor mile, and a national 1500m record of 3:29.66 at the Herculis Diamond League meeting in Monaco. That same year he finished sixth with 3:35.46 in the 1500m final at the World Championships in Beijing, his best placing in the competition.

The following year, Willis added two global medals to his tally with a 1500m bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Portland and an Olympic 1500m bronze in Rio.

At 38, Willis was the oldest athlete in the 1500m field at the Tokyo Olympics, where he placed ninth in his semifinal in a seasons best of 3:35.41.

Earlier in 2021, he had already broken the record of 19 consecutive years of sub-four-minute miles. And he finally went on to improve that record to 20 on 29 January 2022 with his 3:59.71 run.

In a recent podcast, Willis confessed that his secret to longevity might be that he never experienced any major injuries that forced him to step away from the track for too long.

In 2020, however, Willis left his sponsor to turn amateur.

After years of top-level racing, Willis indeed claimed that he needed to fall back in love with the sport in a different way. And for him to maintain his longevity and consistency, he would have to do it on his own terms. He is now involved with the Boston-based running apparel brand Tracksmith where he is working as an athlete experience manager.

I am yearning to have a broader impact on our sport, beyond just participating as an athlete, Willis said in one of the brands releases.

Ultimately, I want to inspire and help more and more people fall in love with the sport that has given me so much.

Consider that done.

Laurent Dieste for World Athletics

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Willis becomes first man to break four minutes in the mile for 20 consecutive years | FEATURE - World Athletics

We know, from this research, that people want their CBD to be a destination that offers more than just workplaces. They want more green space and more residents. They want more places for creativity and culture. They want safety, sustainability and celebrity chefs.

This research is insightful but is from one moment in time. We need to continue to take the pulse of our city populations to understand what they want from their CBDs.

As we keep our finger on the pulse of changing needs and desires, we must also consider how behavioural economics play into those choices. What we know is that not all decisions we make are rational, and that people use myriad biases and emotional shortcuts to make decisions. While street parties, markets and open-air concerts can be short-term sugar hits, we must also truly understand how people operate to deliver structured and sustained behavioural change.

Second, we need to start small but cast a wide net to collaborate with as many stakeholders as we can. Bring together all the players council, state government, asset owners, employers, food and beverage, retail and community groups to focus our efforts on a particular small place or, as we are calling it, a micro district.

Micro districts can be a magnetic point of attraction. But to be successful, we need a new way of thinking and working together, with a governance framework and funding model that supports longevity. And we need to back up our collaborative efforts with data, analysis and user insights to understand whats working and what isnt. Our CBDs certainly need some sugar hits the excitement, buzz and Insta-moments are what many people have been craving. But sugar hits need to come with a sustainable diet that keeps people coming back to healthy, resilient CBDs

We know focusing on the micro can deliver huge dividends. If we look to global best practice, Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan was once dubbed needle park, and surrounding office towers were plagued by vacancy. But a four-year renovation transformed it into one of New York Citys best public spaces and a magnet for many types of people.

Think flower beds, lush lawns and portable chairs, outdoor movies, summer concerts and winter ice skating. The park became a theatre of shifting stage sets. These small but significant interventions could be tested and tweaked depending on how people responded. Today, 12 million people visit Bryant Park each year and real estate immediately around the park is worth $US5 billion ($7 billion) more than when it was a no-go zone.

The pandemic presents us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-envision our CBDs. We can expect many false starts and restarts, but our challenge is to use the multimillion-dollar funding, resources and collective efforts to turn our Central Business Districts into Central Belonging Districts.

Selina Short is managing partner at EY Oceania Real Estate and Construction.

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CBD revitalisation needs to create places where more people feel they belong - The Australian Financial Review