DO THE LOCOMOTION
When Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt first, um, bolted onto the scene a few years ago, track aficionados expressed mild surprise. After all, Bolt stands 6-feet-5 and has a lean, albeit muscular, physique. Kind of like Terrell Owens before he began working out with bar bells in his driveway.
The World's Fastest Man is supposed to be, if not short, then at least compact and muscular. Ben Johnson. Maurice Greene. Barry Sanders. Now along comes Bolt, who on April 11, 2004, became the first and still only teenager to crack the 20-second barrier in the 200 meters. And people wondered how.
On NBC's Sunday evening prime-time show, U.S. female sprinter Lauryn Williams was featured in a taped segment. Williams, of Miami, has a classic sprinter's build and she even said (and I paraphrase), "I have short legs so I have a higher stride-per-second rate. That allows me to go faster."
The logic, according to Williams, is that because she requires less time between strides, she will be faster than someone taller who takes more times between strides.
But that is only half of the equation.
Human speed is a product of two variables:
1) Stride Length
2) Stride Frequency
And you don't need to have attended Harvard, or read its periodicals, to understand that (although it can't hurt). The fallacy is the belief that someone with shorter legs will necessarily have a higher stride frequency than someone with longer legs, a fallacy that, sure, might be reinforced if you grew up watching only the Boston Celtics play. However, if you watched the Celtics in the 1980s then you cannot have escaped seeing their nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers. And thus you are well aware of their revolutionary 6-9 point guard, Magic Johnson.
Magic changed the game then, just as Bolt is doing now. Before Magic NBA point guards stood anywhere between six-foot and 6-4, ordinarily. You couldn't have a 6-9 point guard because he'd be too slow to stay with a Phil Ford or a Mo Cheeks or a Nate "Tiny" (!) Archibald. And you were equally unlikely to find someone that size who had ball-handling skills (older fans might argue that 6-5 Oscar Robertson was the original Magic Johnson, and I'd have to conced that point ... after all, The Big O did average a triple-double one season).
The point is, after Magic everyone realized that if you could combine a hoopster who had point-guard skills with power forward size that you'd have a truly devastating weapon. I imagine the first band of soldiers who ever went into battle with swords at the ready only to discover that the other side had invented guns must have also heaved a collective, "Uh oh."
And so here comes Usain Bolt, who on Saturday evening here in Beijing broke the world record in the ultimate test of manhood on the track, the 100 meters. The aptly named Jamaican ran a 9.69 and you already know that he was only stylin' in the last few meters. But here's a breakdown of something you might not have known. I watched the the gold, silver and bronze medalists from that race and counted the number of strides each man took. The data:
Gold..........................Usain Bolt, Jamaica...........................41 strides
Silver.........................Richard Thompson, Trinidad................44 strides
Bronze......................Walter Dix, USA.................................49 strides
In other words, Usain Bolt had to take less steps to cover 100 yards than his competitors. He clearly, and by a large margin, had them beaten in one half of the speed equation, stride length. And so their only chance to defeat him was to outdo him in stride rate. However, just because Bolt is taller, or more precisely, has longer legs, does not mean that he cannot have a similarly brief time lapse between the moment one foot hits the ground and then the next.
Because, stride rate is about more than height. It is about fast-twitch muscle fibers. It is about power. It is about how much force one foot yields on the ground and how quickly one can push one's knee forward. And those are variables, formerly for a man his size obstacles, that Usain Bolt has clearly overcome. Has mastered.
Yesterday the website "Caribbean News Net" ran an article with the headline, "Medallists praise Bolt's ability to deliver despite his height". Despite? Not exactly. Usain Bolt is a physical marvel, no doubt about it. And, like Magic, he is a pioneer. In Magic's wake has come a 7-footer who prefers playing like a small forward (Kevin Garnett) and LeBron James, who is the closest thing to Magic since the Hall of Famer retired.
So look out, you muscular Maurice Greene types. Because Usain Bolt is just the start of something, well, big. He won't be the last tall man whose strength and muscle-reaction time matches yours. But the worrisome thing for any sprinterr under 6-feet tall is this: You can't teach height.
Fragile
As you may know by now, Chinese hurdler Liu Xhiang withdrew from the first heat of the 110-meter hurdles this morning here in Beijing. Liu, the first Chinese gold medalist in track (he won this event in Athens), was under enormous pressure to succeed here. In fact, the 110-meter hurdles is ordinarily a two-day event in terms of qualifying heats, semis, and the final. Here it was elongated to four days, and you don't have to be P.T. Barnum to understand why.
It may be difficult for we Americans to understand how badly China is hurting today. Look at it this way: What if Michael Phelps had had to pull out of the Olympics due to injury on the eve of the Games? For China, today is their Tai and Randy moment. But much, much worse.
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What about a critique of Bolt's last 5-10 meters & the following 5-10 minutes after he won? He was APPALLING. The only good "news" is that the American men's Relay team from a few Olympics ago is finally off the Poster for WORST SPORTSMANSHIP.
I had picked Bolt as the winner the second I saw Tyson fall to the track during the Trials, but I am now most definitely NOT a fan. Some actually excuse his behavior with "oh, he's young". Well, Michael Phelps is only about one year older than Bolt. Can you imagine if Michael had acted like that?
I do feel for the Chinese people about Liu. I'm not surprised at this outcome though as I saw him "accidentally" false-start at the Prefontaine a couple months ago & wondered what was going on with him then. Do you think he's really that injured or just crumpled from the pressure? Which from everything I've read & heard the past year about Liu - the immense esteem his country held him AND the expectations that he absolutely win the gold again, I could understand.
Come on! give the kid a break. Venus celebrated in London like a kid. I enjoyed it.Merlene Ottey and many more should have celebrated and they could'nt; and we now know why. Bolt and his crew deserve a celebration which has been denied unfairly for years. Oh, don't bring up Ben Johnson to me, he represented Canada. It would have served them all well if they went to Dunns River for a bath and ate some affu yam in Trelawny and its environs.
Showboatin' Bolt disrespected his fellow competitors, the race, the spectators & TV viewers all around the world, the Olympics, & his country.
By all means celebrate, but not DURING the race & not like a childish brat after.
Hopefully, this new King of Sprinting's reign will be as fleeting as this race.
"The gun go off, the race be over". (Ben Johnson)
Why is it that certain athletes can't win the way they want to win without some so call moral American sports fan or sports telecaster complaining about how they carry himself. All sport fans are not stupid. Yes we can see through the petty complaints that raise their heads every time someone who doesn't look like them achieve something great. At least Mr. Bolt is honest and not afraid to be who he really is. You guys are at best pathetic.
NBC's track and field coverage has been shameful. In primetime, I watched 45 minutes of marathon on Sunday and 20 minutes of trampoline on Monday. By chance this morning while in my doctor's office, I caught the initial rounds of the 200 meter dash. While I enjoy beach volleyball, why so much primetime coverage?? I am disappointed!!
I find the insulting comments made against Bolt's style to celebrate absolutely disgraceful. What is your problem with the young man? I totally agree with William's post. lol and company need to take a chill pill and stop the hating. Go out there and do what he did (break world record) if you think you are a better person than Bolt.
I know swimming is over for the summer Olympics. However, I get the feeling that the Media has overlook the other people their. Michael Pleps was not the only person from the USA in the summer games. The the rest of the people should get their dues. It was just as hard for them to get there as it was for him. And why hasn't anyone said anything about the one and only BLACK MAN the swam and won a medal. Mr. Pheps would not have won 8 plus medals if it were not for the guy in the relay team. I don't know his name because no one has said anything about him since he swam.Give the rest of the people their time in the spot light.
You're just jealous as apparently Bob Costas reads JDubs' blog. You're welcome, Bob! (I call him 'Bob' too). :)
And Penny - you should branch out in your reading. The swimmer's name is Cullen Jones. On the 20 (yes, that's right, 20, I like to compare views & insights) printed & online articles I read about that Relay alone, all the swimmers got their due props, especially the Man of the Hour, Jason Lezak. The Relay team (except for busy Michael) was then on 'The Today Show' the next morning, where they were the stars of that day's show.
Just fyi - Cullen was also on the 2007 World Championships 4x100 Relay team last March, where the USA also won Gold. And he individually won the Silver in the 50 Free.
Stop hating ...give credit where it's due .
Americans brag all the time and the guy should be given a pass .it's all negative from Americans when they don't win .
Enjoy the freak and hats off to the world fastest man .....go Jamaica
What I'm pissed off about is NBC coverage ...bunch of crap not carry this live or even specail events live due to ratings ...
This only happens every 4 years so give us a break NBC give us back some frebie without thinking on ratings .
Even little Jamaica and Canada get the olympics live .....I get up any time to watch a good race or performance .........finding out and watching replay of historic events ...kinda nto what the general public wants .
nbc broadcasters talk too much......let us watch w/o your gabbing all the time
esp. in synchronized swimming
Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter i.e. Fastest ever 200 and 100m run in history based on his time, however he is not the first tall Jamaican to be a world beater at the olympics recall Aurthur Wint Jamaica's first olympic gold medalist and Donald Quarry.
i awnt all gym byseop & try shep chat