Why Haven't There Been More Tall Sprinters? (Slate)

[bijanc]

Mr. Bolt, all 6'5" of him, has gotten the world, and Slate magazine, to stand up and take notice of his rare gifts and unlikely physique for his specialty:

http://www.slate.com/id/2225866/

I'm sure we've been over this territory before (and T & F fans/participants already know a few of the reasons "why", e.g. unfolding all of that length from the blocks in lightning reaction time)- but it's nice to see athletics garner some editorial attention.

Especially that which does not concern gender identiity or PED's.

[jhc68]

Why no tall sprinters?
Someone should explain to the Slate writers about this game called football that fast, big guys tend to play in the USA.

[eldrick]

1y back i sauntered over to our national track stadium, which is 1 mile from work

sneaked thru fence & walked on track ( forgetting to bring my rubber ball to test it's energy return :cry: )

i looked at what 100m was for 1st time in 20y

f**k, it's a long way !

looked like middle distance to me !

this realisation made me conclude :

there is NO height restriction in the 100m

[SQUACKEE]

1y back i sauntered over to our national track stadium, which is 1 mile from work

sneaked thru fence & walked on track ( forgetting to bring my rubber ball to test it's energy return :cry: )

i looked at what 100m was for 1st time in 20y

f**k, it's a long way !

looked like middle distance to me !

this realisation made me conclude :

there is NO height restriction in the 100m

It is a long way Eldy, especially the last 100 of a 400, which i cant wait to see Bolt run.

[mrbowie]

Probably because too many coaches are not open minded enough to try them out.

And the fact that a basketball player makes more money in one game than a sprinter makes in a full year.

[jhc68]

Maybe more big guys will become sprinters now in light of Bolt's success, but it also may well be that he is an anomoly rather than a model. Decades ago Steve Williams was awfully damn good but did not set a trend.

Really, in the USA, would a guy with Bolt's confidence, size, quickness, raw speed, strength and big hands be on a track team? He'd be just an average to smallish D1 or NBA point guard or a wide receiver a la Randy Moss with more speed. He definitely would have been programmed in those directions from a very early age.

Right now, having never played football, I'd bet Al Davis or some other doofus NFL owner would sign Bolt for guaranteed millions of dollars.

[bambam]

Maybe more big guys will become sprinters now in light of Bolt's success, but it also may well be that he is an anomoly rather than a model. Decades ago Steve Williams was awfully damn good but did not set a trend.

Williams might have had a chance - likely the fastest sprinter of the 70s, but injured so much that he lost a lot of opportunities to show it.

[Frans Rutten]

Re: Why Haven't There Been More Tall Sprinters? (Slate)

Mr. Bolt, all 6'5" of him, has gotten the world, and Slate magazine, to stand up and take notice of his rare gifts and unlikely physique for his specialty:

http://www.slate.com/id/2225866/

I'm sure we've been over this territory before (and T & F fans/participants already know a few of the reasons "why", e.g. unfolding all of that length from the blocks in lightning reaction time)- but it's nice to see athletics garner some editorial attention.

Especially that which does not concern gender identiity or PED's.

Sure his height ergo his stride does the trick. But only since 2008 to the highest extent.

An analogy in road cycling.
Once you have a strong tailwind you can ride (a lot) faster than in normal still conditions. But if you keep riding with a very low gear (39x17 or say 39/17*2,11m=4,84m per revolution) it will not help that much. Note that for normal people 220 RPM with no load already is a limit. Keen specialists may reach 270 RPM. Any given load of cause diminishes this number.

But given that really strong tailwind enables you suddenly to use gears like 54x11 or about 54/11*2,11m=10,36m per revolution, which are very hard to do efficiently in still conditions. If it's got ugly, you been chased by galeforce 11...

I've had the unique experience in my life of riding the same distance, with most likely gale force 11, but in two directions:

46s vs. 300s.

[Speedfirst]

Football and basketball has been mentioned, but really that applies by and large to the athletes in the U.S., especially football.

In basketball a chap by the name of Michael Jordan (y'all member him) back in his hey days, put a serious dent in football and truly track & field on the youth/high school level. Of course Koby, Lebron have continued this. Many of those athletes in the Bolt height range, chase that basketball/football pipe dream.

[elcaballo]

Football and basketball has been mentioned, but really that applies by and large to the athletes in the U.S., especially football.

In basketball a chap by the name of Michael Jordan (y'all member him) back in his hey days, put a serious dent in football and truly track & field on the youth/high school level. Of course Koby, Lebron have continued this. Many of those athletes in the Bolt height range, chase that basketball/football pipe dream.

What marks did Jordan put down in track?

[jhc68]

I think speed meant that Jordan's high profile directed more kids toward wanting to Be Like Mike and away from track and other sports.

[Speedfirst]

I think speed meant that Jordan's high profile directed more kids toward wanting to Be Like Mike and away from track and other sports.

Thanks jhc68...that's exactly what I meant, sorry if I was foggy on that. You're right, If I could Be Like Mike, soooooooooo many wanted to and thought they could be like Mike. AAU basketball as we know, has a huge impact as well, kids playing basketball year round, again chasing that pipe dream. So this speaks to that 6'5" type athlete, which by the way was right around Mike's height....hmmm. 8-)

The difference with basketball is how recreational it is, you got your hoop in your backyard/driveway....you & your brother play for hours...You go get some buddies play for hours.

Try grabbing your brother and going to the track or your buddies, first you gotta find a track. There are many variables as it relates to how track & field is viewed and participated in.