Charlie,
i´ve just watched many many times the Seoul 1988 Race,
so, i have a question about the start method used by Ben there.
What´s the distance between front and hear pedals of blocks ?
( specifically in that race - 9.79s )
Tks
As a beginning sprinter you shouldn’t be trying to copy Ben’s position in the blocks, his position was only possible because of his strength level. Search the sprint training part of the forum for more info on start mechanics and blocks positions, there are many good old threads on that, with pictures and everything.
aln,
i´m not interested in copy Ben´s start, because i know,
he´s strongest than a T-Rex…and as you said, i´m just a begginer and i have my own idiosincrasys,
but, as a begginer i´m an very curious guy too and i´m curious about the method used by Ben, particularly in that race,
so, do you know whats the distance between the pedals ?
Tks
It varied slightly between 12 ad 14 inches.
Tks Charlie,
i don´t remember but B. Johnson have an leg longer than another ?
If yes, what his longer leg ? and do you know how longer is ?
No. You’re thinking of Michael Johnson.
Oh, i don´t know it,
but i´m talking about Ben Johnson,
ok Charlie, my point is:
Did you taught Ben to jump out of the blocks with almost the same force aplied against both pedals ?
I watched an new Video from Ben´s start on Seoul and now i could see,
as you said in another thread, Ben´s arms movement was like an optical illusion where his left arm rises so fast that its hard to see that movement.
Did you measured the forces aplied by Ben´s leg against the Blocks ?
Do you have this info/data ?
There´s a system that can do this right ?
I’m curious as to the distance from Ben’s front block to the starting line.
I didn’t teach this start, other than to try to improve on what Ben did naturally. Note that Desai Williams and Mark McKoy were great starters also using a conventional start.
We didn’t measure block forces, though it should be possible to get some info from meets and Adidas used force plates with him once in 1987- though he wasn’t fully warmed up when he used them so he didn’t appply full force. I don’t favour using this approach, as the forces applied are in response to an appropriate stimulus and concentration on pushing itself might interfere with proper force delivery. Knowing that a measuring device was on hand might change the results for the worse.
Would Ben be able to get away with those starts if he was running today - ie in the most recent world championships? What im saying is, did he apply any extra force to the blocks before the gun went to sort of push out, which, as we know from Drummond, registered as a false start…
Drummond twitched before going. That had nothing to do with the type of start used.
Yes, i realise it was a twitch, but wasnt it the twitch that increased the pressure on the blocks ‘before the gun went’, which resulted in the false start?
What im wondering is if Ben increased his pressure on the blocks before the gun went?
Because, from what i know, you cant do this now with the pressure sensitive pads on the blocks, once in the set position, you (essentially) can not move until the gun goes, then apply an increase in pressure, then start running as such
Ben didn’t have much pressure on the pads in the set position, but, with a setting of 20 kilos, a twitch by anyone would set the blocks off.
What are the implications of aleg length discrepency. Surprised to hear that about MJ. Anything he did in training to counteract it/ because of it?
The only diffrence it might make - is allowing the athlete to put their foot in their mouth more often.
Seriously though - a shorter left leg could be a help on corners !?!
Gee I’m hilarious this morning!!!
no23,
i´m nut sure about this but i think you´re correct,
because in corner, if the right leg is longer than left,
you could maintain your balance with more facility and generally the longer leg is the stronger too,
my left leg is longer than my right and my left is stronger too,
and thats why my left is my drive leg
but because of this, it´s hard to me the full extension of drive leg
before the rear tutch down
otherwise, my right is my soccer leg ( my kick leg ).