Data pertinent to the age of the normal polarity Reunion Event (or subchron), and whether it is a split feature, are critically examined. New 40Ar/39Ar age determinations on lavas from two sequences on Reunion Island, along with available potassium-argon (K-Ar), 40Ar/39Ar and astrochronological analyses, indicate an age of 2.15--2.13 Ma. Although the possibility cannot be completely ruled out, at present there is no convincing evidence supporting the contention of a short duration of normal polarity some 70--90 kyr later. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union