How does HEIGHT affect Sprinting Speed

[@dennisrobinson8008]

Before Bolt came onto the scene the prototypical sprinter would be between 5'9" and 6'2" was "tall", the thought would be that 6'5" would be "too tall"...

[@nefarious8278]

Most of previous WR holders were over 6ft though

[@tlamelokgosimalebe3119]

​@@nefarious8278 Carl lewis

[@cookiemonsteryummyyumz]

@@nefarious8278 yeah, but the original comment still stands true, most from jim hines in 1968 to Bolt in 2009, the only wr holders above 6'2" were Powell and Bolt

[@gummy5862]

@@nefarious8278 Even then, 6’5 is outrageously tall for a runner. Bolt was the exception. A huge exception.

[@chicnoir29]

There were a few tall guys before Bolt.

[@harainic]

I'm going to grow to 1000ft and do it in one step

[@aswins.p7155]

Yo😂 attack on Titan

[@brandoncrum4969]

Good luck with that.

[@kvbvl7285]

That one step would take you 100 seconds to land 😂

[@SpotlightGraphics]

As a short guy I’ll be rooting for us!

[@mcmerry2846]

I was the faster at uni at 5'6" 😂

[@DanielNowak-xj5oc]

Short runners are great at 1500m to the marathon distance !

[@necto1879]

@@DanielNowak-xj5ocreally? i thought that would be the opposite because of stride lenght

[@DanielNowak-xj5oc]

@nectro this is what I have noticed tall people are faster at sprinting. Like people under 6 feet are strong at 5km to the marathon and I have been a runner for 20 years now and done alot of the races .

[@Poeticlovechildd]

😂

[@bjornjohans1]

An important determining factor for stride length is the speed at which you run. The greater the speed, the further you get on each step in the phase you are in the air. So just by running faster you will be able to increase your stride length.

[@Hengel_Andrews]

@@jamezkpal2361 that’s what you got from what Bjorn said?

[@bjornjohans1]

@@jamezkpal2361 The main key to running faster is getting more force into the ground. Then you get more speed, which in turn leads to higher frequency and longer steps. It is probably more correct to say that stride length and frequency come from increased speed, rather than that you have to increase stride length/frequency to run faster.

[@ivoryas1696]

@@bjornjohans1 Honestly, it's an either or for most people, but I can see how one would say that a more bottom up (Stride power and Ground contact time & frequency) approach is more accurate than the more top-down stride frequency approach you hear so often. I'd even agree, but I can see how the more conceptually simple approach.

[@alanyt2000]

So increase your speed -> increase your stride length -> increase your speed. Easy.

[@bjornjohans1]

@@alanyt2000 It is quite easy to increase stride length without running faster (longer contact length and/or more time in the air). But if you run faster, you will usually also have a longer stride (due to more horizontal speed, you will get further in the flight phase)

[@Flips44]

Su Bingtian proved stride frequency is going to be ur biggest strength if you are shorter

[@charmsly9506]

Yeah his legs look like rockets

[@johnsonfromml8662]

Only when you are accelerating, when reaching your max speed it's better for your feet to have less ground contact

[@ThePjotrovich]

@@johnsonfromml8662 Just increase the max speed so you can accelerate for longer, easy solution. xD

[@Superbounce3]

This is especially true for female sprinters. Sha’Carri Richardson is 5’1”

[@bhein212]

Bro that’s just basic physics, I don’t need a short Asian short man to prove that 😂😂

[@motshwari]

Great video as usual! I think it’ll be hard to find another 6’5 athlete with just as much turnover as Bolt, but then again we’re in the age of super spikes. Tebogo’s advantage is he has very long legs and a short torso at 6’0, hence why he’s always runs around 42/42.5 strides. His turnover needs improve then maybe he’ll stand a chance to challenge Bolt.

[@benitofranklyn4237]

You sound straight up r-worded, no wonder the sport of sprinting is going nowhere.

[@gmaxsfoodfitness3035]

He doesn't need to improve his turnover. He needs to get stronger to put more force into the ground which naturally increases frequency/turnover. Focus on turnover will not get someone who's sub 10 already much faster. Not sure who made the video but it was already shown that some amateur sprinters who run sub 11 have a turnover equivalent to sub 10 sprinters. The difference between the sub 11 guys and sub 10 guys is stride length not frequency. The sub 10 guys are much stronger and can put a lot more force into the ground which is why they have superior stride lengths but a similar stride frequency as some sub 11 sprinters.

[@theerepenterakatheecomfort277]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZfXlYKLesimd8U I got him beat I'm gonna do a even better record soon cuz I smoked everyone 0-70 yards and tied Usain in 100 but it was melted tarmac in Street Shoes I am coming back ready next time. I am 6'1 but I see now my long leg ratio is a factor but I'm very explosive too

[@kokoleka808]

Nearly all of the people I know who stand 6'5" or taller can barely walk or jog, least to say run 100 meter sprints at a breakneck pace. Most of the speedsters in my neck of the woods stand between 5'8" and 5'11".

[@dennisrobinson8008]

@@kokoleka808 that's usually true

[@norwolf4765]

Bolt's stride length was his big advantage as he could turn over as fast as a shorter sprinter. Knighton is 6'3" and has a good stride length and amazing relaxed turn over and I think when he finally comes into his own he has the best chance of taking down Bolt's 200m record. He still continues to get

[@benitofranklyn4237]

You sound straight up r-worded, no wonder the sport of sprinting is going nowhere.

[@hollywoodpineapple8337]

Yeah, knighton has the best chance of breaking the record.

[@Jack1986ZE]

@@hollywoodpineapple8337 I agree. As for Lyles I think 19.31 is probably his limit, cos he isn't and probably won't be fast enough in the first 100 meters. It's seems now there is something between Lyles and Knighton as it was between Spearmon and Bolt, in early days Spearmon consistently beat Bolt in the second 100 meters, while Bolt was much faster in the first 100 meters, but when Bolt developed his style, he became much faster in the second 100 meters, so Spearmon had no chance to catch him.

[@mcmerry2846]

Not really...his adv was the Leg power he had...only with stride length you gain nothing....

[@Mylada]

Stride length has to be combined with incredible ability to produce force on each step. Bolts stride length was combined with his insane leg power.

[@unconventionalcrosy52]

Bolt is an exception full stop. It will be hard to find another sprinter like him even if they are of the same height

[@wailbezzaz7966]

But most sprinters the vast majority are above 6'1 so his point still stands, as we might find someone to beat bolt not now but soon yet still only tall people are represented

[@unconventionalcrosy52]

@wailbezzaz7966 most sprinters are about 6 ft 1 you have the bio data of most sprinters? Name 10 elite sprinters competing right now that is over 6 ft 1an doing fairly well. What seem to forget is that before bolt the pundits believe a tall person is not suppose to be that fast..bolt prove them wrong. Height doesn't automaically equal speed. Bolt was tall but had crazy leg turnovers an power. How many tall persons u know has quick leg turn overs & is explosive at the same time? Very few

[@levito7783]

@@wailbezzaz7966 most sprinters are 5'11-6'1, what are u on about 💀

[@timanderson5981]

Wouldn't taller sprinters have even greater advantage in the 200m? Usain Bolt was generally more dominant in the 200m than in the 100m if you look at the distance between him and the other runners when they crossed the line. With a larger body and larger mass, there is more momentum that helps the sprinter preserve speed at the end of the race.

[@benitofranklyn4237]

You sound straight up r-worded, no wonder the sport of sprinting is going nowhere.

[@jameslearing970]

Is that relative distance? Because over longer distances, the distance between each individual place will be greater on average. There's more time to increase the difference.

[@Kevinschart]

yes because you spend more time at top speed. quickness is more important in the 200 than the 100

[@cookiemonsteryummyyumz]

@@jameslearing970 agreed, in the sense that one shouldn't use absolute distance to compare dominance over two different sprint events

[@mcmerry2846]

​@@jameslearing970not really...you forgot to add endurance, acceleration, biochemistry... If they were cars that would be the case

[@MichaelsFaithandFitness]

I guess a better question is leg to torso ratio rather than overall height

[@mcmerry2846]

Number of fibers and fast twitch to slow twitch ratio also

[@thelegacyofgaming2928]

Body composition is 100% the indicator for a fast runner. Being tall alone is not going to do it.

[@madams989]

Still need good overall leg length though.

[@sibilakshman9575]

​@@mcmerry2846 can fast twitch last for the whole 100 ?

[@mcmerry2846]

@@sibilakshman9575 yes, even 200m, you can count the first 5-6 second of the dash as the point they exert the max power, and can last working efficiently until 25-30 second. 400 meters have less of a max speed requirements and demand a mixture of both fast and slow type to generate long lasting energy for up to 1;40-2 minutes. After 2 Minutes the body relies more on the aerobic Oxydation to provide energy to the muscle. The anaerobic and the Phosphocreatine ways slowly recover, meaning if given the proper rhythm, you can do ocasional dashes.

[@Nyjawonder]

I know this is about men and it is obvious that Bolt is an outlier case, but he did improve over the years and mastered his technique. The other outlier is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price. She is almost always the shortest athlete in her field but her frequency is incredible. I would love to see you analyse her technique. Imagine if she were 4 inches taller or 3 inches in leg length. Amazing lady

[@zolaeight7574]

She holds no record. Did you really have to bring her up in the same discussion as Bolt.

[@anncokafor]

​@@zolaeight7574I thought it was weird that women were completely ignored in this video.

[@zolaeight7574]

@@anncokafor They were ignored for the same reason high school champions were ignored. We are talking about the fastest humans.

[@reck0n3r]

I think it's even more weird that women's football (is: not soccer) doesn't get television coverage. Or women's arm wrestling. Instead they have Real Housewives and soap operas. As if women are more drawn to drama!

[@proverbalizer]

Sha'Carri is almost just as short Buy the fact that the 2 greatest sprinters of all time are the tallest and the shortest and the tallest tells me that height is not really the determining factor.

[@bui340]

Your knowledge is really impressive! However intuitively I feel like it's the speed of the foot due to longer distance from "hub", rather than extra long way for exelaration, that gives a tall runner an advantage.

[@KeyserSoze23]

Bolt really is a freak because the vast majority of men over 6'4" don't have great limb coordination.

[@mcmerry2846]

Even tho Bolt sucks at football and basketball 😂

[@marvin2678]

Why not

[@danejohnson6124]

I agree that the 200 will be broken before the 100 because basically Yohan Blake did it already. If it wasn’t for his slow start he would be the new 200 under 19 seconds world record holder. He had that power and he had that turnover and thanks to Bolt, he had all the inspiration he needed. Unfortunately, we all know his injury(ies) will never make him the record holder but his performance gives hope for the future.

[@zolaeight7574]

This is deluded

[@brianwhoreadsobjectiveinfo1122]

Ppl focus on the obvious simple things like height but there is much more to sprinting than that. What a lot of ppl don’t know is that coach Glen Mills worked on getting Bolt to reduce his OVERSTRIDING which was inefficient and to increase his stride length. Any post on youtube would not be sufficient to describe the myriad ways in which Mills got Bolt to run faster. His start used to prevent him from being his fastest. Mills also learned about relaxing opposing muscle groups after attending a Bud Winter (San Diego) coaching presentation. A great sprint coach can get an athlete to reduce overstriding by working on skill development, then develop power over a longer period of time to get them to increase stride rate & length.

[@sebfox2194]

What about a KZbin video by Mills in which he describes the myriad of ways that he got Bolt to run faster? Would that be sufficient?

[@paulgallagher771]

What do you mean by relaxing opposing muscle groups? Can you give an example please??

[@hus390]

Height didn’t mattered in until Bolt changed the equation.

[@wailbezzaz7966]

​@@hus390for the past 20 years height absolutely mattered, now +90% of world class sprinter's are above 6'1

[@eden.e8863]

10:21 Another observation I made is that taller athletes tend to be pulled into other sports! *edit* oh you mentioned it I grew up an athlete myself (playing netball and handball) and I’ll never forget how our handball coach pushed us (especially me lol) to take up track and field. She said the conditioning you get there will transfer to the sport. I naturally had more power compared to other girls starting out, and good form/ technique. My conditioning has always been my weakness. I got into track and field and after testing my 100m they recognised that too and put me in shot put and discus instead. I was still training in track however, as I was a sub for the 100m sprinters. That conditioning did help me get a lil faster on track, but the transfer was almost night and day on court! I literally felt like I could keep going and going, at the same power I always did without gassing out too early! I still think about how far I could’ve gone with shotput since I would consistently rank top 3 in my region at the time. Soon enough, I left track and field to persue handball at university!

[@mav3ric100]

I have the same build as Usain bolt (longer legs and shorter torso) but at only 6ft 1. In H.S. friends would always say I was faster because I was taller and I thought that was a stupid statement but didn't know how to articulate it well as I knew some people way faster than me at both the 40yd and 100m that where shorter. This video is like a god send lol

[@summatim]

0:01: Height and Sprinting Ability 0:13: Advantages of Taller Athletes 0:27: Importance of Leg Length to Body Height Ratio 0:59: Body Weight and Torso Length 1:26: Ideal Body Type for Swimming and Running 2:10: Usain Bolt's Stride Length and Frequency 3:53: The Role of Stride Length and Frequency in Speed 5:24: Justin Gatlin's Change in Race Strategy 8:20: Inconsistency in Sprinting Ability 8:38: Importance of Foot Strike and Frontside Mechanics 10:19: Tall Sprinters and World Records 11:37: Potential for Average Height Sprinters 14:00: Taller sprinters vs. shorter sprinters 14:21: 200 meters 15:07: Breaking world records

[@dennisrobinson8008]

All the idealism have been blown out many times. The track models of 1985 thru 1990 said the track body should be like Carl Lewis but the all wrong Michael Johnson proved that incorrect.

[@dennisrobinson8008]

Michael Johnson killed all these theories along time ago, and so did Su Bingtian. There are many others. Up until then it was thought that if you aren't built like Carl Lewis then you might as well not be sprinting.

[@QCKeith]

Impeccable research!!! I enjoyed this video,thanks.

[@darryllikestosleep804]

I think what matters most is how much greater force can the athlete apply and generate when their feet hit the ground in time that is as short as possible, leg length and speed are definitely factors affecting sprinting performance, someone who either has a greater stride frequency / length while not sacrificing greater stride length / frequency than Bolt can break the world record under advantageous environment conditions like 2m/s tailwind and higher altitudes, talking about leg though, a lot of factors can be broken down like the overall leg stiffness, reflexes, achilles tendon stiffness, muscle elasticity etc. Overall its a good video with broad knowledge, keep it up man

[@NoName-vq3uo]

“su bing chan“

[@dennisrobinson8008]

@@NoName-vq3uo good to 60 no finish

[@st4r444]

In order to generate force in less time, you're thinking opposite. Shorter legs would do better. They cycle faster. The time it takes for longer leg to lift up and push off the ground is longer is their legs are longer. Also, a shorter person is lighter too so bouncing off their own weight is easier.

[@kokoleka808]

@@st4r444 I could illustrate this by using the example of armwrestling where the competitor with the longer forearm is at a disadvantage because the force required to drive one's arm towards the pad is a multiplier of the length of one's forearm. Imagine having a 10 foot long forearm. Imagine how difficult would it be to generate force to move your forearm towards the pin pad. The amount of work required is going to be a lot higher to get the pin. Another example of where having longer limbs serves as a disadvantage is in weightlifting. Think of the bench press. Shorter arms means less distance to move the weight and less work required. Essentially, shorter arms are more efficient at completing the movement. This is the reason why at strongman competitions such as The World's Strongest Man, in the final event to determine the winner, the Atlas Stones event, participants are required to lift objects high up onto a pedestal, in order to level the playing field for taller competitors. Here you'll often see 5'8" men built like bodybuilders struggle to lift 300-pound stones onto the pedestals while 6'5" men who are built more like NFL defensive linemen hoist these stones with relative ease.

[@st4r444]

@kokoleka808 also think of a road runner. Super small compare to human but faster than the average person

[@saulnores3477]

Great vidro. Usain Bolt is the greatest. And "Medal winners 24" jamaican sprinter Hassan is the greatest virtual sprinter. He's so hard to beat.

[@ergwehgr]

This video proved Subingtian is an absolute monster.

[@markn7882]

Excellent video and research

[@anyo_mations]

Being 6'5" alone won't get you the win. Usain was freak. He was a freak who did an insane amount of strength and flexibility training to maximize his natural advantages. Usain was very tall which was a huge advantage, but his height was also a disadvantage, as being taller negatively affects both starts and turnover rate. The taller you are, the more force you need to exert into the ground to run. Yet, his turnover rate was just as fast as athletes who were far shorter than him. This was only possible because of insane amount of power he had, which again took years of training to achieve. But any way you look at it, Usain was naturally a freak. He was extremely fast even as a kid with zero training. Another athlete could be the same height, and do the same amount of training, but never run as fast.

[@Jack1986ZE]

Could you please explain me what turnover is, cos I'm not a native English-speaker and can't find a proper translation of this word

[@Jack1986ZE]

Is "turnover" synonymous to "stride rate"?

[@anyo_mations]

@@Jack1986ZE yeah

[@mcmerry2846]

You could also beat the record at 5'7" being a freak.

[@mcmerry2846]

​@@Jack1986ZEmeans the time your foot 🦶 is making contact with the ground

[@adedogable]

The Tebogo prediction seems to have been on the money. 😮

[@fender1000100]

Tebogo will Never Win gold in the 100m. Needs to concentrate on 200/400

[@sakariyejama1505]

​@@fender1000100I believe he can go sub 9.8. At the Olympics 100m final he clocked 9.86 with bad reaction time. Don't forget he is only 21 years old

[@Lajnish]

Great video, thanks for enlightening us once again :D

[@MhadJuvi]

Before I go into this video I feel like being tall would actually be an advantage as you could achieve a greater stride length

[@captainspirou]

We definitely learned from Bolt that height can give a lot of advantages in sprinting. However I think it needs far more attention to mechanics to do it well. In a sense shorter athletes have it easier but tall runners with expert knowledge are unbeatable

[@robdixson196]

There are advantages to shorter legs. Less moment of inertia and mass to continually accelerate and decelerate. The physics aren't as simple or cut and dried as they seem.

[@richardgallimore5976]

I see Bolt as more of the exception than the rule. Not including Bolt, you have Blake, Gay, Powell, Gatlin, Coleman, Kerley, Bromell as the next fastest times. At 5'11", 5'11", 6'2", 6'1", 5'9", 6'3", & 5'8". A bit taller on average, however Bromell achieved 9.76 the joint 6th fastest ever & this is after an injury that took him out for 4 years. I think sub-9.7 sounds pretty plausible if he continued until now without injury. Coleman's best is 9.76, but compared to some of the other top 100m runners he has visibly weaker speed endurance. If he had Blake's level of speed endurance I also see a sub 9.7. Sub 9.6 has only been done by Bolt so it seems strange to use stats from an outlier. I think sub 9.7 is do-able if you're 5'7" or if you're 6'7".

[@cookiemonsteryummyyumz]

true, and because Bolt had a rare combination of insane stride length with rather high stride frequency for someone at 6'5", which you don't commonly see in other tall sprinters.

[@otto9128]

Nice.

[@omzy8700]

Yh but by your logic in order to brake bolt record you need to have someone that has the same exceptional body characteristics of bolt

[@richardgallimore5976]

@@omzy8700 I don't think they'll need the same body characteristics, but they will need to be genetically gifted of course. Whether they are 5'10" or 6'5" I think plays less of a factor than percentage fast twitch muscle, I guess leg length as a comparison of total height, tendon elasticity (especially the achilles tendon).

[@johnnkurunziza5012]

@@omzy8700Goodluck finding that Unicorn

[@lukedowneslukedownes5900]

Amazing video with tons of education my coaches never tell me

[@islanderATP]

great breakdown! thx!

[@royalgreenlantern]

Speed is about how fast you can cover longer distances. So naturally someone with longer strides have an advantage as they naturally are covering more ground. So if they tie that with turnover speed they can def keep ahead. But if they dont have the turnover speed the longer strides will not truly make them a winner.

[@mcmerry2846]

An ant being faster than a turtle

[@SDesWriter]

Also, Micah Williams ran 9.83w in 47 1/2 strides (and is still improving as a sprinter). So it is possible (also shown by Bingtian).

[@benitofranklyn4237]

You sound straight up r-worded, no wonder the sport of sprinting is going nowhere.

[@Jack1986ZE]

9.83 was wind assisted, his PB is 9.86

[@SDesWriter]

@@Jack1986ZE does that change how many strides he takes? Just curious if you understood the point of my comment

[@roboticvenom1935]

yes, a higher headwing can increase stride frequency by a small margin. @@SDesWriter

[@rhidiandavies1991]

Would be interwring to look at the physiological limitations for those two metrics (frequency and length). There will be a limit to how fast someone can turn over their legs, and equally there will be a limit to how much force someine can generate in a single stride, and since someone with half the frequency but double the stride lenth would have to generate twice the power per stride to maintain the same pace, the optimal stridelength may actually be shorter than the maximum possible if it allows the frequency to be increased to compensate. I.e. i wonder if some taller sprinters might benefit from training to shorten their stride length and potentially vice versa

[@thomas6963ify]

1:20 correction. Extra torso length will increase the wind resistance so it does make a diffrence.

[@gmale2510]

I'm 6'4 185lbs. I remember running so fast once my step propelled my body off the ground I thought my legs would turn over under me. It scared me and I stopped.

[@travelpasstime9868]

Su :- Respect for Su for not being from race, self confidence, bravery and hardword of this man

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

The top few fastest women in history have a height range from like 5’ to 5’8” which is pretty far apart. Christian Coleman is 5’9” and Bolt is 6’5” and yeah bolt is faster over 100m but Coleman is faster over 60m. The height isn’t as important as the turnover rate, stride length, and time in contact with the ground.

[@gibbethoskins8621]

Usain also had an overly curved spine compared to most due to condition he had, visually it appeared to ad extra spring to his stride

[@unconventionalcrosy52]

How can having a curved spine be beneficial to a sprinter??? Rubbish

[@gibbethoskins8621]

@@unconventionalcrosy52 Go watch a video of him from side view in slow motion, that thing literally acts like a spring whilst bringing his upper body weight forward in the perfect position allowing him to generate more drive without the usual forward leaning weight draw backs ... besides that, he's literally the fastest human that ever lived, so there's that... go figure genius 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@o-wolf]

​@@gibbethoskins8621he didn't have a curved spine in William knibb &he doesn't have one now.. that's just called Jamaican posture

[@gibbethoskins8621]

@@o-wolf He has Scoliosis with a curve of more that 40°, he also has leg length discrepancy ..look it up yourself.

[@martinhamilton8834]

I love this video well done

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

He should have mentioned that only impulse is responsible for stride length. Limb length just helps to increase impulse. Lemaitre has the longest legs in relation to body height! That is his biggest advantage! Frequency is dependent on angular momentum at the hip and knee joint. Lighter legs are favorable. Especially lighter lower legs. This was Oscar pistorius advantage. So the optimal anatomy is long and thin (light) limbs. All running animals have this shape.

[@adityaanand3495]

Height has it's own advantages and its a accepted truth

[@mcmerry2846]

Also disadvantages

[@roboticvenom1935]

but more advantages lol..@@mcmerry2846

[@wailbezzaz7966]

​@@mcmerry2846no disadvantages at all, height in all major sports is the most important factor, football, basketball, handball, volleyball, rugby, height wasn't as important in early days because the talent and access wasn't there with also the average height much shorter but height has became a must indicator or a scale to be successful at a sport, unless your extremely exceptional average or slightly short guy, the range between 5'8-5'11 other than that barely to non existent under than 5'8 representator to sports

[@mariacorrales6181]

Hypothetically, if Bingtian could run the 100m with his 4.88 frequency but in 41 strides like Bolt, then his time would be 8.40s.

[@angledgaze6203]

Imagine the fucking power and monster legs necessary for that. Could probably break concrete walls with that sort of strength.

[@sakariyejama1505]

No my brother there's a difference between top speed and total average speed. In 100m you have to accelerate to reach top speed then you will decelerate. In relays its possible to clock such a time

[@timp6356]

In other words, if Bingtan was as tall as Bolt, he would have been a world record holder, beating Bolt's by more than 1 sec.

[@mariacorrales6181]

@@sakariyejama1505 we are talking of different things. Read again.

[@cloudedrain7817]

Michael Johnson called being too tall a disadvantage due to the angles elite sprinters need to achieve pointing bolt out as an exception to the law. I therefore don't think giant is a good model to follow

[@hus390]

Height didn’t mattered in until Bolt changed the equation.

[@johnmarcelo1883]

So theoretically speaking the ideal strategy would be to increase stride frequency and shorten stride length at the beginning in order to increase acceleration, and then gradually decrease stride frequency and increase stride length?

[@MichaelImo]

I think one thing people don't consider is the ratio between the bones in the legs... Usain Bolt has a massive fibia length which I believe helps overcome frequency issues as longer tibia will propbaby decreast frequency

[@Ghog-mj5zk]

Now that you mention it, his femur and tibia is about the same length, the proportions of his leg is truly adventegios in long sprint

[@chumamakasi6682]

You've gotta love Usain Bolt for how graceful he sways while running, truly one of a kind.

[@azsegrxdhtfgvijnkomlewrhtg9508]

If you're not strong you won't be able to run very fast whether you're 5ft5 or 6ft5. It doesn't matter if you're not strong.

[@user-ff1ez5sy5h]

The advantages of a smaller athlete on a bigger body is a killer combination in most sports.

[@John-rb7zo]

Height definitely is a factor. The simple conclusion I draw from this is you must be tall with exceptional power/ground force. Some of these athletes now are tall but don't have the ground force

[@christiantagliaferro4123]

I think we always should think in termins of legs lunght. Some runners ar tall with short legs. And they have a good 60mt. See Samuele Ceccarelli.

[@noodles1587]

So its kinda like gears on a bike the higher gear the harder to pedal but the more distance gained the same with leg length and stride count

[@HempAdvocate89]

14:55 Noah Lyles update was quick too. Nice work SSM

[@eamparbeng]

Usain bolt had to work much harder than the other sprinters to run the times he did cuz in simple laws of physics it takes more strength and power to move a bigger heavier object. Bolt was literally a sprinter in a basketball player's body being the same size as Michael Jordan

[@catcountry0099]

It's crazy to think how athletic they are. Imagine Jordan as a sprinter and Usain as a basketball player, although to be great at basketball you need much more skill development than sprinting.

[@mcmerry2846]

Check spudd Webb dunking at 5'7" 😂

[@kokoleka808]

I could illustrate this by using the example of armwrestling where the competitor with the longer forearm is at a disadvantage because the force required to drive one's arm towards the pad is a multiplier of the length of one's forearm. Imagine having a 10 foot long forearm. Imagine how difficult would it be to generate force to move your forearm towards the pin pad. The amount of work required is going to be a lot higher to get the pin. Another example of where having longer limbs serves as a disadvantage is in weightlifthing. Think of the bench press. Shorter arms means less distance to move the weight and less work required. Essentially, shorter arms are more efficient at completing the movement. This is the reason why at strongman competitions such as The World's Strongest Man, in the final event to determine the winner, the Atlas Stones event, participants are required to lift objects high up onto a pedestal, in order to level the playing field for taller competitors. Here you'll often see 5'8" men built like bodybuilders struggle to lift 300-pound stones onto the pedestals while 6'5" men who are built more like NFL defensive linemen hoist these stones with relative ease.

[@eamparbeng]

@@kokoleka808 that's very interesting to know I never knew that. This same reason is why I think if WNBA players trained like female Olympic sprinters, they should have enough power and force to dunk a basketball with ease. While an elite male sprinter has push force of 1000 psi, females have around 700 psi. And it takes about 420 psi of push force to dunk a basketball. And with their height and long limbs, wnba could actually do it. The highest recorded vertical leap by a wnba player is by Breanna Nolan at 34". Pretty impressive for a woman

[@kokoleka808]

@@eamparbeng Good point about vertical leaping ability having a direct correlation with how fast someone can run.

[@Theratsnatcher]

bolt has the mentality my guy great vid no the less

[@schicco]

When it comes to women's 100m, it would seem that shorter athletes perform just as well as taller ones, whereas in the 200m, taller athletes tend to dominate.

[@msh104utube]

If your third leg's length is too long, this is a real hindrance. Mine is also flopping around and increasing wind drag.

[@discopotato9822]

gotta get yourself some underwear bro

[@sfmz233]

chop it :)

[@Iori-n1z]

​@@sfmz233😂😂

[@LowEffortStuff]

Tape it up

[@parrotbrand2782]

Wind it around your waist

[@SDesWriter]

Knighton is 6'3 and although he hasn't peaked in the 100m yet, he has shown that barring injury, one day he'll top Bolt in the 200m.

[@sub2me543]

Nothing in life is guaranteed y’all said he would beat Lyles 100 times it never happened let time take its course. And we’ll see

[@Jack1986ZE]

He already has more potential than Lyles, he must increase his speed indurance in the second part of 200 m

[@dabadc]

Rae Edwards mentioned the third piece to the speed puzzle: Ground reaction force plays a big role in acceleration and max speed. When different athletes have a similar stride length and frequency, the amount of force one drives into the track, and the direction in which that force is driven makes the difference in who crosses the line first...Newton's 3rd Law of motion; the greater the force, the greater the propulsion

[@newgenerationfilms3113]

Only me knows the final piece of the spreed puzzle and yes it has something to do with the law of motion.

[@freestyle88]

I’d say “in general” 6’5” guys are not going to be your fastest out of a large group.. but if you’re looking for “fastest ever”, you’ve got to find that one “freak” who also has that high turnover… aka Bolt.

[@JustTheHighlights]

6:19 amazing acceleration

[@ayandaakkhumalo2602]

Very insightful

[@vikram8578]

Not a lot of people talk about this but imo one of bolts significant strengths is extremely low ground contact time with each step. He generates all the force necessary in barely any time at all. It looks like he is flying through the air on replays. This detail is critical because he is able to match the stride frequency and sometimes surpass their stride frequency and if you take into account his increased stride length then he always blows them out of the water when he reaches top speed

[@vikram8578]

This is why bolt is undefeatable in the 200 compared to the 100

[@legpad5857]

Distance running has more to do with heart (effort/ ambition) & training than height. Haile Gebrselassie is universally accepted as the greatest distance runner of all time. He was 5'5" and had the greatest kick at the end of races that would destroy opponents. He ran 16 miles everyday as a child to school in a smaller, higher elevation town in Ethiopia, carrying his school books under one arm. As an adult in competitions he still ran with his schoolbook arm slightly bent as if carrying books.

[@AthleticDesign]

"longer legs have the potential to produce more Force because they begin their descent downwards to the ground from a higher starting point" This is not really correct physics. Longer legs don't produce more "force". Longer legs simply make it possible for the foot to accelerate longer and thereby reach a higher speed. The reason for this is not specific to sprinting. It is because of a fundamental principle that is often overlooked or misunderstood: Longer muscles can do more work (transfer more energy) than shorter muscles even if they are equally strong! "Equally strong" meaning having the same cross-sectional area and thus producing the same amount of force. This is the real benefit of longer legs - producing more work/energy. And this is why throwers benefit from being tall. For a sprinter, the downside is of course more body weight to move.

[@kokoleka808]

I could illustrate this by using the example of armwrestling where the competitor with the longer forearm is at a disadvantage because the force required to drive one's arm towards the pad is a multiplier of the length of one's forearm. Imagine having a 10 foot long forearm. Imagine how difficult would it be to generate force to move your forearm towards the pin pad. The amount of work required is going to be a lot higher to get the pin. Another example of where having longer limbs serves as a disadvantage is in weightlifthing. Think of the bench press. Shorter arms means less distance to move the weight and less work required. Essentially, shorter arms are more efficient at completing the movement. This is the reason why at strongman competitions such as The World's Strongest Man, in the final event to determine the winner, the Atlas Stones event, participants are required to lift objects high up onto a pedestal, in order to level the playing field for taller competitors. Here you'll often see 5'8" men built like bodybuilders struggle to lift 300-pound stones onto the pedestals while 6'5" men who are built more like NFL defensive linemen hoist these stones with relative ease.

[@newguy8222]

Arm movements are equally important, perhaps oddly enough. But it’s the arms that propel you forward, I guess long arms would be important too. So muscular arms is an advantage in the short distances, while probably a disadvantage in the longer ones.

[@parkergrimes3374]

Bolt was the expectation, like Tommie Smith during the 1960s he developed his physical talents with training and coaching.

[@omzy8700]

Yh but you need another exception talent like bolt to brake the bolt record .

[@thelegacyofgaming2928]

Bolt was also born with advantageous body composition. Most tall guys do not have the proper ratios like Bolt does.

[@b-radagent2411]

I think people look too much in to bolts height. He would still be olympic fast if he was shorter, he is just insanely fast and happens to be tall

[@jdspartan16]

I think with how fast lyles is in the 200 and how much his start has improved within the next few years, he's going to consistently drop his 100m time and maybe even drop into 9.6

[@Jack1986ZE]

His PB is 9.86 and 9.6 is way too far

[@Jack1986ZE]

Knighton has better chances to close to Bolt's records

[@thelegacyofgaming2928]

I don't see Lyles doing that. Usually you can see potential time drops from previous races. Bolt was already in 9.6-9.7 range when he started. Lyles was not.

[@wiiiz3]

Lyles doing 9.6? what are you smoking?

[@xelp435]

⁠@@thelegacyofgaming2928wrong bolt started at 10.01

[@brianlamptey4823]

Longer legs are heavier. If someone with longer legs is stepping at your rate it means you could've stepped faster. The higher the stride rate the less momentum you lose from each strike.

[@abhimanyunamita4779]

Short sprinters should focus more on stride length without reducing their stride frequency, long sprinters should focus on stride frequency without reducing stride length. It should be the main goal of every sprinter.

[@KoolKaiser]

Oblique Seville will be the fastest short sprinter in history. I was actually thinking you would mention him.

[@timnguyen4101]

He was 6’0 that ain’t short

[@KoolKaiser]

@@timnguyen4101 was? He ain't dead...and he is nowhere near 6ft...he is like 5'7

[@Nubako463]

@@KoolKaiser He is listed at 6’0

[@Wideout4]

Nah

[@afrobuddy4801]

No he is not! Yohan blake and coleman are about his height and much faster

[@jasontodd421]

Excellent analysis!💪

[@razorr_o]

Bolt's no RT 19.06 200m is still faster than Yohan's 18. 99 because 1) headwind and 2)unoptimized running. Bolt had used too much energy in the first 100m.

[@razorr_o]

@faustindutoybouley534 okay, makes sense. Just making out the points.

[@PihuBishen]

Principal of adjustment .....long the leg have low the frequency.short the leg hv high in frequency., so everywhere nature balanced.

[@Sgtassburgler]

It is a misconception that height has anything to do with force production. Skeletal structure does not produce force, the only cells that can move the limbs of your body are myocytes. Muscle mass and its relative force production in a period of time are the only metrics that have to do with force production anatomically.

[@sebastianglyb2334]

Was NOT ready for that picture of Marcel jacobs

[@JonCChan]

Su Bingtian is 5'8" according to Google. Please change your thumbnail accordingly. Other than that, good insights in the video!

[@mcmerry2846]

On high heels***

[@jvr6272]

Can’t trust google , search Marcus Rashford and google says he’s 180, Ronaldo is 187, but search up when they’re together , they are the same height Same thing as, Gary Neville says he’s 180cm, and Kyle Walker is 178cm, but when they stood close to each other , Gary Neville looked 5’6. The video is “how to play wing back, Kyle walker interview” at 2:45 exactly Im a football fan so I gave football players reference, but yeah after seeing all these, I started to call google sources is BS

[@mangonow6350]

It's just one inch, I don't think it matters too much

[@AUS6267]

Google is never accurate about height

[@ImuBozu]

@@AUS6267he’s 5’7.7 so google is right this time

[@blackagentsmith3562]

Low upper body weight plus strong legs and core is the greatest factor in determining speed.

[@johnfromwales6713]

If you have a longer torso wouldnt that increase the surface area of drag/wind resistance?

[@robws007]

Excellent video, very informative!

[@qarhsi]

bolt was not known for the best technique, but he was fine. some of the current sprinters have horrible technique / running styles, and have yet managed to run 9.7Xs, which is impressive to me, although such a pain to watch. technique can be improved to some degree, but if one already has a 'weird' running style, i am not sure they can correct that to be more efficient. so "what if" is something i would rather avoid, because that is hypothetical and not reality.

[@zack_120]

7:12- 'I see his legs before he comes... ' 😁 that's his unique feature to the fastest man

[@paulshealthfitness7922]

I am not sure if you took into account that the older sprinters that ran fairly fast at shorter heights didn't benefit from, better training/diet/tracks/shoes

[@rafaelribeiro4885]

I guess future will tell, but having a single instance of a very tall athlete dominating for a period of time does not mean we need to throw the book. At the thing about nfl athletes being capable of running elite runners have been a basically a somewhat myth. The Olympics is not the highest level of sprinting, it’s the world championship. Not a single nfl athlete could get a top 10 there. And saying an athlete running 10.28 of course means he can run under 10. Well… guess I’m an Olympic sprinter cuz I’m only 7 seconds from the world record.

[@DougLazy-j3u]

What explains Shacari Richardson? She is like 5'1".

[@r.majeni1702]

When she reached peak acceleration she has perfect form when it comes to her hip flexion and centering her body weight I believe I'll double check tho 😅

[@r.majeni1702]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIqXhmmJrsmNmbcsi=UzSRWHsLCt6gel5k

[@iespinosa31]

Shorter sprinter's can beat the 100m record. Speed endurance is probably what's lacking. One must able to maintain their speed for an extended period of time. The body usually tries to save it's self from dying by declaration.

[@poomipatlurkudom3883]

No wonder why most 60m sprinters are under 5'10

[@Jack1986ZE]

Coleman is insanely fast in the first 60 meters, however he is constantly being caught at the end.

[@mcmerry2846]

​@@poomipatlurkudom3883there are a couple of runners around 5'8" - 5'9" below the 9.7s mark in 100m though

[@mcmerry2846]

A 5'7" could dominate and break the record but as Bolt, he must be a freak of the nature with freak fibers, freak tendons, freak nervous system response and also clean technique.

[@gladiatorscoops4907]

I always had a theory watching the fastest football "soccer" players that there is a sweet spot of the fastest players between 5ft 11 and 6ft 3 - the fastest guys (top speed, not based on acceleration) guys like Thierry Henry, Djibril Cisse, R9, Kaka to name a few fell into that ratio. And there was a big fall off once a player got over 6ft 3. But Bolt completely shattered that theory of mine. But Height, leg length can have a huge impact on sprint speed

[@lntiritu]

Tebogo with some little workout will do wonders

[@lombardo141]

Man wished this video was released when I was younger. I could have tried more to be a string athlete. 😔

[@malligrub]

The stride length advantage especially coupled to high frequency turnover ability was the unusual thing about Bolt, the final piece of the puzzle is Bolt's abnormal power generation. He just produced extreme forces with incredible power numbers. It does seem like the average height capabilities have been essentially maxed around 9.7s (basic conditions) with Blake/Gay. I would expect somebody with Bolt-like characteristics to run Bolt-like times.

[@kriaz9916]

Didn’t he place 5 times his body weight into the ground?

[@Andrembramwell]

​@@kriaz9916 it was like 1000 pounds of force per leg 😂😂I've seen 10 flat guys put down about 500 to 600 when tested

[@newgenerationfilms3113]

You maybe right but only me knows the final piece of the puzzle 🧩 . And it’s not his abdomen, not one will ever think of this. And it makes feel like a genius...it has something to do with the law of motion

[@zlonewolf]

@@Andrembramwell Usain Bolt was also extremely light for his height at 6"4'3 and weighing 209 lbs. Most people at that height are close to 300 lbs.

[@crabb9966]

Tebogo is going to do it!!!

[@crabb9966]

He could ho 9,8 rn

[@jeremybstudentpilot5315]

I was a 5’7 sprinter. I have a very powerful lower body along with small feet. I wear a 7.5us. That means my feet are lighter and can hit the ground faster.

[@panavgaming1050]

9:40 that last guy must be so embarrassed

[@hungvuong6885]

isn’t stride length the distance between contact points of the same foot? If the video is referencing the length between one foot to the other foot while sprinting, I think it is called step length

[@alfredwhite7773]

A cheetah is small and still fastest animal. It's the fast fibers in the muscle that matters.

[@Dumebi7278]

Proportionately, cheetahs have the longest and most flexible spines of all big cats. They take really long strides.

[@IanWilson-y6c]

Current height : 173 cm age : 15 and 5 months Parents height : (dad) 174 cm (mum) 162 cm Arm span is 185 ( 6”1 ) Leg length from floor to hip 105 cm ( 41 inches ) Dads brother : 6”1 Mums brother : 6”0 Do you think I can get to 5”11?

[@passionatebeast24]

Eat protein rich diet fish chicken eggs a lot. Sleep 8 hours daily. Practice Sprinting and stretching exercises regularly. Also ear dairy like milk butter etc.

[@stevenmanson2490]

Good vid!

[@W-meme]

Fact: 2nd fastest man in the world is 5'9"

[@cosmicwisdom999]

Right