Bolt 9.58!!!!

Hawiian_Surferboy · August 16, 2009, 5:49pm

Olympiastadion was rocking tonight. The excitement over two silver medals earned by German athletes in the Women’s Shot Put (Nadine Kleinert) and the Women’s Heptathlon (Jennifer Oeser) and the great drama of both events had the place roaring, the entire stadium standing…and no-one giving much notice to the eight fast men walking into the stadium for the evening closer; 100m men.

As Klienert celebrated with the impressive, aggressive Kiwi Valerie Vili at one end of the stadium, and the entire group of Heptathlon women surrounded the winner (a very fetching Jessica Ennis) and Oeser in a slow lap of enthusiastic mutual adoration with the crowd, starting from the other end of the stadium, there was just going to be no stopping the noise and exuberance of this crowd.

A fan behind me noted that he didn’t think the 100m guys had ever been ignored before, and as they all took a seat on their lane markers and settled in for a long wait, they might have been feeling a little put off. The mindfully efficient event staff and officials stood in to halt the progress of the heptathlon mosh to the loud boos and whistles of the crowd.

As the noise finally began to subside the 100m men were put on notice and they resumed their preparations, stripping down and getting ready for their introductions. Daniel Bailey made sure to wipe the camera’s lens clean during his introduction so that no-one watching would miss what was about to happen.

And just what was about to happen?

Tyson Gay’s starts during all three rounds before the final had been terrible, while both Bolt and Powell had turned in a clinic on starting. Powell in fact was keeping things interesting. What might he actually do tonight. He was looking relaxed and joking around at the start. None of the stress that could be seen in him in other championships was their. Questions about his ankle had been well answered in the first three rounds, and he had show earlier in his 9.88sec run against Gay that his top speed wasn’t too bad either. So what would these guys give us.

As I looking down on them as they settled into their blocks (only some 15m away from where I sat), I glanced across to the far straight, where not one person in the crowd had left their feet and wondered How fast would this look to them from that vantage point?

Well, when the gun went off…it was fast from every vantage point. All three of these guys (Bolt, Gay, Powell) got tremendous starts and were exploding down the track, picking up tremendous speed. The sense of gathering momentum was fantastic. When they hit about 60m I kept one eye on the big screen and the other on the live view as all three started to separate themselves from the rest of the field…and then the clock!

9.58sec…

The only thing that stirred me out of the trance that I fell into was the continuation of the heptathlon mosh and a chance as they came by to get a final look at Louise Hazel (the Great in the Great Britain decathlon squad is how great they look, gold be damned). But as the girls drifted by you just couldn’t help feel that these top 100m men just were not going to be upstaged. They certainly no how to close a show. What an amazing night of track & field!

As the crowd began filing out, I noticed that I couldn’t leave. Like many others I wanted to remain attached to the moment for a bit longer. So I sat, thinking how blessed I had been to witness two very fast men (Tyson Gay, 9.71!! Wow), pushing a truly amazing man to something yet again…unexpected.

I almost expect to arrive at the stadium, quiet before tomorrows events, with the clock still frozen, unblinking with the time and WR beside it, reveling in a new chapter of its history, on that can be celebrated by the world and Germans alike. What a moment.

This is exactly how it went down. I was at the finish line and the crowd and stadium was so alive from excitment from the german medals from the heptathlon and the womens shot put. So much energy and electricity and then Usain Bolt took over the show. You really couldnt have asked for a better night for track and field. He took the whole world for a ride. At the media zone there was Maurice Greene, Donovan Bailey, Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay the fastest men who ever lived and they all had nothing on Usain Bolt. A night ill never forget.

James_Smith · August 16, 2009, 6:14pm

Not sure if someone already posted a video elsewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPFN-B6SWXI

RB34 · August 16, 2009, 6:20pm

yep.

//youtu.be/mpfn-b6swxi

Charlie_Francis · August 16, 2009, 6:27pm

Circle Weights VS Hexagonal Weights

And he did it running a time that would have won all but one world championship final (and all but one olympic final) in the past and was 0.1s faster than he has ever run in a major final.

Apart from that, I also think he should be proud of himself for having been the one to usher in a new era of male sprinting. I believe that Mills and Bolt have learned a lot in terms of technique and training principles from Francis and Asafa, and I’m sure that without them, Bolt would not be running these times today. In fact, he would probably not be running the 100m at all if Asafa hadn’t shown that a tall guy can start well and break 100m world records. In terms of technique, I’m sure it’s not accidental that Bolt’s style so closely resembles Asafa’s in many aspects (e.g. low foot recovery at the start with the back foot clipping the track, tight arm angles, the shoulder roll, etc.). It’s just too unfortunate that his pioneering work has never been and probably will never be rewarded with an individual title.

Yes, a true analysis of the situation and parhaps the race has gotten away. it was still in his- and Gay’s- reach at 9.69, but now…

Sevastocrator · August 16, 2009, 6:29pm

BBC commentary with M. Johnson (who didn’t think Powell would be on the podium.

If anyone comes across the footage that has slo-mo of the race from diff. angles - PLEASE and THANK YOU!

//youtu.be/nF6ATi6xtrs

Oh, one more thing…http://keepvid.com

Go to the above website and enter Youtube address if you want to keep the footage on your HDD.

robin1 · August 16, 2009, 6:40pm

A few seconds before the final Michael Johnson, commentating for BBC television, said: “I think it’s three different races. Bolt in his own race, Gay in his own race and then the others”.

robin1 · August 16, 2009, 6:46pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuf5QAXkZKs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O54638AgGU

robin1 · August 16, 2009, 7:10pm

BTW: Asafa now has the single highest number of sub 10s performances in history.

notoriousquirrel · August 16, 2009, 7:27pm

Wow that’s amazing. Ups to Gay and Powell giving respectable times. No complaints to them they went 100%, esp. Asafa.

Wow is all I have to say. That’s a fast track.

123456asdf · August 16, 2009, 7:37pm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/4044936/Usain-Bolt-targets-9.58secs-in-100m.html

Charlie_Francis · August 16, 2009, 10:08pm

The first half of the prediction is complete- now we wait!!

ginroth · August 17, 2009, 10:14am

http://berlin.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/30/83/20090817081546_httppostedfile_wch09_m100_final_13529.pdf

Bolt’s 0-60m split was 6.31!

Charlie_Francis · August 17, 2009, 10:18am

I would normally expect a split time under that to yield a 9.58

JohnG109 · August 17, 2009, 10:29am

Me too, awesome cars. I have an Audi A3
1800cc Turbo, 150bhp, quite fast, may just beat Bolt over 100m!

What do you drive Charlie?

123456asdf · August 17, 2009, 5:07pm

Ive put together these splits to compare Beijing to Berlin.

Beijing ______ Berlin
RT .165 _____ .146
20 2.87 (2.71) 2.89 (2.74)
40 4.65 (4.49) 4.64 (4.49)
60 6.32 (6.16) 6.31 (6.16)
80 7.96 (7.80) 7.92 (7.77)
100 9.69 (9.53) 9.58 (9.43)

vabo74 · August 17, 2009, 6:25pm

did wind (0 in bejing) affect his better second half in Berlin than in China?

Charlie_Francis · August 17, 2009, 8:29pm

I drive a Panzer!

Sevastocrator · August 18, 2009, 6:42am

//youtu.be/Enicfuelenw

Mo Green, D. Bailey, MJ, Colin Jackson

Hicksy · August 18, 2009, 7:50am

Does anyone have a biomechanical answer to why all the MVP athletes place their feet high on the block pads? Does it have something to do with CoG, shin angles, departure angle etc. When you compare to Bolt and Gay, who have their feet right at the bottom of the plate, and in contact with the track, its obviously quite different from the conventional. I also believe i have seen Padgett and Dix use this starting method also.

Cheers

Dazed · August 18, 2009, 8:49am

http://berlin.iaaf.org/mm/document/development/research/05/31/54/20090817073528_httppostedfile_analysis100mmenfinal_bolt_13666.pdf

Not sure if this has been posted else where. If PJ is around:
What is happening on the graph around 45-50m the amplitude seems to flatten right off here. Is there a mechanical explanation for this?

Cheers