PHOTO
INSERT CREDIT HERE
THE
WORLD’S
BEST
IN
NUMBERS
0.146
s
Bolt’s reaction time to
the gun (at the 2009
World Championships)
37.57
km/h
His average speed
over the 100m
(at world-record pace)
12.42
m/s
Bolt’s maximum
velocity
2.44
m
Bolt’s estimated
stride length (at world-
record pace)
43.72
km/h
Bolt’s top speed
(a cheetah can run
at up to 120kph)
3.28
s
The total time his feet
spent on the ground
during his record-
breaking 100m sprint
80
%
Estimated percentage
of fast-twitch muscle
fibres in his legs
41
Strides taken to
complete 100m
453.59
kg
Amount of force
channelled through
each leg
BOLT CANHIT THE GROUND
WITH A FOOT FORCE EQUIVALENT TO
453.59KG (1,000LBS)
ANDMAKE FOOT CONTACT
WITH THE TRACK FOR JUST
0.08 SECONDS.
05
to complete the 100m final at London 2012, whereas his Jamaican teammate
Yohan Blake required 46.
Dr Peter Weyand, a biomechanics expert at the Southern Methodist
University, in Georgia, USA, believes it comes down to an ability to combine a
powerful foot force with short ground-contact time. “Contrary to intuition, fast
runners achieve their greater speeds, not by repositioning their legs any more
rapidly, but rather by hitting the ground with greater force and quickness than
slower runners do,” he explains. A top sprinter like
Bolt’s physique provides other possible physical advantages. Professor
Alan Nevill, a biostatistician at the University of Wolverhampton, believes his
height could make himmore effective at dissipating heat due to his larger skin
surface area, which allows his muscles to work harder for longer. “There is very
strong evidence that taller, more linear individuals are becoming more
successful at sprinting,” he says.
Some also suggest genetics are the key factor. A joint study by the University of
Glasgow and the University of the West Indies discovered that 70% of Jamaican
athletes have the speed protein Actinen A (ACTN3) in their fast-twitch muscle fibres.
But this, of course, doesn’t explain why Bolt is better than his Jamaican peers.
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