this kind of start gives u a great sense of power but when i tried it i noticed that i felt like and unguided missile i also noticed that ben used to often waver of to one side after his starts. you get a great start only if ur timming is right and you’re first two strides must be very very fast.
according 2 my experience, ur problem could b that u r sticking the drive phase 2 long, ur not comming out of 1st gear as i like 2 call it. just like the cars gear ratio changes as u shift gears so 2 should ur leg mechanics change.
the drive phase (1st gear) is a forceful backwards driving action whereas the transition phase (2nd gear) becomes more of a forward twisting action(comming from hip torque), if u continue driving backwards ur will feel that u can’t advance ur cadance. the foot placement is the key 2 getting a smooth and efficient transition without the correct foot plant u’ll always feel slow.
so what u should do is decrease the driving legs angle a bit and get in2 a type of bounding stride with the emphysis on hip torque as ur main propellent and remember a stiff calf foot plant.
these r just the basics , perfection is alot more complicated. i hope it will help though
although it’s not exactly like ben’s , marion’s start is very similar 2 bens. if u watch her 2000 og final u’ll c it. she is not the only one doing it either, cuba’s freddy mayola, russia’s andrey yepishin and a few other eastern europeans sprinters also start like ben.
I suppose it is how we define similar because I have seen a good amount of Yepishin’s races and from different angles and he looks to be using an HSI/Mo Greene type start and drive phase.
Another person who uses the Ben type start is Nathan Bongelo from the Belgium sprint team…It can be offputting to ‘feel’ someone 1 step ahead so soon into the race, but because he doesnt have the power and top end that Ben has, you find yourself catching him rather quickly…
