Gatlin vs Crawford technique

Expert Discussion Advanced Sprint Training
1

Further to the observation that Gatlin has more of a ‘bound’ to his stride, counting their strides at Athens in the 100m certainly bears this out!

Gatlin-42 steps
Crawford-47 steps

Interesting from Thor’s videos that Gatlin has more of a forward lean even once he has reached top speed [especially compared to the bolt-upright Obikwelu].

Also, while they are both ‘stepping over’, Gatlin does not toe-off with a particularly straight leg, his triple extension is not pronounced at all from what I can see. Sure works for the guy.

Plus, given Crawford’s relative strength in the 200m, is it possible that Gatlin’s style is more metabolically expensive and therefore better suited to the 100m distance?

Does anyone else have an example of somebody in this class of sprinter who bounds like this at top speed?

2

One thing I noticed was that Gatlin’s positive foot speed and knee hight in the drive phase was tremendous over the rest of the field, real obvious in the slow mo replay.

3

Yes, even early in his drive phase his movement looks different than the other athletes.