I think one question to ask here is Usain’s total contact time versus, say, Tim’s? Are we really better off with short, fast contact times compared to only 41 of those contacts to cover 100 meters?
I don’t think you can ignore the success of the Jamaican programs recently, the 6.31 splits, or the comment from Steve Francis about “long, longer…longer yet.”
My sense is that if you have more explosive power (not entirely related to pure strength–see Mo for intance) you can push longer, and I think this is highly athlete-dependent. And its not just push versus not push; If you are taller you want to get your legs extended and take advantage of the longer lever sooner rather than later. So for me there’s a full extension cue that comes into play ASAP.
Focus on your strength–different athletes at different levels will emphasize different things at different parts of the race model.