Forbes Forum

Uasian Bolt of Jamacia is the fastest sprinter at the Olympics--but not as fast as he could be. Give me an afternoon with him, and I can show him how to shave half a second or more from his time (especially in the 100 meter).
First, I would take away his starting blocks--they are his problem. He is too tall to start all scrunched down like that. His starts are horrible, and it is no fault of his ability or talent. He is simply too tall.
Second, I would have him put his push-off foot as close to the start line as possible with his first step foot very slightly behind it. At the the "set" command, he should crouch slightly and put nearly all his weight on the front foot while leaning forward as much as he can. The back foot would still be on the ground, but only as much as necessary to keep his balance.
At the gun, he would spring forward with a nearly normal running stride, the second step would be normal and the rest of the race would be normal, except he would lead from the start line instead of having to catch up--and his time would be much faster!

As a former sprinter myself, I practiced using this technique, but resistance from my coaches kept me from trying it in a race. In a normal start with blocks, the first step is near the point where the runners head was over the track while in the blocks. A standing start allows for at least a half stride further down the track. In my view, this half stride more than compensates for the "spring" provided by the starting blocks. In the case of a tall sprinter like Bolt, the standing start advantage (and no longer having to raise up the body to get it into running position) provides for an very significant advantage.

Are you listening Mr. Bolt??