I am so impressed at how Bolt improved his starting and acceleration for such a tall man. This is what makes him truly the fastest of all time.
He was 3.78 with a 0.146s reaction time to 30m. And was consistently sub 3.9s throughout the rounds. Although on average Asafa is probably the best starter, I have not seen a better 30m segment from him (unless someone else has seen one). Glen Mills must have a really good grasp of starting mechanics and acceleration training.
Bolt hit the holy grail of sprinting in this race, the .81s 10m segment. What sticks out to me is that Ben ran a .81s 10m segment into a -1.3 head wind! Completely outstanding and mind boggling. Ben’s CNS output is completely out of this world, and a true testament to Charlie’s training methods.
has anyone noticed he pauses before the first footstrike and he spends no effort on pedelling with the rear leg, instead he gets the foot to the position for the next power stroke.
yes - His trail foot toe is hitting the ground at the exact time his 1st foot touches the ground (mental que?)
also to note, massive strength in the foot/ankle on 1st foot strike, not any give at all, in either men.
For those looking for top speed Arm mechanics - check out Assafa approx half way into clip. hand Stops at hip - it doesnt continue back and back like they do in the 1st few strides, typical on what you see in many top speed athletes who are stuck running 11sec…
R U suggesting the foot drag is done on purpose. I am suggesting that he is holding back on the front foot strike and because of the equal and opposite thing the rear leg momentarily stops resulting in a touchdown
That is interesting that you mention Asafa’s arm mechanics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZno4-lEXOM&feature=related
In this clip where he recorded the fastest electronic split of all time 8.57 you can notice his hand goes goes well past his hip all the way through the race. Maybe this is correlated to his performance in some manner? More arm ROM at higher speeds. In his Rieti races he always seems to have good arm ROM. It makes sense that a tighter upper body would inhibit full power output elsewhere.
Well - i wouldn’t say “way past his hip”
At full speed - ones hand will drift further back - from sheer force and momentum.
The Idea is, once thumb hits hip, start return of arm swing.
The large forces generated, will drive the arm back a touch further, as shown by assafa. But it’s nowhere near Back like you see the slower guys - whos arms Unlock at the elbow, then re-swing back and back till hand is nearly 1 foot behind them…
On the front footage of Assafa, you can really see him Drive the arms DOWN, and Not Back like most slower guys do. Great footage.
Wish we had Slow Mo cameras of Ben running.
In Usain’s case I would say it is natural and has been built on.
Imagine a muscle having two actions, relaxed and engaged, this muscle does not have to go through a cycling phase to work. If it is shorter between 2 points in a straight line, would it make sense to focus on moving the foot from the rear straight to the front without cycling, this is all he does.
Precisely my thoughts. Cycling the swing leg via bending at the knee more than is necessary to establish the optimal stride length relative to one’s power output is inefficient at that stage of the sprint.
IT’s like CF says in the very moment the Gun go off, Don’t swing the arm in an arc - move the arm in a straight Line from the Start to above your shoulder, It’s faster.
Any idea what the drill is called? or if Youtube footage?
Level 5 coach - other than sucking up, does it get you any benifits? Or any Level coaching from ATF?
Are they based on passing courses, or based on getting Athletes Fast and into certain Times?
It is also common in a number of the other MVP men. Personally I think it is a combination of focusing on full extension and long powerful strides at the start as well as a natural pattern brought about by the copious volume of sled and hills where you almost have to run with low heel recovery.
I read an interview where Bolt states that Mills was trying to get Bolt NOT to drag his foot, saying it could slow him down. Minor I would think considering how beneficial full extension is. Bolt was also coached to recover the rear foot fast once block clearance has occurred. That is straight from Bud Winter as well interestingly.
When I think in terms of mechanical principles only, and I know this can be a slippery slope, if a humanoid/robot were to be constructed for the sole purpose of linear sprinting from a block start, it only seems logical that low (distal limb) recovery would be programmed subsequent to the start and gradual achieve greater clearance coincidentally as the machine assumes the upright sprint position.
Of course the counter argument to this is that a shorter lever requires less force to mobilize; thus greater heel recovery may facilitate the faster forward travel of the swing leg. I, however, feel that during early acceleration, due to the steepened angle, the low recovery is more favorable.
I was going to post just that -wouldn’t such an issue be resolved almost on its own by the staring mechanics of the individual and his ability to clear the blocks low or not? Since all guys were/are pretty fast, what’s the difference in this regard between Ben, Usain, Asafa, Tyson, etc? I mean, is this something new? Genuine question.