Showing posts with label SPRINTING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPRINTING. Show all posts

Fast Sprinting Tips

>> March 10, 2017

QUICK SPRINT TIPS

The net work-done at hips increase when the speed increases.

In other words, the contribution of hip strength and power are more crucial towards the maximal speed phase.

The net energy-absorbed by quadriceps and hamstring increases when the speed increases.
*Quads at the initial swing, and hamstrings at the terminal swing (a specific type of contraction here - isometrics).

This gives you an important idea for a practical application in the weight room.

To bridge the gap (science-practical) a little bit, see below.

Strength your hamstring with isometric type exercise, rather than eccentric all the times.

Increase the ability of the hip flexors and extensors to produce force, and also increase the ability of the hams and quads (knee flex/extend) to absorb the forces that are produced from hips.

What are the exercises to use?
Squat, hip thrust, kettlebell swing, clean are among others.

These are some important keys for better sprint performance, in contrast to the popular belief that quadriceps strength is the only or primary focus of sprint training.

These notes are also important for injury perspective.

Read more...

The Trend Through the Years in Sprints

>> February 15, 2017

Sprinting has grown immensely. The first winner of the Olympics did not run faster than 12.0 hand-time.

Four years later at the 1900 Olympics, two men have equaled the world record of 10.8 (hand-timed), which they achieved during the heats.

Both the winners of the 1932 and 1936 Olympics have recorded 10.3h.

In the 1960s, 10.3 hand-timed in men's 100m means you are world-class.

In the 1960s and 1970s, if you wish to run the 100m in less than 10s, altitude was a must. The idea was deemed very crucially during that time. Hence, a good selection of racing venues would be necessary.

Ben Johnson won a 100m bronze in the 1984 Olympics with a time of 10.24s. What is a 10.24s at present?

In the 1990s 10.1 electric means world-class.

Actually, you won't find so many athletes who could achieve a sub-10.10, and if you did, these athletes must be well renowned already.

To run the 100m in 2000 Olympics, you would just need a 10.38s result. Before the year 2000s, there were only 20+ sprinters who have run sub-10s.


As indicated in the All-Time best for the 100m as of 2003, there were less than 40 sprinters who have done sub-10s.

Ten years later on the lists, more than 100 sprinters listed to have broken the 10s barrier.

Asafa Powell alone has totaled more than 100 races in under 10s.

Bolt, Gay, Blake, Powell, Gatlin have run 9.58, 9.69, 9.69, 9.72, and 9.74s, respectively.

A 10.12s is the current Olympic and Worlds standard.

I was tempted to "document" the trend of changes through the years that might be relevant to this evolution. Here we go.

Before the 1980's - Complete genetics
  • Most sprinters in the past were "born sprinters", which means they would rely upon the genetics for their successes. 
  • The various limitations and limited high-performance culture did not allow them to train under the most effective environment and system that are available today.
  • Some athletes did benefit from better coaching from the great coaches in the past.

1980s - Strength and muscles
  • Because of the understanding that muscles that you would build could help generate higher force and power.
  • The use of steroid facilitated this practice.
  • "To run fast in sprints, you must develop muscles" (kind of mindset).
  • Anyone running sub-10s was linked to steroids.

1990s - Strength and power
  • Some good coaches started to realize it is the ability to maximize power output that matters than how much strength you have. 
  • A combination of muscles (strength) and power was thought to be essential.
  • Lack of understanding regarding the environment factor, that bigger athlete can deal better whenever the race is against the winds (headwinds).
  • Many people confused between strength and power during these days (unable to differentiate).
  • To break 10s in the 100m, you must develop muscles (kind of mindset).
  • 9.90 seconds was the limit of human performance, otherwise steroid (kind of mindset).
The early 2000s - Power
  • It was thought that fast turnover or cadence of legs is more crucial than having big muscles.
  • Tim Montgomery who broke WR in 9.78s in 2002, helped "confirmed" this belief.
  • Human now can run sub-9.85 but it must be under a highly favorable condition, otherwise, that must be associated with steroids (kind of mindset)
The late 2000s - Rate of force development
  • People started to think more critically, it is how much force you can produce in a short amount of time that could help you to run faster.
  • Sprinters in these days are generally not bigger in muscle sizing than those in the 1990s and 1980s.
2010s - Orientation of the force application
  • Marginal gains sort of thing - small things that can make a difference.
  • It's not only force and power, but it is how do you use it to make you a better sprinter.
  • The technique of force application can determine how properly and effectively the body can be propelled forward.
  • Efficiency in terms of using your "fuel" (strength and power) to "drive" quicker and faster.

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1988 Seoul Olympics - Eight Sprinters Tells Story

>> July 20, 2012

For the first time ever, eight sprinters who are finalists of 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, tells their stories; Ben Johnson (CAN), Carl Lewis (USA), Linford Christie (GBR), Calvin Smith (USA), Dennis Mitchell (USA), Robson da Silva (BRA), Desai Williams (CAN), and Raymond Stewart (JAM). Brought to you by BBC, a great documentary !!

Read more...

Lists of The Fastest White Men in History, Non-African Descent

>> July 21, 2011

Hard work, motivation, dedication, discipline, best nutrition, good regeneration, great coaching, among others are the keys to success in sports. However, when it comes to sprinting (i.e. 100m) you probably require a 'special endowment' (e.g. genetic) in order to run faster than most people. The fastest sprinters have a high abundance of fast-twitch fibers in their legs, and this may be the case for the Black / African descent (more correctly west African) sprinters to explain their superiority in sprints - they may tend to have more or larger proportion of fast-twitch fibers within muscles. Scientific studies have shown that fast twitch fibers contract two to three times faster than slow twitch fibers. Good genes coupled with the aforementioned keys may provide an added advantage to one sprinter over the others.

Based on the world statistics, about 80 sprinters from the African descent (black sprinters) have legally or officially broken the 10s barrier in the 100m. What about sprinters from other descents? we will find out. If all other things being equal (the listed keys), what would determine fast sprinting? at the end of a spectrum, genetics could be a crucial factor that explains the success? But we don't discuss the details here, we rather straightaway jump into our topic.

Here are lists of the top, the best, and the fastest sprinters from the non-African descent:

Lists of sprinters from non-African descent or white men 

1, Patrick Johnson (AUS) ........ 9.93s +1.8 May 05, 2003 (Irish + Indigenous Australian);
Widely regarded as the fastest man from non-African descent. He clocked an impressive time of 9.93s at the age of 31 at Mito, Japan in 2003. This feat made him the 17th fastest man in history at the time. He has also run a wind-aided 9.88w +3.6 on February 08, 2003, in Perth. His father is a white man of Ireland while his mother is (however) a black non-African of Australia (aborigine).


2, Christophe Lemaitre (FRA) ................... 9.98s +1.3 July 09, 2010 (Caucasian);
Lemaitre, a Frenchman, is finally and widely the one who has been regarded as the first white man to legally break the 10s barrier. He did it when he clocked 9.98s during the French nationals in 2010, at the age of 20. Since then, he showed consistency in sub-10s performance. He ran twice 9.95s this year which is his best time to date.



3, Marion Woronin (POL) .............10.00s +2.0 June 09, 1984 (Caucasian);
Based on the reported "actual time",  9.992s, Woronin would have been the first to run the 100m in less than 10.00s. However, based on the IAAF rules, a fully auto time must be rounded up to the nearest 1/100ths and not 1/1000ths as seen in the F1 car racing, which would give him a sub-10. Therefore a  9.992s is officially a 10.00s.


3, Koji Ito (JPN) ........................10.00s +1.9 December 13, 1998 (Japanese);
He set a 10-flat during the semifinals of the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok where he won 3 gold medals (100m, 200m 20.16s, 4x100m). His time could have been faster if he did not "shut down" 5-m before the line in his SF race to (perhaps) "save" his energy for the finals. Not all the times you would hit your best in sprinting.


5, Pietro Mannea (ITA) ....................10.01A +0.9 September 04, 1979 (Italian);
He has recorded a lifetime best of 10.01A during the World University Games at Ciudad de Mexico in 1979. He later set a 200m world record with a time of 19.72A that was only (eventually) broken in 1996. He became the Olympic champion at 200m in the 1980 Olympics.



6, Nobuharu Asahara (JPN) ............ 10.02s +2.0 July 13, 2001 (Japanese);
One of the best Asian sprinters who had switched to 100m from long jump. He clocked 10.02s in Oslo (NOR) during the 2001 season in a race with a maximum allowable tailwinds +2.0. He took part in several World Championships and Olympic Games.  He set three Japanese records in the 100m, 10.19s in 1993, 10.14s in 1996 and 10.08s in 1997.


7, Matthew Shivington (AUS) .......... 10.03s -0.1 Sept 17, 1998 (Australian);
At age of 19 (turning 20), he entered the finals of the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur (sea level) and set a NR of 10.03s despite running into a slight headwind -0.1 m/s. Given a moderate wind of 1.0m/s, he would have run 9.98s or 9.93s for a 2.0m/s wind. Very unfortunate!



7, Shingo Suetsugo (JPN) .................10.03s +1.8 May 05, 2003 (Japanese);
A Japanese sprinter who has won the World Championship bronze at the 200m in 2003, he clocked 20.37s). He ran 10.03s in an international race at Mito in 2003 in a race along with Patrick Johnson. In this race, he was leading to 70m mark but Johnson had a better top-end speed to win the race (see above).



7, Nicholas Macrozonaris (CAN) .....10.03A 0.0 May 03, 2003 (Caucasian);
He ran 10.03s without the assistance of wind but it was set at Ciudad de Mexico (2003) which is located at about 2,240m above the sea level. The high altitude location gave him an advantage from "lower air resistant".




10, Frank Emmelmann (GER) ................ 10.06s +1.9 September 22, 1985 (German);
He won the German Nationals eight times (100m, 200m). Emmelmann set 10.06s at Berlin in 1986.

10, Johan Rossouw (RSA) ...................... 10.06A +2.0 April 23, 1988 (South African - white);
Rossow set 10.06s at altitude in Johannesburg in a race aided by the most favorable tailwinds of +2.0.

10, Simone Collio (ITA) ....................... 10.06s +1.2 July 21, 2009 (Italian);
He clocked 10.06s at Rieti in 2009. Second fastest in Italian all-time rankings, after Pietro Mannea's 10.01A.

13, Valeriy Borzov (URS) ..................... 10.07s 0.0 August 31, 1972 (Ukrainian);
He ran 10.07s during the quarterfinals of the 1972 Olympics in Munich. He later became the Olympic champion at 100m and 200m.

13, Masashi Eruguchi (JPN) .................. 10.07s +1.9 June 28, 2009 (Japanese);
He set 10.07s in Hiroshima in 2009 at the age of 21. He is most likely "to be known" during the 2012 season or Olympics in London.

15, Vitaliy Savin (KAZ) ......................... 10.08s +1.3 August 13, 1992 (Kazakhstani);
He was born in Kazakhstan, competed and won the gold medal at the Olympics (4x100m - 1988) for the Soviet Union. His lifetime best at 100m is 10.08s he set at Linz in 1992.

15, Geir Moen (NOR) ............................ 10.08s +0.6 August 16, 1996 (Norwegian);
He is a 200m finalist of 1995 World indoor & outdoor championships. His lifetime best of 100m is 10.08s set in Kristiansand in 1996.

15, Roland Nemeth (HUN) .................... 10.08s +1.0 June 09, 1999 (Hungarian);
He eclipsed the national 100m record held by the Hungarian sprint legend, Attila Kovacs by one hundred of a second at Budapest in 1999.

15, Joshua Ross (AUS) ............ 10.08s +1.9 March 10, 2007 (Indigenous Australian);
He is a five-time Australian champion in the 100m. Has recorded 10.08s at Brisbane in 2007 - the 3rd fastest in Australia.

19, Attila Kovacs (HUN) ....................... 10.09s +0.3 August 20, 1987 (Hungarian);
A 15-time Hungarian champion at the 100m and 200m. He was one of the best sprinters in the World back in the 1980's. He set 10.09s during the Hungarian nationals at Miskolc in 1987. He was 4th (100m) in the 1987 World championships - the highest achievement by a white sprinter in the history of World Championships (men's 100m).

19, Sergiy Osovych (UKR) .................... 10.09s +1.2 June 07, 1996 (Austrian);
He was born in Austria but competed for Ukraine after being granted the Ukranian citizenship. He ran 10.09s at Kyiv, Ukraine in 1996. He became the European Indoor champion at 200m in 1998.

19, Christie Van Wyk (NAM) ................ 10.09s +2.0 May 20, 2004 (Namibian);
He is the non-arguable fastest white man of Namibia with a personal best time of 10.09s he set at Abilene, USA. His non-legal best is 10.06s +2.8. Note: I could NOT include Frank Fredericks on these lists.

19, Naoki Tsukahara (JPN) .................... 10.09s +1.8 June 27, 2009 (Japanese);
In 2009, he became the 5th Japanese to run below 10.10s with a 10.09s clocking in Hiroshima.

Lists of sprinters with "unknown descent"

Troy Douglas (NET)B.............................. 10.09s August 04, 2001
Carlo Boccarini (ITA) ............................. 10.08s +0.7 May 09, 1998 (Rieti, ITA)
Aziz Ouhadi (MOR) ................................ 10.09s +0.8 May 28, 2011 (Dakar, MOR)

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The Ben Johnson Story: Seoul 1988 Olympics (Video)

>> May 31, 2011

This is a five-part video tells the true story of the drug's scandal involving Ben Johnson at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He won the 100m gold medal with a world record time of 9.79s, beaten Carl Lewis who registered 9.92s in the silver medal. However, a few days later, the urine sample of Ben was found to contain the metabolic of banned substance namely stanozolol (anabolic steroids) and was banned for 2 years.

Ben and his coach Charlie Francis complained that they used performance enhancing drug to allow him to compete with other sprinters of which have also used drugs.

Video of men's100m final at the 1988 Olympics


Ben Johnson Story PART 1


Ben Johnson Story PART 2


Ben Johnson Story PART 3


Ben Johnson Story PART 4


Ben Johnson Story PART 5

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Complete Sprinting Technique: Charlie Francis, John Smith, Tom Tellez, S.M Phelps, Dan Pfaff, Bob Kersee

>> March 06, 2011

Proper technique is fundamental for athletes to success in any sports. Good sprinting technique allows athletes to move quicker and more efficient. Conversely, poor sprinting technique results in poor running mechanics, increases braking action that subsequently limit the performance potential. Maurice Green once said perfecting sprinting technique would help a sprinter running faster with less energy.

SPRINTING TECHNIQUE 

CHARLIE FRANCIS

Ben Johnson's former coach, Charlie Francis (1948-2010) defined "sprint position" (technique) in his book, "Training for Speed" as below:
  • Head is held high and is the beginning of running tall.
  • The torso is erect and in a position of design posture.
  • The hand of driving arm comes up to the level of the face.
  • The shoulders are relaxed.
  • The hips are high enough above the ground to allow the driving leg to extend fully to the ground.
  • The ankle of recovery leg clears (i.e. travels above) the knee of driving leg.
  • The ankle fully extends at the end of the leg drive.

SCOTT M. PHELPS

Speed expert, Scott M. Phelps recommends the following linear movement techniques in his book "explosive track and field" :

Upper body technique  

1) Head
  • Head must be tall and relaxed.
  • The spine will be better aligned to hold the body straight, but it all starts at the head.
  • Relax all the face muscles.
  • Keep the head perfectly still. Don't let it move side to side.
2) Shoulder
  • Relaxed and normal, running just like walking, don't hunch up and tighten shoulders.
  • All arm motion comes from the shoulder joint so it must be loose and free to move.
  • Let the arm swing like pendulums at the shoulder joint.
3) Arms
  • Keep the arms as close as 90 degree angle as possible.
  • Arm swing shouldn't cross the body.
Lower body technique  

1) Hips
  • Keep the hips tall. Run as tall as you walk.
  • Keep the hips forward and maintain good posture.
  • Focus on moving the hips as you run.
2) Legs (Acceleration mechanics)
  • Legs should pump up and down like pistons.
  • Knee drive forward.
  • Emphasize knee-up, toe-up (not heel).
3) Legs (Velocity Mechanics)
  • Legs should cycle like a riding a bike.
  • Knee recovers up in front of the body.
  • The heel comes up under the hamstring.
  • Emphasize knee-up, heel-up, toe-up.
4) Foot
  • Plantarflexion (swimming-foot's style) should only occur at push off of the ground.
  • All other times the foot should dorsiflexion (toe up).
  • Use the foot like a spring board.
  • Use the heel only to stop and stand - NOT RUN!
Click here to read how to set and move out of the blocks.

TOM TELLEZ

A coach of champions at "all levels of track competition", i.e., college-level champions to World and Olympic champions (e.g., Carl Lewis, Michael Marsh, and Leroy Burrell). According to Tellez, sprinting is a natural thing where an athlete must allow his or her body to work naturally. Tellez mentioned the following sprinting tips and techniques:
  • "No pawing, no reaching, no pulling, just picking the feet up and putting the feet down."
  • "The sprint cycle requires only driving the hip and foot into the ground and this sets up the natural recovery, the tighter the heel on recovery the faster the turnover." 
  • "It is vital that a sprinter plant the full foot and not land on the toe – the heel can hit as well, but the contact is full and allows for the stretch reflex in the foot and ankle and Achilles."
Below is a Tellez's presentation video about the block starts and acceleration mechanics, brought by HPC Sports:

 

ADRIAN FACCIONI 

A special review from a speed and conditioning consultant, Adrian Faccioni on the sprinters trained under renowned track and field Gurus, John Smith (coach of Greene, Boldon etc.), Dan Pfaff (coach of Donavon Bailey etc) and Bob Kersee (coach of Florence Griffith etc.)
 
1) Starting Technique
  • Very active arm action (first 5 to 8 strides)
  • Drive knee to chest
  • Head stays down for as long as possible
  • Piston action with legs (Dan Pfaff)
  • Cycle action with legs (John Smith)
2) Upper body
  • Elbows in front of body.
  • If not in front, limits full knee lift position, increases rear side mechanics.
  • Slight forward body lean.
  • Chin down.
3) Lower leg mechanics "cues"
  • "Riding the bike"
  • "Running over mini hurdles"
  • "Stepping over the long grass"
4) Other techniques
  • Powerful vertical force production into track - only after kenn lift motor pattern has been established.
  • Maximal Dorsi-Flexion at ground contact.
  • Do not try to fully extend thigh with each ground contact.
  • Thigh passes only 20 degree past alignment with upper body.
SPRINTING GUIDELINES: MYTHS AND TRUTH OF THE ARMS & STRIDES
 

Arm Swing
Arm swing plays important roles in sprinting. Proper arm swing is necessary to counterbalance the rotary movement of the legs, or otherwise, stride frequency etc. would deviate from ideal. 
  • The arms should swing from the chin level, moving up and down in a more synchronized manner with the front and back swings. 
  • Elbow angle: approximately 90 degrees of flexion (not exactly 90 degree) at elbow and about 2-3 inches outwards of the mid line (not shoulder width), and should be symmetrical or balanced.  Keep the elbows locked and arms short is a good idea to encourage a faster arm swing.

Stride Length

Stride length, or more correctly called "step length" (measured from toes-to-toes of the same leg) must be proportional to the leg's length of a sprinter (not that the bigger is better). Logically, taller sprinters would have longer stride length, but not always the case - depend on his/her "strategy." 
  • It is not a good idea recommending male sprinters to run the 100m in 45 strides, just because you have heard world sprinters complete the 100m in 45 strides.
  • The best example was Tim Montgomery who has a personal record of 9.78s, taking 48 strides to run the 100m. Other examples are: Walter Dix (9.92s / 48 strides), Kim Collin (9.98s / 48 strides), Michael Frater (9.97s / 48 strides), Trindon Holliday (relatively short sprinter, 5'4", 10.00s / 50 strides) and many more. 
  • Usain Bolt took 41 strides in Berlin (9.58s) but he is 6'5" and has longer legs.
Watch: Trindon Holliday & Walter Dix won the 2007 World Championship slots with 50-51 and 49-50 total strides respectively:


Also watch: Trindon Holliday 10.00s / 50.5 strides (2009 NCAA Championship - Gold) here

The topic of stride length vs frequency has always been a subject of debate. Research have shown that optimal stride length for maximal speed in sprinting is between 2.3 – 2.5 times of the athlete’s leg length. Given a leg length of 1.0-m,  one should consider a stride length (at maximal speed) not longer than 2.50-m. Would you automatically lose to taller sprinters? (like Usain Bole, whose stride length is 2.80m) not really, stride frequency comes into consideration! 

Stride Frequency

Stride frequency or more correctly "step frequency" is the number of steps taken per second. Therefore, the unit for step frequency is in Hz. Stride frequency depends on leg length. If an athlete attempt to take longer stride, reduced turnover (leg speed) should be expected (maybe not good). 
  • Over-striding will create a decelerative force and slows the movement. Attempt to change stride length and frequency must occur by considering adjustments in overall mechanics and force production (such as running technique and relaxation).
  • Stride frequency may be increased (by reducing stride length) in order to sprint faster. Example, Ben Johnson (height: 1.78m) applied this strategy by adding his total number of strides from 45 in 1987 (World champs) to 46 in 1988 (Olympics), in order to run 9.79s. Not that he torn his hamstring several weeks before the Olympics, and likely affected his training regime. Other athletes such as Tim Montgomery (also 1.78m height) took shorter stride length (48 total strides in 100m) when he ran 9.78s, breaking Maurice Greene's world record of 9.79s in 2002.
What is important to note is that world-class male sprinters (sub 10.10s) took 41 to 50 strides (not necessarily 45) to complete the 100m race, which is basically dependent on a sprinter's leg length and strategy. Importantly, stride length and frequency must be trained in the expense of retaining proper sprinting mechanics.

PRACTICE OF RUNNING FORM  

Here is a good video on teaching how to maximize running efficiency (video by expertvillage):


All in all, athletes must develop proper, efficient and consistent running mechanics in order to maximize sprinting performance. A slight asymmetry of movements may be acceptable. A coach must understand what is defined as good technique - there is no such thing as perfect technique in sprinting. The key is for you to understand what acceptable (ideal) and bad techniques are, so that proper interventions can be done. Incorporating better methods of training, ranging from technical and strength development are necessary.


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Usain Bolt Unveils His Secret on MY STORY

>> January 07, 2011


I've written about some interesting facts about Usain Bolt but here is the real story about Usain Bolt being the fastest man on the planet.

In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Bolt shaken the full-capacity bird's nest stadium by smashing three world records, in the 100m (9.69s), 200m (19.30s) and 4x100m (37.10s).

And, it was said to be almost impossible to run below the 9.60 in the 100m, but Bolt lowered again his incredible 9.69s to an unbelievable 9.58s during the 2009 IAAF World Championship in Athletics in Berlin. A few days later, Bolt destroyed his own 200 metres' world record 19.30s to an amazing 19.19s....

> get one MY STORY to continue reading ...

And then the conclusion is this man is the greatest sprinter of all-time or the King of Sprint for real!. Click on the photo or here to make an order.

Recommended stuff of Usain Bolt:

.... .... ....

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Dynamic Stretching Improves Sprint Performance

>> December 30, 2010

Utilization of dynamic stretching as part of preparation for training and competitions may improve the athlete's sprint performance by 2-3%. 

This is based on the recent reviews or findings of scientific studies.

So what does it tell you? if you are a 10-flat sprinter, will you automatically run 9.90? (not that simple!)

Dynamic stretching has been increasingly studied since the 1998 study by Kokkonen and his colleagues that reported detrimental effects of static stretching (negative effect on athletic performance).

Before we discuss the details lets define "stretching". Broadly, stretching is a physical activity, whereby the limbs or muscles will experience "lengthening" until at the point that some tension is felt. There are different types of stretching.

Dynamic stretching
This type of stretching involves the active (or dynamic)  movements that are performed in a progressive manner within the range of motion (ROM). It can be done by performing movements to increase the ROM gradually. It has to have "deceleration" at the end of each (stretch) repetition. 

In other words, no jerking or bouncing actions in dynamic stretching (that will eliminate this "deceleration" action). This is the part that distinguish between dynamic stretching and the ballistic stretching. 

Athletes may consider utilizing specific movements that will be performed in sports (activities) during dynamic stretching in order to (better) prepare the muscles for the subsequent sports or activities.

Static stretching
In contrast, static stretching is a constant stretch held at an end point of ROM. This means that the stretching involves "hold" at the end of ROM (for each repetition) for a given time. Typically, athletes performs static stretching for 20 to 60 seconds per muscle group.

The popularity of static stretching started when a book entitled "stretching" by Bob Anderson was released in 1980. Of note, this book has an excellent record in the number of sales.

Traditionally, static stretching is performed by athletes in order to reduce the risk of injury. This argument however has not been fully supported by scientific literature. 

Our studies
In one of our stretching studies “the effects of dynamic and static stretching on sprint performance in junior sprinters” (2009), we found similar results to those of published findings. Specifically, there were 2.1% (30m) and 2.3% (40m) improvements (faster times) when the athletes performed the dynamic stretching, relative to static stretching. 

Despite such important findings, "heavy" static stretching are still very commonly practiced by athletes. I’ve seen Commonwealth champions and even World class athletes who are still considering static stretching, or even passive-static stretching (with partner), or a combination of static and dynamic stretching before training and competitions.

Dynamic Stretching called 'Scorpion' to stretch lower back and hip flexor muscles area

For athletes, why considers dynamic stretching instead of static stretching? There are physiological reasons behind it, but in this short article we try to discuss a few. 
  • Static stretching promotes compliance or gap in the tendon and muscles. This is especially when the duration of stretching is too long (e.g. sets of >30 secs). 
  • This phenomenon is also called musculotendinous slackness, which reduces muscle stiffness. For a sprinter, stiffness is needed to optimize power production. 
  • Reduced muscle stiffness may actually affects muscular contraction because of delayed electromechanical process or transmission of forces. 
  • Hence, static stretching may compromise your muscles to perform maximally.
Meanwhile, improvement seen in sprint performance following the dynamic stretching is linked to specificity and readiness. 
  • Dynamic stretching mimics most of actions seen in many athletic activities, including the qualities seen in sprinting. This simply includes the stretch-shortening cycle actions, like squat jumps, "pogo jumps" (toe taps), high knees (flexing and extension actions), and so on. 
  • Other examples, like hamstring kicks (if done correctly) are also specific to leg swing movements during sprinting.
  • These movements can promote readiness of the neuromuscular system that important for maximal performance.
  • Furthermore, dynamic stretching can help increase core temperature to a greater extent than the static stretching.
Simply said, static stretching will shut down your nervous system and help to put you to sleep. So if you love static stretching do it during your cool down, not during the warm up. 

If you feel not comfortable with dynamic stretching, do not do the specific drills at all because these are the examples of dynamic movements (better called as "ballistic") that will maximize your performance, which proceeds the more "relaxed" dynamic stretching done earlier in your warm up.   


(1) Mark Kovacs (2010). Dynamic Stretching (the Revolutionary New Warm-up Method to Improve Power, Performance and Range of Motion).
(2) Fletcher and B. Jones (2004). The effect of different warm-up stretch protocols on 20 meter sprint performance in trained rugby union players.
(3) Arnold G. Nelson, Nicole M. Driscoll, Dennis K. Landin, Michael A. Young, & Irving C. Schexnayder (2005). Acute effects of passive muscle stretching on sprints performances.


Photos: copied from notarunner.com & flex4fitness.com

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France's Christophe Lemaitre Ran 9.98s, First White Man to Break 10s Barrier

>> July 11, 2010

France's Christophe Lemaitre became the first white man to break 10s barrier in the 100m, clocking 9.98 (+1.3) en route to win the French national championship on July 09, 2010

Lemaitre's time just eclipsed the France national record 9.99, held by Ronald Pognon since 2005. He also takes over the crown of "the fastest white man ever" from Japan's Koji Ito (10.00 +1.9 1998) and Poland's Marion Woronin (10.00 +2.0 1984).

It has been a long wait for white men (40 years !) since the first human first run under 10s. That was Jim Hines, an African descent of the USA at the U.S National Championship in June 1968 with a hand timed 9.9s. Hines then became the first man to run an electronically timed 100m under 10s at the 1968 Olympic with a time of 9.95.

But remember, Bullet Bob Hayes, also an African descent was the first to run under 10s in any conditions. He set 9.91s during the 100m SF at the 1964 Olympics on a cinder track!

As of now, a total of 70 black guys (West African descent and some mix blooded) have dipped below 10s. Lemaitre is the 71st person to break the 10s barrier and he will be remembered to have done so. In sprinting, apart from the hard works and the disciplines, the genetics and muscles fiber types have the great role to determine the success.

Lemaitre's 9.98s Video

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Asian Grand Prix in Athletics 2010

>> June 23, 2010

The Asian Grand Prix 2010 series were held Pune, Bangalore and Chennai in India on 1st, 5th and 9th June respectively. This year Grand Prix offered a total of $110,000 worth of cash prize for podium winners.

Five Malaysian female athletes competed in the 100m with all them have clocked below 12 second!

Ye Yi Ling was the first to run sub 12 with an impressive personal best time of 11.95 where she clocked at the open series race in Pune.

Siti Zubaidah Adabi, better known as a long jumper registered the fastest 100m time in Malaysia since 2008 when she set a new personal best time of 11.81 to win the open series race in Bengalore.

Meanwhile, Siti Fatimah Mohamed, who holds the second fastest time in Malaysia with 11.77 (??) is now in the right track to return her form after a year of knee injury, placed sixth in the open race in Bengalore with a time of 11.94.

Siti Sarah Abdul Kadir wins the 100m open series race in Chennai in 11.98 while the sprint Queen of Malaysia Norjannah Jamaluddin is now moved to fifth fastest at the moment as she clocked a slowest time among Malaysian with 11.99s in Chennai

Full results and statistics are as follows:

Asian Records | Asian Leaders 2010 | AGP Champions | AGP Records

Pune (June 01) Grand Prix Results Open Event Results
Bangalore (June 05) Grand Prix Results Open Event Results
Chennai (June 09) Grand Prix Results Open Event Results

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Interesting facts about Usain Bolt

>> June 09, 2010

With all the accomplishments at the Olympics and World Championships, Usain Bolt has established himself as one of the most outstanding athletes in the history of sports.
Here are lists of interesting facts about Usain Bolt. Here we go:
  • Usain Bolt was born at the land of Trewalny which also the hometown of the many world-class track and field athletes;
  • Usain Bolt’s first sport was cricket where he specialized fast bowler;
  • Usain Bolt received several American colleges’ scholarship offers but declined all of them to remained in his hometown to train;
  • Usain Bolt is a fan of Christiano Ronaldo and therefore he had offered him some sprinting tips. Ronaldo himself was delighted with the offer as he too a big fan of Bolt;
  • Usain Bolt is the youngest ever gold medalist of the World Junior Championship, winning the 200m at age of 15;
  • Usain Bolt is the first and so far the only junior athlete to break sub 20 seconds in 200 metres;
  • Usain Bolt is nicknamed as 'Lightning Bolt’ because of 2 reasons: his extraordinary performance; and his 100m world record was set right after the lightning storm (in New York);
  • Usain Bolt became the first to hold the World records, World Championship records, and Olympic Games records in all three sprint events (100m, 200m and 4x100m) at the same time;
  • Usain Bolt’s first Olympics was in 2004 where he was eliminated during the first round of the 200 metres, he recorded a slow time of 21.05 that could be due to an injury;
  • Usain Bolt improved his annual 100m time from 10.03 to 9.69s at Beijing Olympics where he set it not only without a favorable wind (0.0 m/s) and a relatively slow reaction time (0.165s); he also "celebrate" at the last 20 metres, finishing his race with an untied shoelace.
  • Usain Bolt is the best short-sprinter in the world not only for the distance of 100m, but also 60m, and down even to 10m. This is totally in contrast to the belief that he is a "slow starter, fast finisher."
  • Usain Bolt's fastest 100m time is not 9.58s that is the official world 100m record, but 8.7s, a time he recorded during the 4x100m race.
  • The remarkable accomplishment by the Lightning Bolt has brought the world's sprinting scene to a next level. Usain Bolt has provided countless moments of majesty and becomes the global sports icon.


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Crouch Start Sequence

>> May 31, 2010


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The Monster Lightning Bolt Failed to Break Michael Johnson Record

>> May 28, 2010

It was on March 24, 2000 when Michael Johnson set a world record best 30.85 in 300m at Pretoria, South Africa. The record that achieved at altitude (1271 m) remain unbeatable by any human being but nearly rocked by Usain Bolt in his recent race (May 27, 2010) at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava with a time of 30.97s. Bolt who holds three world records in 100m, 200m and 4x100m also a world best of 150m straight, added one more world best performance in 100 yards by clocking a split time of 9.07s in the first 100 yards en route to win the 300m race which is also the fastest non-altitude performances of all time. His first 200m split time was 19.83s while the last 100m was 11.14s.

Johnson ran 30.85s at altitude would be around 31.06s at the sea level. I did not found any ‘correction time’s calculator’ for altitude for 300m on the net? But a 1,271m of altitude at Pretoria was about 0.13 s and 0.29 s advantages for 200m and 400m respectively which meant around 0.21s for a 300m.

Turning 24y this year (well same as me…), Bolt will have much more time to lower the times and breaks much more records (wait… so the same to me still have much more time!). That's why i asked my friends going to London 2012 to see what will happen at the athletics arena!

Furthermore, we take into account that Michael Johnson ran 19.32s at 29y, 43.18s at 32y and 30.85s at 31y, so its 8 years alike for Bolt to proves that he is the best athlete in the world in all three-discipline of sprint events. Yet, in my sight he is out of touch to breaks the 400m world record at the moment anyway. Full results are as follow:

300 Metres - Men Race 1

1 Usain Bolt JAM 30.97
2 Jermaine Gonzales JAM 32.49
3 Jonathan Borl BEL 32.50
4 Jamaal Torrance USA 32.78
5 Gary Kikaya COD 33.05
6 Pavel Maslk CZE 33.13
7 Jirk Vojtr CZE 33.34
8 Rudolf Gotz CZE 34.00

49th Golden Spike 300m Race 1 Video, click here

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Songs and Motivation

>> May 18, 2010

As an athlete what do you do to keep motivated? you may familiar with the ‘mental strength’ phrase? but how exactly you do in order to perform better in your competitions?

Well, you may participate in a motivation seminar, motivation camp, spirit building camp, team building camp, and all other types of camps. Are they helpful for you, i.e. boost your spirit? Yes and no.

However, I might have a different thought from typical and I guess these programs may not be that necessary for spirit and motivation.

My motivation and drive come from dedication and hard work during training, the sacrifice that I made, and also the curiosity of knowledge and understanding offered in sports sciences (that led me to keep learning and understanding things "by doing").

Nevertheless, when you're competing, what do you do to keep motivated and electrified? I usually utilize my favorite songs to keep me going all the time.

Here is a list of my favorite songs that I feel can inspire and motivate me during different situations:

A)Pre-race songs; (the night before a race or a few hours before)

>> Unchained Melody by Ritcheous Brother ... (to relax mind)
>> How Can I Tell her by Lobo ... (to relax and empty mind)
>> A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum ... (to relax and calm down)
>> Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton ... (to relax and feel independent)
>> He Ain’t Heavy He is My Brother by The Hollies ... (to relax and remind the duty)
>> The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel ... (to relax mind)
>> My Way by Elvis Presley ... (to stimulate)
>> Have You Ever Seen the Rain by CCR ... (to awake, and stimulate)
>> Simply the Best by Tina Turner ... (to stimulate and excite more)
>> The Final Countdown by Europe ... (to stimulate and excite more)
>> We are the Champion by Queen ... (to feel the victory)
>> Sailing by Rod Stewart ... (to enjoy the victory)

Some of these would be "more effective" when I play them along with my selected "sprint race videos" (e.g. 1998 Commonwealth, Olympic Games, and World records and World championships

B)Post-race songs

>> If not repeat the second part of the above, most of the others are the collection of my favorite Rock 'N' Roll songs like Elvis Presley
>> Also some from my slow and hard rock collections.

C)Onboard or travel for a competition’s songs

>> A few of stunning country’ songs
>> Heaps of my Golden Oldies repertoires like from Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Rod Steward, and Paul Anka. Also the Hollies, Celine Dion, Bee Gees etc.

Different people have a different preference, not about "fit for all" it's all about you and when you need them, most important is if they can keep you moving!

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Ben Johnson's Former Coach, Charlie Francis Dies of Cancer

>> May 17, 2010

Ben Johnson's former coach Charlie Francis died of cancer on May 12, 2010 at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto. Francis had been battling the disease for five years. He was 61 years old.

Charlie Francis brought innovative coaching strategies to Canadian sprinting that are still used today. And off the track he was well-known for his generosity.

Charlie helping to mould Johnson into the world's fastest man over 100m. However, Johnson’s career became mired in controversy when he stripped of his gold medal of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul along with the world record of 9.79sec after testing positive for the stanozolol, a type of steroid. Johnson was suspended from athletics while Francis was banned from coaching after admitting to Canada's Dubin Inquiry that he had introduced his sprinter to performance enhancing drugs

About Charlie Francis


Ben Johnson and his coach Charlie Francis

Charlie Francis was born on October 13, 1948 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. He was a sprint coach most remarkably for being the coach of sprinter, Ben Johnson. He was one of the best sprinters in the world back in 1971.

Charlie’ relationship to sprinting has been long one. In 1966, he recorded an Ontario Juvenile record of 9.6s for the 100 yard sprint.

In 1968, Charlie accepted an athletics scholarship to Stanford University in Northern California, where he studied political science and history and received a bachelor’s degree in 1971.

In 1971, Charlie was being coached by Payton Jordan at Stanford at the time he clocked 10.1s for 100m in Vancouver which subsequently placed him number 5 in the world based on this performances.

He was also the Canadian champion for 100m from 1970-1973 and competed for Canada at the 1972 Olympics in Munich where he reached the second round with times of 10.51s and 10.68s. In 1973, at only 23 years old, Charlie retired from sprinting.

His coaching career began in 1976, when he works with a group of junior sprinters under the Scarborough Optimists track and field club at York University. In 1981, he became the first coach in Canada to be hired as a training centre coach.

In 1982, after only one year in the sprint training centre, his sprinters produced 89 personal bests, 2 Canadian records and 3 Commonwealth records. Charlie’s well-known female sprinter, Angela (Taylor) Issajenko was ranked 4th in the world for the 100m. Sprinter Desai William held the Canadian record at 10.17s for 100 and had won a silver medal at World Student Games in 1983. Tony Sharpe ranked number 3 in the world in 1982 by clocking 20.22s. Ben Johnson also had a 10.19s personal best in the 100m. At the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Charlie’s athletes assembled a total of 13 medals.

At 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, athletes coached by Charlie won 8 of 14 medals acquired by Canada’s track team. Charlie Francis forged one of the world’s leading sprint teams whose runners set 250 Canadian records, 32 world records and won 9 Olympic medals.

Charlie-coached athletes’ best performances in the sprints are as follows:

50y >> 5.15s Ben Johnson ... 5.74s Angela Issajenko
50m >> 5.55s Ben Johnson ... 6.06s Angela Issajenko
60y >> 6.01s Ben Johnson ...
60m >> 6.41s Ben Johnson ... 7.08s Angela Issajenko
100m >> 9.79s Ben Johnson ... 10.97s Angela Issajenko
200m >> 20.22s Tony Sharpe ... 22.25s Angela Issajenko
400m >> 45.91s Desai William ... 50.5s Angela Issajenko

References:

Charlie Francis. Training for Speed. Canberra, ACT: Union Offset Co Pty Ltd, 1997.

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Starting Block Technique

>> May 02, 2010

The Important of a Good Start:
1) The start affects the smooth execution of the whole race
2) The faster you accelerate at the start, the easier it is to get to your top-end speed.
3) If you get a good start, you will get a good lead!

On the Keys of a Good Starter:

1) Positioning on the block
2) How you react the gun NOT listen the gun
3) How explosive you are

On Your Mark Position
1) Get nice and comfortable at the block, so be able to apply the force
2) Shoulder should slightly forward to the start line

Set Position
1) Head should be in line with the back or spine
2) Eyes focused 5-6 feet ahead on the track
3) Knee angle of front and rear legs approximately 90-100 and 120-130 degree respectively
4) Hips should be slightly higher than the shoulder.
5) Feet firmly closed to the pedal
6) Your feet ready be in position to apply forces to the blocks
7) Inhale and hold your breath
8) Now only thinking about the gun and the lead hand

Out Off the Block

1) React the gun by flicking your lead arm*
2) Applying force against the pedal*
3) Exhaling at the time your reacting the gun*
4) Rear arm should be around 100-160 degree of angle (depend on style)
5) Fully extended position, straight line through the head, spine and rear leg
6) Body approximately 45 degree angle to the ground
7) Avoid overstriding, as on the acceleration phase you are trying to push NOT
pulling
*done simultaneously

Fully extended position

First 10 Metres (Drive Phase)
1) Pump your arm as quick and smooth forward backward, do not across body
2) Apply the momentum from your start while turning your legs over
3) Keep low with eyes focused to the track to allow your build up speed
4) Overstriding will slow you down, as your hits the ground then have got to pull
5) Short strides isn’t practical in the acceleration phase
6) Drive your leg forward with a high knee action
7) Fully extended rear leg pushing off the track with the toes
8) Stride length shall more or less SEVEN
9) Guys 1.70m and below might need a maximum less than 8 strides



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Brave Sabah's Sprinters

>> April 20, 2010


The men's 100m Ist round of the 88th Australian Open Athletics Championship ran last night (16th April 2010) was probably the best I've seen of our two Sabah boys who as underdogs ran bravely against a world class field of Australians, naturalised australian from Nigeria Anthony Alozie and a lone Japanese Sakuma Kato.

The boys were never afraid and were enjoying every minute of their involvement in this championship knowing very well that they intend to run fast times against fast guys on the new Western Australia Athletics Stadium at Mount Claremont, a suburb outside Perth.

Although the times of Jad Adrian Washif (11.06s) and Eddie Edward Jr. (11.01s) season best, may not seem so attractive, thay are indeed run under very difficult conditions especially the weather which was 16 degrees celcius and rather cold. "I did not sweat during the warm up but I know this competition is very good for me" said Eddie and more like this is what I want he added.

According to Jad Adrian who ran 10.89s this year, "running against world class guys will help me to perform better when I compete in the Asian Universities Games later this year". We learn so much, we are still young and Australia is a place to compete".

Being brave enough to run against fast world class guys is not the only thing but they are also brave enough to come here with little funds, staying at Backpackers lodge in Northbridge, North Perth and eating protein bars to gain strength. One setback for our Asian athletes is the problem of poverty and lack of support from the authorities. But the "GO FOR GOLD" motto in this year's SUKMA is something that I want said Eddie.

This year's Australian athletics championship is also a selection trials for Australian athletes who wish to qualify for Delhi 2010, the Commonwealth Games in the Indian capital.

SABAH'S BORNEO POST

click here for full results

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New Sabah's Sprint Queen

>> April 07, 2010

7th April, 2010

KOTA KINABALU: Jarmella Washif is the new sprint queen of the Kota Kinabalu Division Schools Sports Council Track and Field Championship after upsetting favourite Cynthia Manghing in the Girls’ Under-18 100m finals yesterday.

The opening day of the meet saw the Ranau lass clock a personal best and which is also a record, 11.8s (hand time). Prior to this, her personal best was 12.3s at the State Championship last year. So for Cynthia who has been a dominant force in the blue ribbon event for the last two years now, has finally found a rival in the business, as Jarmella proved that she is now the one to beat.

Cynthia, representing Penampang, took the silver with a time of 12.1s followed by team-mate Jesyline Stephen, who claimed the bronze with 12.6s. Jarmella’s team-mate Emily Yukon finished in fourth (13.1s).

This was the first time that Jarmella has beaten Cynthia and she attributes her success to hard training.“I’ve been training very hard till I vomited,” she said.“And I have been training regularly … five times a week, except on Thursday and Sunday, which are my rest days. Jarmella is training under her personal coach Washif Jafri, who is her father!

Washif said that he was not really surprised to see her daughter go below the 12 seconds mark.“We have been working hard towards achieving this specific target. In fact I’m not too surprised. However, I didn’t expect her to do 11.8s because at most I’ve predicted is 11.9s.“And I expect her to do better as she has yet to peak. She is now at 90 to 95 per cent. We are hoping that she will hit her best form during the State Championship or the Sukma,” said Washif.

Meanwhile, Cynthia’s personal coach William Isidore was not too disappointed to see his sprinter finished as second best.“I think I’ll take her defeat in a positive manner. In fact this is a good lesson for her to learn from and help remind her that she is not unbeatable. I hope with this she will train even harder.

Besides the gold medal feat, Jarmella also won two silver medals. She claimed her first silver medal in the long jump event and she was quite happy with this as she only picked up the event barely a week ago. She leapt a distance of 4.98m to finish behind gold medal winner, Ranau’s Ana Lydia Tinngi who recorded 5.38m.

In the 4×100m relay, Jarmella and Co had to settle for second as the gold medal was won by Penampang, spearheaded by Cynthia. Jarmella can seal her sprint queen tag on the final day today as she will be running in the 200m event with both Cynthia and Jesyline as rivals.

In the boys’ category, Nicky Ah Hill from Tuaran emerged as the new sprint king of the Under-18 category. He clocked 10.7s to take the gold medal while the silver went to Sebastian Lee Azcona of Kota Kinabalu who was a fraction of second behind on 10.8s followed by team-mate Asif Farhan in third with 11s. Last year’s winner, Jesly Justin from Penampang claimed the fourth spot, also on 11 seconds.

Defending overall champion Ranau are on course to retain the title after bagging a total of 20 gold medals on the opening day. They also won 22 silver medals and another 12 bronze medals. Penampang is in second on 12 gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals while Kota Kinabalu was third with 9, 16 and 17 bronxe medals. Host Tuaran ended the day with 7 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals. The meet ends today.

Report from sabah times

More reports;

1) Kosmo

2) Utusan

3) RTM

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The IAAF adopted ‘One false start results in disqualification’

>> January 01, 2010

The IAAF adopted a new false-start rule for 2010, which will disqualify any runner who jumps the gun.

Since 2003 the second runner to commit a false start is disqualified and thrown out, regardless of who committed the first foul. Previously, a sprinter (the same athlete) would only be disqualified for two false starts.

Under the new rule, any athlete to break or commits a false start is automatically out of the race.

The new rule didn’t give sprinters any chance to play around in the first fire which negatively affected to the others. “Many athletes were playing mind games with the others, but now that would not be possible,” said Jorge Salcedo, IAAF's technical commission.

Maurice Greene and Marion Jones used to opposed the changes of the foul start rule way back in 2001 (from two false starts by the same athlete equal disqualification) as it would also affected the spectators which have bought an expensive price of tickets when their favourite athlete DSQ.

Some of the points of view from Tyson Gay regards on the new rule;

TYSON GAY is not in favour of the newly incorporated no false start rule that comes into effect in 2010.

On August 2009 the world governing body of athletics, the IAAF, adopted the rule change that will automatically disqualify every athlete who jumps the gun, but the American was highly critical of the new judgment.

"No, I don’t think it’s an improvement," Gay said.

"I don’t really agree with it, I don’t know if it is all for television or what not, but I don’t do this for television," Gay said.

"I don’t know the details behind the rules, I talked to (former sprinter) Frankie Fredericks about it and he said if he comes to a major championship and someone false starts and is out, that is a waste of a ticket."

Gay, who will defend his titles at the world championships in Berlin, starting this weekend, added that athletes are human and will make mistakes. He believes the change will affect any athlete’s approach to competition, adding that the current rule, which has the second runner jumping the gun being kicked out, should have remained.

"I am a human being, like the rest of the athletes, I make mistakes," he explained. "The new rule will affect athletes a lot mentally, because every time you go to a race now, if you move, you are out," he said.

"People will have to sit more and wait and not react like they want to, people will be more cautious. You move you are out, it will leave certain people out. People train hard all year and then one false start, you are gone."

The new rule will not apply to the worlds.


Yet the IAAF president, Lamine Diack replied to those who said it would be hard for experienced athletes to get used to the new rule "it had been used at America universities for the past 30 years." He also quoted that the changes were made to avoid the lengthy delays from the false starts which consequently spoiled the broadcaster.

But the question at the top of the head does it designed for bureaucrats and TV schedules? and not for athletes?

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The Greatest Male Sprinters of All Time

>> October 07, 2009

The greatest sprinters of all time based on  achievements in the World Championship, Olympic Games and World Records performances.


CARL LEWIS
Carl Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is a retired American track and field athlete who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold, in a career that spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and subsequently retired. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and long jumper who topped the world rankings in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump events frequently from 1981 to the early 1990s, was named Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News in 1982, 1983 and 1984, and set world records in the 100 m, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays. His world record in the indoor long jump has stood since 1984 and his 65 consecutive victories in the long jump achieved over a span of 10 years is one of the sport’s longest undefeated streaks.

Achievements; 

>>> Olympic Games
LOS ANGELES 1984: 4 GOLD (1 Relay); SEOUL 1988: 2 Gold; BARCELONA 1992: 2 Gold (1 Relay); ATLANTA 1996: 1 Gold

>>> IAAF World Championships
HELSINKI 1983: 3 GOLD (1 Relay); ROME 1987: 3 Gold (1 Relay); TOKYO 1991: 2 Gold (1 Relay); STUTTGART 1993: 1 Gold

>>> World Records
100m – 3 + 2 tied-WR (never ratified by IAAF); 4x100m – 6


MICHAEL JOHNSON
Michael Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and was crowned world champion eight times. Johnson currently holds the world record in the 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay and formerly held the world record in the 200 m and Indoor 400 m. His 200 m time of 19.32 at the Atlanta Olympics stood as a record for over 12 years. He is the only male athlete in history to win both the 200 m and 400 m events at the same Olympics, a feat he accomplished at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Johnson is also the only man to successfully defend his Olympic title in the 400 m. Aside from his Olympic success Johnson accumulated eight gold medals at World Championships, and is thus tied with Carl Lewis for the most medals won by any athlete in history.

Achievements;
>>> Olympic Games
BARCELONA 1992 - 1 Gold; ATLANTA 1996 -2 Gold; SYDNEY 2000 -2 Gold (1 DSQ-4x400m)

>>> IAAF World Championships
TOKYO 1991- 1 Gold; STUTTGART 1993- 2 Gold; GOTHENBURG 1995- 3 Gold; ATHENS 1997: 1 Gold ; SEVILLE 1999- 1 Gold

>>> World Records
200m - 2; 400m - 3 (2 indoor); 4x400m -2 ; 300m (world best)


USAIN BOLT
Usain Bolt ( born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and, along with his teammates, the 4x100 metres relay. He also holds the Olympic record for all three of these races. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009 he became the first man to hold the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time. In August 2009, a year after the Beijing Olympics, he lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships. His record breaking margin in 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements.

Achievements;
>>> Olympic Games
BEIJING 2008 - 3 Gold (1 Relay)

>>> IAAF World Championships
BERLIN 2009 - 3 Gold (1 Relay)

>>> World Records
100m - 3; 200m - 2; 4x100m - 1
>>> *Current WR holder for 100m, 200m, 4x100m (World best mark 150m, 14.35s)



MAURICE GREENE
Maurice Greene (born July 23, 1974) is an American former track and field sprinter. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79s (1999-2005). He won two Olympic gold medals and was a five-time World Champion which included three golds at the 1999 World Championships, a feat which had previously only been done by Carl Lewis. He was the 1999 Indoor World Champion and remains the world record holder in the 60 meter dash (set twice) and the joint-fastest man over 50 meters. Maurice Greene is the only sprinter to hold the 60 m and 100 m world records at the same time. Greene ran 53 sub-10 second 100 m races during his career, which at the time was more than any other sprinter in history.

Achievements;
>>> Olympic Games
SYDNEY 2000 - 2 Gold

>>> IAAF World Championships
ATHENS 1997- 1 Gold ; SEVILLE 1999- 3 Gold ; EDMONTON 2001- 1 Gold

>>> World Records
2 (1 indoor) ; 1 tied-WR (indoor) ; 1 WR (not ratified)
*Having runs 53 times sub 10s in 100m.

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ASIAN LEADERS (Men)

To be updated

STATISTICS

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ASIAN LEADERS (Women)

To be updated

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