How fast is it possible for someone to run the 100 metres?
The record had been slowly inching it’s way down from ever since Carl Lewis‘ 9.92 in Seoul in 1998. Second by second, slowly but surely, and scientists in white lab coats were telling everyone that the limit of human speed was on a curve that would slow down year on year.
But then Usain Bolt happened.
He’s lowered the mark by as much in three years that it took the rest of the sprinting world 40 years. Jim Hines was the first under 10 seconds in 1968 and Asafa Powell did 9.77 in 2006. I’ve just seen Bolt do 9.58. Incredible!
Who knows how fast or how far he can lower the mark. 9.4? 9.3?
I’m sure that there is a physical limit to how fast humans can run. It seems that the top speed for a cheetah can be defined as 68 mph and an emu at 31ph, but then cheetah’s don’t have the benefit of track spikes, coaches and a dietary plan designed for speed.
Maybe if they did, cheetah’s would be bombing around faster than the TGV, but until then we’re left to speculate as to how far Bolt can lower the world record!
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Tags: asafa powell, carl lewis, cheetah, emu, seoul olympics, TGV, usain bolt
I heard on the news that scientist say that the faastest someone can ever run the 100m will be 9.51seconds.
However, Bolt is already saying he can make 9.4 seconds!!!
Agreed, it was an amazing thing to watch.
I think he can go as low as he wants!
And in a few years he’ll be caught – a bit like Michael Johnson was after smashing the 200m and 400m records!
Some points to consider:
Can athletes keep going faster in the 100 metres?
Yes…
*Usain Bolt could shave some hundredths of a second off his time by running through the line and not raising his arms
*If the race starts being measured in thousandths of a second, even slight improvements will count as a new record
*A course of gene therapy could give athletes a new edge, boosting human capabilities yet further
No…
*We’re already reaching our top speed. Scientists believe man cannot run faster than 30mph, with the best at about 27mph
*We have certain physiological handicaps that will always hinder us. We’ll never resemble a cheetah, which can reach 70mph
*There must be some point at which the record will never be broken – we’ll surely never see the 100 metres run in five seconds
Bolt is basically perfect for sprinting. He’s really REALLY tall and has power / muscle mass with it so his stride is long and explosive. The question is will we ever see a taller, more powerfully built man? And will they go in to sprinting or the circus?
Normally really tall people have a touch of the Crouch’s about them…. Bolt is different.
I am 1cm shorter than Bolt. However, I am 40kg heavier! Look, I was a judo fighter! I needed the weight to, erm, balance!
Anyway, after his 100m run at the Olympics, you know when he slowed down for the rest of the field there was some analysis done of his performance:
“Bolt’s coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt’s opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s. After scientific analysis of Bolt’s run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9.60 s time. Considering factors such as Bolt’s position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.”
It’s since come to light at that race, there was no headwind, he slowed down AND he was running with one shoelace undone! OUCH!
Bolt ran all the way to the line in the Berlin Worlds in another record time of 9.58s! Can he really knock off another 0.14s to take the World Record to 9.4something?
Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 meters events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 meters set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 meters, the long jump event being “a perfect fit for his speed and height”.
ANOTHER World Record coming chaps?
I think he’ll do the long jump. I also think he may do the 400m!
So he could be the world record holder for:
100m
200m
400m
4x100m
4x400m (if he’s part of it he’ll break the record!)
long jump
that wouldn’t be a bad effort!