20,000 year old man runs at 37km/h ...

[elcaballo]

(Or 23mph for the metrically-challenged amongst you)

http://www.smh.com.au/world/science/men ... ml?page=-1

IF YOU think Usain Bolt is a fast runner, consider an Aboriginal man who was chasing kangaroos or waterbirds barefoot on a lake edge in south-western NSW about 20,000 years ago. Footprints he left in the mud reveal he was sprinting at 37 kilometres an hour, and still accelerating.

Has anyone heard of this before?

(And no, article didn't mention if he was any relation to Cathy Freeman or not)

[imaginative]

Two observations:

1. If we go back long enough, the genetic differences
could make a comparison with modern humans unfair
(in either direction). Whether 20,000 years is enough,
is another question.

2. Articles of this kind tend to jump to conclusions that are
not always correct.

[Powell]

What was the wind speed?

[lonewolf]

Would you not need to know the height/stride lengrh of the aborigine runner to make this calculation? :?

[elcaballo]

Would you not need to know the height/stride lengrh of the aborigine runner to make this calculation? :?

I have absolutely no idea how they arrived at the conclusion based on a set of footprints. They probably just assumed he had andre cason's turnover.

[elcaballo]

What was the wind speed?

I believe that's JRM-adjusted time Powell.

Really need the calc adjusted for track surface the better. The sooner it's extended to take into account surfaces like cinders, grass and mudflats the better.

[rasb]

What was the wind speed?

I believe that's JRM-adjusted time Powell.

Really need the calc adjusted for track surface the better. The sooner it's extended to take into account surfaces like cinders, grass and mudflats the better.

What did they use for PED's in those days?
And maybe he was chasing down a very fast woman...Aha, now there's a Performance Enhancer...

[Pego]

Re: 20,000 year old man runs at 37km/h ...

(Or 23mph for the metrically-challenged amongst you)

http://www.smh.com.au/world/science/men ... ml?page=-1

IF YOU think Usain Bolt is a fast runner, consider an Aboriginal man who was chasing kangaroos or waterbirds barefoot on a lake edge in south-western NSW about 20,000 years ago. Footprints he left in the mud reveal he was sprinting at 37 kilometres an hour, and still accelerating.

Has anyone heard of this before?

(And no, article didn't mention if he was any relation to Cathy Freeman or not)

I've seen people using their scientific credentials to spew nonsense. A couple of points.

Neanderthal girl beating up Arnold? Sounds terrific, but nobody knows real strength of the Neanderthals. Why comparing anyhow, since Homo Neandertalis were a different species than Homo Sapiens.
(BTW, there is an excellent article on the Neanderthals in the August issue of Scientific American.)

Mongol archers "6X further and accurate than...? Give me a break. Gengiskhan, after the conquest of China, was ecstatic over the gun powder that the Chinese used for fireworks. He quickly adopted it for the artillery.

I suspect her science with the Aboriginal footprints is equally impressive.

[Marlow]

Not even close to provable.

[tandfman]

Fun reading, nonetheless.

[Daisy]

Not even close to provable.

Marlow, are you doubting the "scientists"? This should not be allowed.

[Marlow]

Not even close to provable.

Marlow, are you doubting the "scientists"? This should not be allowed.

I'm still excited for 2052 when the women marathoners will be faster than the men marathoners!!!

[jhc68]

I think I remember that guy from 20,000 years ago... didn't he run at an NAIA school somewhere in west Texas? Then there was some sort of eligibility problem and he had to drop out after only 8 or 10 years of competing there, Can't place his name, though.
Brutal/Texas, is he on your lists?

[Halfmiler2]

Converts to a 9.73 in the 100 meters. Of course, the old guy apparently had the advantage of a running start.

[Master Po]

"...he was sprinting at 37 kilometres an hour, and still accelerating..."

...at the point he was caught and became some other creature's lunch...