some says that strong quads are the best part for fast sprinting, but i think that if you want to run fast , you have to jump very far,(look at asafa’s jumps, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkPlF6L8FOE and calf are the main for jumping, less strides, bigger jumps, better time, do you agree?!??
so i think that calves are the most important in sprinting, because all explosive jump power is in it! 
your theories?
I think most would say that hamstrings are more important than quads.
I disagree with the calf theory! If that were the case, I’d be the fastest on the planet 
All sprinters can jump far or high, so yes it is very important to be able to. At the same time, a pure jumper can jump a lot farther than a sprinter or higher…but cannot run the same times
Hips produce 4 times more power than the muscles below the knee anyways…so calves not as important nearly as the upper muscles.
The foot and ankle could mess up good hip power though.
theres no way calfs are the MOST important physical aspect of sprinting…
id say its tendon length…
I’d say that the most important aspect in sprinting is speed- but, hey, that’s just my theory.
Otherwise our 1000+ pound squatters with the most monstrously strong quads/calves/hams would be running the sub 10s
yeah, but arent we talking physical attributes here…
why can Muna Lee run faster than most college and high school males…not becuase shes stronger…
look how long her achilles tendons are though…
that and fibre type…most important…
I think that the most important attribute for sprinting is sth you just CANNOT see. Its the CNS. Therefore you can’t predict who’s got it or not.
As charlie had said in previous threads a CNS that allows more rapid and complete shutdown of antagonist muscles than average during the footstrike is of great value here. And possibly that could be partly dependent on the innervation of the fast twitch fibers.
Also another important CNS attribute is a crazy high CNS output. CNS output as in the ability to generate force/power in the general sense and produce high intensity efforts .
Really? Most powerlifters who squat in this range do not have the relative strength levels of top sprinters.
I love how somebody always uses this example of powerlifters and how they aren’t as fast as sprinters so thus strength must not be that important. Don’t people realize when it comes to RELATIVE strength many sprinters are just as strong and many are stronger than powerlifters. Put Ben Johnson, who only weighed around 173, in the 181 class and you can put him up against just about anybody in a raw meet.
From Raw fed’s website rankings the top 3 squats in 181 class are a 475, 410 and 407. Ben Johnson squatted 600 for SIX reps. Using a one rep max calc this comes out to a max of nearly 700 pounds which considering how fast twitch he was is almost certainly a conservative estimate. Even so, this equals a 4x bw squat. See how many people on the planet you can find who are capable of that. And Ben Johnson didn’t train specifically for a big total as powerlifters do…
And you can’t use geared examples, which a 1000 pound squat is as nobody on the planet squats 1000 raw.
When you are sprinting, long jumping or whatever you are throwing your body in the air. Nearly impossible to be weak and do these things well.
Don’t compare apples and oranges. People do what they do and generate specific sports results. Whether the actions of one are a cause or a side benefit is difficult to determine.
i highly doubt that Ben could have squatted 700 because SE is a big factor in sprinting so lifting RM tables don’t really apply.
I see your point though I was giving a quick answer to the original post.
But to simply argue this it depends on the type of your body. Ben Johnson was an extremely exceptional sprinter and the strongest ever.
Now…could Carl Lewis squat 4x his body weight? Can asafa powell who doesnt even do squats? Or tyson gay who squats apparently…225! ATG. Bolt…well he’s not well known as far as I know.
The point is sprinters are all different as is everyone. It depends on the type of your body and your built, strength is VERY important dont let it be forgotten.
If you agree with me that power on the track leads to the rest of the strength expression, the way it is expressed can be different but the capacity relative to body weight may not be so different.
Charlie is clearly not a guru, if he was that sentence would be in a 4 part book costinf $59.95 per book. 
I have to agree with Charlie though. I look the 3 biomotor abilities - speed, strength and endurance. So speed is the main element in sprinting.
Also I look at the main movement in sprinting and I have been taught it is hip extension which is glute dominant with hamstrings playing a supporting role so I don’t understand how calves can be the main muscle
If an extremely long achilles tendon was the most important factor then surely almost ALL of the greats must possess this attribute??? go look at some photo’s… Lewis, Greene, Powell, Bullet Bob, Jesse Owens… none have particularly high calfs, in fact quite average or even lower than many African Americans/Caribbeans… Walter Dix.
So many different body shapes run fast which tells me it’s more important whats inside - CNS!!
I have noticed this as well. Some have long achilles, not all do I noticed the same thing as you on Powell, Greene, and Dix.
show me a picture of these these men showing them to NOT have a long achilles…
and, a very development soleus doesnt mean the achilles isnt long either…
p.s.
i have just look at pics of Dix and Powel and greene, and yes they have very long achilles tendons…
excuse my ignorance but where does the achilles end (the upper attachment)?
if high calves were THE factor, then lagat would be wr holder:
Cant these guys run like 12.0 range and their speed work is like 600s.
I believe that they are faster than that though.
Arround 11.0, some of them (specially the 800/1500 guys) have really good speed.
Lagat has 1:46 for the half mile, so he needs that speed or at least arround 23 for the 200. Another example is webb with 1:43.xx, that requires a decent amount of base speed.