Athletics: what makes Usain Bolt the fastest man on the planet?
Sports Life takes an in-depth look at what makes Usain Bolt the athlete he is.
Published: 8:06AM GMT 25 Oct 2009
Outstanding: Usain Bolt’s extraordinary body has helped him break all known records
Usain Bolt swamps his opponents. Mentally and physically, he towers over them. The sport looks and wonders how a man can accelerate a giant frame so swiftly. Coaches, physiologists and geneticists argue about a body which makes a mockery of all the old conventional beliefs about sprinting. How does he defy physics? Some argue he’s just a freak; some argue his body is the prototype for the third millennium athlete. Is he a genius or has the genius been coached into him? Everyone has a view and nobody really has a clue. And does Bolt agonise over his gift? Does he heck. ‘Everyone analyses it to death’ says Ricky Simms, his race agent, ‘but Usain just goes out and runs.’
Head
The athletics world wishes it could get inside it. Bolt’s compatriot Don Quarrie says he has revolutionised the sport by understanding and harnessing the power of relaxation. “Call rooms used to be war zones populated by macho, posturing sprinters,” says Simms. “Now they have Usain laughing and mucking around chasing spiders.”
Genes
Bolt’s dad Wellesley reveals that both he and Usain’s mum Jennifer were fine 200m and 400m runners as kids so the gift is in the genes. Bolt may have the ACTN3 gene, also known as the ‘speed gene’ which allows the body to produce a specific muscle protein that aids sprinting.
Feet
Biomechanics experts suggest Bolt helps maintain energy efficiently near the end of a race because of his dorsiflexion, the way his feet flex towards his shins while running, thus ensuring his heels do not stay too close to the ground.
Shoulders
Coach Glen Mills says one of Bolt’s technical problems was originally having his shoulders and head back so they sat behind his centre of gravity. A technical adjustment means his feet spend less time in the air and he does not overstride.
Height
At 6ft 5in, there has never been a world-beating sprinter of Bolt’s height. He breaks the laws of physics, which tell us it takes more energy to move a larger body than a smaller one. A study by the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine had previously shown champion sprinters ranged between 5ft 9in to a maximum 6ft 3in but Bolt breaks the mould, proving you do not have to be of compact build to generate rapid leg turnover.
Lower body: the back, stomach and hips
The core of Bolt’s sprinting strength. Once his shoulders would roll up and down because his central core had no strength; it made him more prone to injury. Now, though, according to agent Ricky Simms, the hours of work to bolster his back, stomach and hips allow him to hold an efficient sprint position for longer.
Stride
The astonishing length of Bolt’s spidery stride is seen as a massive advantage, enabling him to cover 100 metres in 41½ strides compared to the average sprinter’s 43 to 45 strides. Yet Mills had to work on shortening it, enabling Bolt to improve his stride rate.
Knees
One of the reasons Bolt has such a long but efficient stride, according to Mills, is “because he lifts his knees so well.”