This is what I respect and appreciate. If you are good, you are good. There is no need to hide and be diplomatic about it. You guys wanna know, here you have it, plain and simple. That’s exactly what S.F. did in this interview.
Well done, and well said.
I agree. One of the observations I’ve made following this sport is that the coaches who look the most relaxed at the side of the track are almost invariably the most accomplished. The ones who ring the arena with frozen game-faces looking rather like Easter Island statues are usually the imposters or at best the ones who are still struggling to produce, still haven’t quite got it together and are trying to bluff through another pointless campaign.
You look at the Francis demeanour - both on Charlie and Stephen - and you see guys relaxed in their own skin, ready to share a laugh and ready to flick the mental switch and focus the laser-beam of their mind on the needs of their proteges.
Asafa won Melbourne 10.04 -0.2
Frater 10.25, then Shrivington 10.35
1.Wariner won 400m in 44.82
2. Hill 45.78
3. Sean Wroe 45.88
4. Darold Williamson 45.95
Nice run by Asafa, very close to sub 10 and soooo very early in the program for him - swish.
Shirvo - keeps knocking off 0.1 sec chunks every time i see his times posted. Nice. Heading in the right direction finally. Sweet. Right on Frater’s tail, anybody got a blow down on how the race unfolded?
saf cruised home tonight. very impressive…
The spot light was on Asafa tonight while J.W. went under the radar (almost). What really amassed me was Asafa’s preparation before the race. He was chatting to the media, spectators, he was waving and then in the blocks …woosh…10.04 like, yeah OK I have to run tonight. Amasing run.
On the other side, Jeremy prepared himself very professionally. He was focused, calm, listening to his music…He did lots of 60-80 accelerations with very easy walk back, then a number of drills, spikes on and some more accelerations and he was ready to roll.
44.8sec later the race was over. Very relaxed running followed up with the usual acceleration in the last 100m. Awesome!
On the way home we caught up with Asafa as he left around 10PM causally walking back to I guess his hotel in Richmond or in the CBD. S. Francis was 50m behind him slowly catching up talking to someone. After a short chat and a few autographs (had little athletes with me) we wondered off home. Asafa continued to talk to spectators who were walking back to their cars. His knee is OK. He is OK and I think he has not been this positive ever before. I have seen him a couple of times before but this time around I think he will be ready to run in every race this year. 8.8.08. here we come…Sorry guys gotta hurry up with the report.
Check out the Asafa/Riete thread, Charlie gives his very interesting views about the differences in performance between Osaka and the world record run.
AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION REPORT
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Powell pleases packed house in Melbourne
Melbourne Olympic Park erupted when Asafa Powell took to the track tonight, and he added himself to the record books as well. Recording a new meet record of 10.04 (-0.2), the Jamaican eclipsed the previous 100m mark held by American Maurice Greene.
On a night where seven Australians produced A-qualifiers at the World Athletics Tour Melbourne’s 21st birthday, many international stars performed in front of a parochial crowd.
From the minute he walked onto the track with his spikes on, every spectator stood to see Powell complete his warm up. They didn’t return to their seats until he had powered across the finish line.
Having injured his knee before leaving Jamaica, there was never the certainty that Powell would compete in his signature event.
“I haven’t done anything in two weeks and it’s the first time in spikes since I got here, so I’m very happy,” he said after his run.
The decision to compete, despite having his stitches removed on Saturday night, was made only an hour before the race.
“It was very good, although I hesitated out of the blocks,” he said. “After the warm-up, coach said to me ‘you make the decision’ (to run).”
Commonwealth discus champion Scott Martin rocked Melbourne yet again tonight, with the Australian shot put record unable to elude him any longer.
The behemoth sent 7.26kg of metal a massive 21.27m, taking Justin Anlezark’s mark of 20.96m. The former record holder held on for second in tonight’s competition (19.68m).
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Martin gushed. “It’s a long time now that I’ve been thinking about throwing 21 metres. It might not be the six-metre mark in the pole vault or the 10-second mark in the 100, but it’s 21 metres for the first time ever. I’m 25 years old and I feel I can push further.”
The meet record in the men’s 400m meet was re-written by the man expected to do it, world and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.
The one-lap wonder from Texas ran 44.82 to set a hat-trick of season openers under 45 seconds.
“We’ve got a lot of new things to work on with my coach,” he said. “It felt good today. I’ve been sick for the last two weeks, there’s been a bug in my throat and it’s made it hard for me to breathe. But I’m real pleased with the way I ran today.“
The 24 year-old will now return home to prepare for Beijing, confirming that “my goal is to win the gold medal and defend my title and at the same time try and get the world record.”
Craig Mottram won his sixth Australian 5000m Title tonight, with a blistering turn of speed on the final lap, recording his second best time on Australian soil in 13.11.99.
A massive breakthrough performance was recorded in the 800 metres tonight by Lachlan Renshaw. The NSWIS athlete obliterated his personal best, set just last month, by over a second to record an Olympic A-qualifier of 1.45.79.
The women’s 400m produced one of the races of the night, with World Youth representative Olivia Tauro setting a cracking pace for the first half. She then handed over to Tamsyn Lewis who tore up the home straight to win narrowly from Sherone Simpson, stopping the clock at 51.55. “It was good to have Olivia and Sherone on my outside. I’ve been struggling all year in my four to get that time. There hasn’t been the competition but, well, I had the comp tonight.”
Attention now turns to next Thursday night, for the Beijing Selection Trials and 86th Australian Championships.
compare the comment above with what was being said a few weeks ago
“I don’t think anything is going to change much,” said Ford, an assistant coach under Hart at Baylor for the past eight years. “I learned a lot under coach Hart and I think that’s probably a reason Jeremy asked me to work with him.”
It is interesting that S. Francis acknowledges what C. Francis noted as a camera trick on the topic of Asafa’s lack of triple extension. What seems clear in both of their philosophies though is that the unique traits of particular athletes be left alone.
While I have no experience working with elite level sprinters, I can see the logic in not messing with what works. What I do wonder about is whether there is something to be learned by Asafa’s unique stride that makes it advantageous and could be worked into the development of younger athletes.
The seemingly apparent ease of Asafa’s racing when he is at his best offers a contrast to what we say from an athlete like Maurice Green when he was at his best. I remember reading comments from Ato Bolden talking about a notion that he, and perhaps others in his training group, had about the limited number of times the body could handle racing at the low 9.8sec level throughout a career. Asafa racing at his best seems to remove some of the stresses that Ato expressed feeling.
Is this a fundamental difference in sprinting that is akin to the difference between a rotary engine (Asafa) and a piston engine (Maurice or Ato in this case)?
Does the lack of triple extension perhaps protect the hamstring from injury (re: not fully extended) in a stride that might be more focused on a “pulling” cue than a “stepping down” cue?
I bring up the possible difference in cues only from watching video of Asafa doing easy strides in training. There seems to be an inherent look of pulling at that speed that might translate to how he feels at top speed.
Even if Asafa is/was getting coaching cues to “step down” (this site has made mention of seeing CFS materials being carried around by Stephen Francis in the past), perhaps he might feel his stride differently. If S. Francis is leaving the issue alone (other than offering a yank of the chain to moderate athlete focus on stride frequency), then perhaps the triple extension or “step down” was somehow at odds with how Asafa internally cues his stride.
Anomaly, or teachable advance for younger athletes?
Having noticed this triple extension (or lack of it) not just in Asafa, but in Gatlin and FloJo, I wonder if this is something worth another look, and perhaps discussion.
In most cases, rather than protecting the hamstring from injury, it makes it more likely because the final extension raises the hips and reduces the ground contact phase ahead of the CM. Lowering the hips makes injury more likely. no extension with Flo Jo and Gatlin?
Charlie,
Yes, though Gatlin and FloJo are very distinct in comparison with Powell (obviously every motion will be unique to the athlete), I am seeing the same general tendencies prior to, during, and following ground contact.
Maximum Extension at Knee Joint - In each athlete this occurs prior to ground contact (FloJo’s extension at the knee showing the most extended of the three).
A Reduction in Knee Extension prior to Ground Contact - It seems that the angle at the knee joint continues to recede through ground contact while hip extension completes.
The Gatlin example is most susceptible to critique, though I saw this tendency in a couple of his best races just prior to suspension (see the Eugene double final where he is arm battling Leonard Scott).
What I am suggesting is that perhaps there is a trade-off intuitively being made by these athletes that maximizes/balances both (1) the quality of the application of energy to the ground, and (2) an ability to remain relaxed during maximum speed running.
Think of it as akin to finding a Hubble Constant for sprinting.
The case for a slightly bent knee through ground contact and the potential dampening/elastic response has a comparison in auto racing. A harsh suspension (re: full triple extension directly below CoM) does not always allow for maximum transfer (or rather most efficient transfer) or energy to the ground. Faster times, even in a straight line often come through reducing firmness of suspensions.
I also don’t understand your argument for increased potential for injury with reduced knee extension at the point in a stride where the hamstring is experiencing its highest level of forces. That seems backwards to me…explain?
I have experimented with these variations on the track and everything seems so much easier and, I would argue, my recovery from session to session is faster. It felt like the difference between running with the handbrake on and taking it off. The sound off my foot strike faded away to almost nothing as did any sensation of “strike”. It was like their was no contact at all.
Now, I was only ever a 10.8 guy at my best, but I never felt this good on a track (with the exception of one training session that I can remember, and was never able to replicate again). To be able to go out and reliably feel this sensation on a track is pure heaven to me.
The point is that I think there may be something more to what we are seeing from Asafa than simply a flawed anomaly in an extraordinarily gifted athlete.
My arguement relates to hip height at footstrike, which determines how far in front of BDC they land but perhaps we are not far apart as your position seems to be that they are landing high at foot strike but dropping slightly as they pass BDC. In any event, I doubt there is a conscious effort to attain a particular knee angle at departure ( there never was with my people) and that the stride is automatic.
If you consider it from that perspective, any CONSCIOUS effort to extend beyond that which happens automatically will be detrimental.
My arguement relates to hip height at footstrike, which determines how far in front of BDC they land but perhaps we are not far apart as your position seems to be that they are landing high at foot strike but dropping slightly as they pass BDC. In any event, I doubt there is a conscious effort to attain a particular knee angle at departure ( there never was with my people) and that the stride is automatic.
If you consider it from that perspective, any CONSCIOUS effort to extend beyond that which happens automatically will be detrimental.
Charlie,
I think the hip height argument makes sense whether the knee is fully extended/slightly bent at the moment of ground contact. It goes, as you point out, to how far ahead of BDC contact occurs.
I also agree that stride, particularly at an elite level, needs to be automatic to be reliable under any sort of racing conditions. I guess what I am wondering is, during the learning process when we are building towards these automatic responses, do Asafa’s tendencies offer us something different to work towards?
There would be consciousness in earlier stages of learning, but with a different muscle memory pattern as the automatic end target; hopefully with a higher ultimate performance potential.
By higher level of performance I don’t just mean maximum velocity. In Asafa’s case, does the apparent ease of the performance have anything to do with his mechanics? Could they reduce, in any way, the racing stresses at this high level, helping him replicate his performances more consistently through a long racing season (re: an entire year below the 10.00sec threshold)?
If there were advantages, they might require some changes in how we teach young athletes. It might mean an added level of complexity until we learn to teach the new as simply as we teach the traditional, but young gymnasts and figure skaters don’t seem to have problems learning very complex skills.
(Could you clarify what you meant by “knee angle at departure.” Is that just prior to ground contact, just prior to the end of ground contact, or a reference to something else?)
I would say that the teaching mechanics will remain the same but individual physical response may vary, so my answer would be no- there’s no point trying to copy someone (conscious effort, therefore slow).
Departure- refers to moment the support leg leaves the ground.
I actually see the extension in all 3 of those athletes. I just don’t see it in the traditional position as most sprinters. We’ve talked about this before here actually. The more force generated, the more hip height gained. And the more hip height gained, the more vertical the triple extension will I be. I don’t believe there’s enough time for your leg to swing back far enough to achieve the angles of triple extension we see in other runners when you achieve that level of hip height. I think this adds to the effect of not having achieved the extension.
Asafa Powell has amazing heel recovery as well, and I think that further adds to your notion that he doesn’t seem to be extending fully. Just makes everything move so much faster.
Charlie,
Thanks for the clarification on “departure” and your thoughts on this subject. I certainly agree on the Conscious equals Slow observation. Where I stumble is on the notion that learning one set of mechanics is somehow more complex, or more conscious, from another set of mechanics from the athlete’s perspective; particularly when the differences are relatively subtle.
In many fields it is usually subtle change, or a new perspective on a traditional solution that allows for the evolution and advancement of performance (re: internal combustion engine), so I am somewhat leery of leaving well enough alone being my approach before considering what mechanical advantage/disadvantage might be conferred by change.
I have to admit to scouring everything that has been discussed on this subject over the years on this site (junky) so I am not unfamiliar with the material or arguments. They always just seemed to be missing something though, which is why I have brought it up again. I thought the comments by S. Francis in this regard might spark a round of thoughtful “What ifs”.
Treble,
I don’t deny that extension exists in any of these athletes (though the degree varies). But my understanding of the concept of Triple Extension is that it happens together. If we see maximum knee extension prior to maximum hip extension, and that the angle at the knee recedes from this maximum as the stride cycle approaches maximum hip extension, then perhaps tripe extension (or the maximum expression of it) is not so very important to the maximization of sprinting at top speed.
Now if this were one of my Olympic Weightlifters, I would argue that maximum triple extension is vital, particularly because of the overwhelmingly vertical nature of the exercise. Sprinting however is a balance of vertical and horizontal forces, and the application time is so short that it somewhat negates the notion of maximums along any particular axis of force application. To me the issue becomes one of most effective force application and what tradeoffs achieving this means to the entire stride cycle (frequency, relaxation, hip height, etc.).
In this respect I see hip height as being possibly more about the balance between frequency and amplitude than it is about hip height at the bottom of the sine wave (ground contact)…within reason. In this case full triple extension vs. a slight sit could both see ground contact similarly close to occurring under BDC. The question in my mind is whether one or the other affords some sort of advantage to effective force application over the other…and if the mechanics of this might cascade, or spill over into the recovery phase (positively or negatively).
I never bought into the notion that the video evidence on Asafa was an allusion created by slow video frame rates. He is amazing as you say, but only incrementally so in terms of physical measurements of limb speed. He doesn’t represent a sudden leap to hummingbird quickness for humans. If we saw something in his movement that was different form other athletes appearing alongside him (or behind him most likely) in the same frame, it was because the movement was different.
Whether I have the knowledge of communication skills to incite some of the talented and experienced participants of this site to take another look at this issue I don’t know, but it would certainly be a conversation that I would enjoy seeing. Or maybe it really is a non-issue.
Gotta say I do not feel I have the expertise to join in this discussion, but I will happily sit and read it 
I’m happy the comment by Franno that Asafa “sits” was picked up. That’s why I highlighted it in bold when originally posting the article.
But while Franno may not coach dorsiflexion as such and may even find the idea comical, nonetheless it seems common to many of the greatest sprinters as does triple extension to a greater or lesser degree.
Among all of Franno’s better-known sprinters, Asafa is the only one who trades of extension for turnover but he doesn’t seem to need that extension in order to gain vertical lift.
He runs very “tall.” I had thought since I first watched his stunning second-round 100m run in Manchester in 2002 that he was 6ft 2in or taller, but having stood face to face with him I would say he would be lucky to be 6ft in barefeet.
It seems to me - and I confess I don’t have the time or inclination to go to the video on this - that he gets plenty of “pop” out of the track, perhaps because at the end of the action he strikes with such quality of contact and placement in relation to his COM. It’s a nice tradeoff.
But I agree with Charlie that when you are coaching, then triple extension and a high foot carry are check points to advocate if not necessarily forcefully.
I have always felt that Jesse Owens exhibited the same sprint characteristics that are being discussed here .
It always looked to me that he was"sitting" and had a bent leg during the support phase which seemed to generate a high rate leg of leg speed.In addition he appeared to me to run slightly flat footed --perhaps I’m dreaming.