How did you figure out how to load pictures? 
This will be interesting as we have a talented 14 year old here with a similar action to the guy in black (563).
You’re too quick for me. You gotta be a sprinta. Actually there were a few paving stones missing in your pathway to IT glory, must have got washed away in that torrent on the Nth Island. But THANKS.
The picture shows the Australian 100m final 2006 in which Matt Shirvington (doing the “Twist”, 
second from right) finished fifth and missed an individual berth at the Com Games.
120 deg arms
heel flat on the ground
knee super low
eyes closed
…perfect form, i cant beleive he didnt win!
How wide is a lane? 1.5m give or take? something like that - i know shirvo has a powerful start, but how innefficient is it? that first 10m he covers every inch of that 1.5m, still out in front, then dies.
look at other good starters - straight line (more or less) out of the blocks, yet, since 1997/98, nothing has changed for him. cant someone fix it?
and that just leads to the same thing down the rest of the straight - how much ground does he ‘really’ cover going from side to side?
then you get to the twisting - how can he be more innefficient - maybe if he was crawling?!
how he ever manager to get around the bend and run 20.45 in 1998 i will never know. on that - notice how since he stopped doing the duece, the 100m times have slowed, or, as his 200m times have slowed, so have his 100m? any correlation there? not doing the work?
i remember, i think, 01 worlds? 03 maybe? he could not put a race together. he would get a great start and die (almost like he used too much power the first half of the race), or get a poor start and finish off well - he had 3 races, and it was the same for all of them. looked more obvious in the qf and semi. why cant he put a race together?
so many questions left unanswered!!!
and compare it to this - asafa powell (#190)
or this . . . olusoji fasuba (left, silver) to asafa powell (right, gold) CWG 2006 100m final.
The relaxation Powell shows is mind blowing compared to the others. No expression what so ever on his face. THAT right there is a great example!
Did Shirvington really look like this back in 97/98? I know he was skinnier, but did he really have this form back then or has it gotten worse since?
He pretty had this form in 98. it looked worse then as well - huge steps to the side at the start - very powerful, but very innefficient. Although he was quicker then - so go figure!
Yes, he was skinnier back then, still powerful (strength to weight ratio etc) though - dont know how he does it. you look at other guys - ie as kit kat has posted, asafa etc, and the relaxtion is unbelievable, yet shirvo - makes you scream!
it WOULD be ABnormal for a sprinter Not to zig-zag in the first few steps off the blocks because at that stage they are using power over quickness to go from zero velocity to something faster. So in the first few strides, to exert greater force they are extending through the hip and they do that by “making space” for themselves - hence the zig-zag.
But there is an issue to address if it goes on too far into the race. The photo of Shirvington shows that all the athletes who defeated him in that national championship and selection trial final had well and truly cleaned up their actions to run a more efficient line, while poor old Matt is still power-bounding or whatever it is that he does in his worst performances. I will be interested to read what Charlie thinks, although of course a video would reveal much more. Don’t ask. I’ve only just learnt today, from KiwiJohn, how to post a still-frame. It could take me another 20 years to move along from there.
Give MS a steady diet of mobility and flexibility work …
This mighty sequence courtesy of the magnificent PJ
THE FLYING OLUSOJI FASUBA - FASTER THAN-YOU-ARE
Olusoji Fasuba (left) against Patrick Johnson (centre)
Lots of documents here! Asafa is showing great relaxation in 10.0-10.1 races, but is he able to run at 100%?. Sorry but i don’t buy the explanations like “i didn’t want to break the WR today…”. I fear that Asafa has not recoved from his groin injury and pushing 100% effort to the finish line may cause problems. I’m concerned also about bad habbit in his system because of stopping effort before the finish (the fan are impressed of course, but remember he was beaten in Prefontaine 2005 by Gatlin because of this).
It’s always amazing to see someone jogging comfortably and still faster than someone sprinting max. It also happens that sprinters runs better times at fast-floated-fast than full straight effort. I think this is the topic here.
I think Asafa has recovered from his groin injury, but it is in his head, he doesnt want to stretch out 100% for fear of not lasting the season etc etc. Im sure he has let himself go during training, he wouldnt be in 10.0 shape otherwise!
As for his pulling up in races as such, personally, it looks like a bit of showmanship, or at least used to be, now it looks like a habit, and a bad one at that. yes, he did it a few times last year, then let himself go in the 9.77 (obviously). I wonder what his coach thinks about this? if he is told to do it or what? Last year, instead of his 9.84, 9.85 and 9.77, we could have seen a 9.77, 9.77, 9.77 type of thing - would his body have handled that?
the other thing, last year, he ran those races, ran the 9.77 and then backed up within a week to run his nationals - no wonder he hurt himself. he was running pb’s (world pb’s as such) and wasnt letting his body recover - he was always going to injure himself. he is taking things cautiously now though, not fully extending himself (not that his stride is that big anyway!) for the full 100m. What will happen when he does? Fast time? Injury?
As for Patrick Johnson above - look at the foot on the ground. It doesnt make contact with the ground like that. It his the ground, then twists. How much longer on the ground does each foot strike have if it is doing that?
Say 50 strides… .005 for bit of twist? You are looking at .25. I know, round figures. That puts him closer to the 10.0 he was at a few years ago.
Similar situation for shirvo i imagine, with the twisting and shaking and moving and grooving!
You look at a slow mo or stills of maurice, ben johnson, asafa. The foot is straight, makes contact and leaves the ground quickly. doesnt move around
hmmm, this is frustrating :mad:
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ok, i give in