Bolt not that special?
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:56 am
http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201 ... -sprinting
I guess he's just not that good...how good could he be?
I guess he's just not that good...how good could he be?
The Pole Vault Community Online
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=22065
Logically, one would think that Bolt did so by moving his legs faster than anyone else. Only he didn't.
Speed, as it turns out, may be completely misunderstood.
When Bolt established the current 100-meter world record in the 2009 world championships, running it in 9.58 seconds, he did so by moving his legs at virtually the same pace as his competitors. In fact, if you or I were to compete against Bolt, our legs would turn over at essentially the same rate as his.
This is a theory put forth by academics and track coaches alike who contend that running fast has more to do with the force one applies to the ground than how quickly one can move one's legs.
More than a decade ago, Peter Weyand, a science professor at Southern Methodist University, conducted a study on speed. Comparing athletes to non-athletes, Weyand clocked both test groups as they ran at their top speed. What he found shocked him.
"The amount of time to pick up a leg and put it down is very similar," he says. "It surprised us when we first figured it out."
So if leg turnover is the same, how does one person run faster than another?
Weyand discovered that speed is dependent upon two variables: The force with which one presses against the ground and how long one applies that force.
Think of the legs as springs. The more force they can push against the ground, the further they can propel the body forward, thus maximizing the output of each individual step. In a full sprint, the average person applies about 500 to 600 pounds of force. An Olympic sprinter can apply more than 1,000 pounds.
But force isn't the only factor. How quickly that force is applied factors in as well.
bel142 wrote:Yes... stride length x stride frequency = speed...
The article was dealt to the lay public. The simple numbers of sprinting, we also need to think about sprint technique. He does have better sprint technique than the majority of the public... Meshed with an ability to sprint and have longer stride than most, is a brew for an individual to break world records...
No other person on earth has ever run a legal official time faster than bolt...
This is not something to belittle...
but on a serious note - his start is not good.