Usain Bolt 100m 10 meter Splits and Speed Endurance
August 22, 2008 by Jimson Lee
Usain Bolt won the 100 meters because of his speed endurance.
I’ve said this all along, unless you are running a 40 yard dash or 50 meter sprint, sprinting the 100, 200, or 400 meters is all about speed endurance… reach your top speed, and maintain it. The winner of two athletes with the same top end speed will be the one who decelerates the least.
Most world class 100 meter men reach their top speed within 50-60 meters. Women reach their top end speed a bit earlier, so more of their race is speed endurance.
I have collected 10 meter segment splits for the last 20 years. And yes, I am including Ben Johnson and Tim Montgomery because they still ran those times, supplementation included. I am looking for relative comparisons.
In the chart below, RT = reaction time and is included in the 0-10m segment.
Disclaimer: These are not IAAF official splits but splits extracted from high speed video analysis
Until Bolt came along, 0.83 was the fastest top end speed recorded. 0.83 seconds per 10 meters translates to 12 meters per second (m/s) or almost 27 miles per hour (mph) or 43 kilometers per hour (kph).
Ben Johnson’s time of 9.79 could be extrapolated at 9.72 if he didn’t slow down and celebrate, assuming 0.85 seconds rate for the last 20 meters (0.2 + 0.5)
If you extrapolate Usain Bolt’s last 10 meter segment, without the chest thumping, it would be fair to say he would have ran 0.84 or 0.85 seconds, making his 100m World Record 9.63 or 9.64.
Jimmie R. Markham of 400meteroval.com submitted this nice 3D graph:
Also, a 9.64 doubled plus or minus +/- 0.2 seconds = 19.28 for 200 meters, which is the pretty close to his 19.30 World Record.
It is a known fact that Bolt (or his coach) was concentrating his efforts in the 200 and 400 meters over the past few years. He only took the 100 meters seriously this year, which is a scary thought.
Hence, 200/400 training involves 3 main components: speed, speed endurance, and special endurance.
Usain Bolt is all the proof we need.
Tagged:
100 meters, 200 meters, 40 Yard Dash, 400 meters, Asafa Powell, Mile, speed, speed endurance, Training, Usain Bolt
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- Usain Bolt Confirms Speedendurance.com Analysis
- Coach Says Bolt Could Have Run 9.52 in Olympics
- Asafa Powell or Bob Hayes - World’s Fastest 100 meters?
- How Fast can Usain Bolt Run?
- Usain Bolt 100m 9.72 World Record Video
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31 Responses to “Usain Bolt 100m 10 meter Splits and Speed Endurance”
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I totally dissagree with you. I don’t believe that the 100m is about speed endurance. I’m not trying to argue and make you look wrong and me look right. Not at all. In fact. I just want your real view on what I will just say. Please try to understand me. It can help everyone. I’m not a super hero or anything. I just made it to worlds once and went out of the heats. But I during my life of training I have found out that the top speed you reach is what makes you win or loose. The top speed split. Its no use to reach 0.90 and hold it for four consecutive splits. But it is much better to reach 0.83 and drop 0.03 each split after. You would be faster than the 0.90 guy who has busted his ass trying to hold his speed, AND succeeded to hold it, but still lost.
Another note is: I have found that the only sessions that helpped me improve my top speed splits where the endurance ones. But that I don’t understand. When I do 80-150 distances in training, my top speed becomes better and better in no time and you always get the extra speed endurance you need. So is it a two bladed sword that cuts both ways? Cuts your top speed split and deceleration rate? Thoughts.
@Amr - This blog is OPEN to ALL discussions. I respect constructive criticism.
The point I was trying to make is:
1) Bolt had the highest top end speed ever recorded
2) Bolt didn’t slow down between 50-90m
Your training comment remind me of Clyde Hart’s philosophy: Run SLOWER to run FASTER. You can still improve top end speed by running slower. That article was referenced here:
http://speedendurance.com/2007/08/24/speedlinking-the-complete-guide-to-400-meter-training/
Thanks for your feedback.
Just wanted to know if anyone had the times for the Jamaican 4*100 mens’ relay team that broke the record last week.
@Ramon - that is a good question. I hope the passing zones and lane markers are visible in high speed video.
Does anyone have the 100 meter split times from Usain BOlt’s WR in May of 2008?
[…] don’t think so. I analyzed Usain Bolt’s 10 meter splits from his 9.69 Beijing Olympic victory in a previous article. If you extrapolate Usain Bolt’s last 10 meter segment, without […]
Bolt’s coach claimed that Bolt could run a 9.52. If you take all the best split times from all the runners from the data above you get a 9.58. if you consider that bolt has the ability to maintain top speed through the line you get a 9.6. If you also consider the psychology, it is likely that Bolt has peaked prematurely and will not beat his own world record. The worst thing that could have happened, did. Bolt took gold at his first try and he may not get the same (cliche warning) eye of the tiger feeling back.
I dont see him getting under 9.68 let alone 9.6.
Thoughts?
Hi,
i am running 10.89 what can i do to improve my speed?? can you help me on this..
@Scott - good point, I never thought to aggregate all the best split times.
His performance at Zurich showed he was human, with an awful start. He still made up ground pretty quickly, and still won in 9.8
@Jack - I’d say work on your top end speed, so work on getting faster for 30m. Then 40, then 50, then 60.
No use running 100m “slow”.
This method is called “short to long”.
Jimson,
Here’s a nice little piece from the arXiv.org website:
http://arxiv.org/abs/0809.0209
Physics > Popular Physics
Velocity dispersions in a cluster of stars: How fast could Usain Bolt have run?
H. K. Eriksen, J. R. Kristiansen, O. Langangen, I. K. Wehus
(Submitted on 1 Sep 2008 (v1), last revised 2 Sep 2008 (this version, v2))
Since that very memorable day at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, a big question on every sports commentator’s mind has been “What would the 100 meter dash world record have been, had Usain Bolt not celebrated at the end of his race?”
Glen Mills, Bolt’s coach suggested at a recent press conference that the time could have been 9.52 seconds or better. We revisit this question by measuring Bolt’s position as a function of time using footage of the run, and then extrapolate into the last two seconds based on two different assumptions.
First, we conservatively assume that Bolt could have maintained Richard Thompson’s, the runner-up, acceleration during the end of the race. Second, based on the race development prior to the celebration, we assume that he could also have kept an acceleration of 0.5 m/s^2 higher than Thompson. In these two cases, we find that the new world record would have been 9.61 +/- 0.04 and 9.55 +/- 0.04 seconds, respectively, where the uncertainties denote 95% statistical errors.
Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted American Journal of Physics; high-resolution NBC footage allowed better measurements between 6 and 8 seconds compared to version 1
Subjects: Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph); Astrophysics (astro-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:0809.0209v2 [physics.pop-ph]
Submission history
From: Hans Kristian Eriksen [view email]
[v1] Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:22:17 GMT (2828kb)
[v2] Tue, 2 Sep 2008 10:18:13 GMT (2824kb)
Sorry,
Forgot to add this altered information from version 1 of the above article:
“In these two cases, we find that the new world record would have been 9.56 +/- 0.02 and 9.52 +/- 0.02 seconds, respectively, where the uncertainties denote statistical (measuring) errors only.”
[…] Usain Bolt 100m 9.72 World Record VideoUsain Bolt 9.76 100m VideoCoach Says Bolt Could Have Run 9.52 in OlympicsJamaica 4×100m Relay Potential - A Sub 37 Second WR?Usain Bolt 100m 10 meter Splits and Speed Endurance […]
I AGREE THAT BOLT COULD HAVE RAN FASTER,MAY BE 9.60 SEC. I FEEL TAHT A HEALTHY TYSON GAY WOULD HAVE FORCED BOLT NOT TO SHOW BOAT AT THE END OR THE LAST 15M HENCE FORCING HIM TO RUN THRU THE LINE…….
You’re right, Tyrone. In their race from this past week, Bolt had to put in his full effort for the latter part of the race. Here is the full physics article in pdf form as it is a good insight in to how they arrived at their conclusion:
http://arxiv.org/pdf/0809.0209v2
The splits at arXiv.org don’t mesh with the splits listed above. For example, at arXiv.org, they say Bolt was at 41.3 meters in 4.5 seconds. But in the splits above, Bolt didn’t even reach 40 meters until 4.65 seconds had elapsed. They say he was at 52.1 meters in 5.4 seconds, but in the splits above, he didn’t even reach 50 meters until 5.50 seconds had elapsed. They say he was at 61.5 meters in 6.20 seconds, but in the splits above, he didn’t even reach 60 meters until 6.32 seconds hald elapsed.
Also, in the article at arXiv.org, they say he ran from 34.0 meters to 41.3 meters in 0.5 seconds (from 4.0 to 4.5), which would be 14.6 meters per second — or 32.66 mph! That equates to a 10-meter split of 0.685 seconds — much faster than the accepted record split of 0.82 seconds set by Maurice Greene and matched by Bolt.
Clearly, something is amiss.
Hello A,
Good observation and analysis. The chart listed at the top of this post has a Disclaimer: These are not IAAF official splits but splits extracted from high speed video analysis.
The arXiv article states: The main technical difficulty in performing this analysis lies in obtaining accurate distance measurements as a function of time for each runner. Fortunately, this task is made considerably easier by the presence of a moving camera mounted to a rail along the track. This rail is bolted to the ground at regular intervals, and thereby provides the required standard ruler. Using the methods detailed in the following sections, and properly taking into account all major sources of statistical uncertainty, we believe that our measurements are sufficiently accurate and robust to support interesting conclusions.
I believe the discrepancy could lie in how the exact time is determined for each of the relative positions of the runner during the course of the race. Is the time placed at the point dissecting the runner’s body or is it placed when his leading body part crosses that point? The original analysis could have been derived from an overhead video while the arXiv analysis was from the moving track camera.
On your second point concerning the 34.0m to 41.3m distance/time is right when Bolt reaches his highest speed for the entire race. He then levels or drops off in speed at 4.5 - 5.4 seconds. But you are correct in pointing out the incredible burst of speed at this moment. It would be grand if we could bring these points up to the authors of the arXiv article.
@Fred - yes, like all scientific measurements, there is always a factor of uncertainty… at the worst case scenario, on a hundredths of a second measurememt, I may be off anywhere from 0.001 to 0.009 seconds.
But the end result is the same. Bolt still ran 9.69 and he blew away the field at 50 meters onwards.
In a way, this study is like taking your own weight on your bathroom scale - as long as it’s the same scale, and you measure at the same time of day with the same (or no) clothes, then your measurements are fairly accurate.
Ben Johnson’s time of 9.79 could be extrapolated at 9.72 if he didn’t slow down and celebrate, assuming 0.85 seconds rate for the last 20 meters (0.2 + 0.5)
Shouldn’t this be (.02 + .05)?
@John - yes, of course, you are absolutely correct! Too much number crunching!
It seems apparent to me that arXiv.org’s measurements are wrong early in the race, which overestimates Bolt’s speed in the first 80 meters and therefore produces a projected time much lower than what Bolt actually could have run.
By the way, Elio Locatelli of the IAAF reportedly has released Bolt’s official splits –
http://www.spikesmag.com/features/969isthemagicnumber.aspx
Reaction time 0.165
0-10m 1.70
10-20m 1.00
20-30m 0.90
30-40m 0.87
40-50m 0.85
50-60m 0.84
60-70m 0.82
70-80m 0.83
80-90m 0.85
90-100m 0.86
Final time 9.685
They’re slightly different from the splits kept by Pierre-Jean Vazel, but they’re closer to those than to the splits kept by arXiv.org.
[…] I analyzed the 10 meter splits of Usain Bolt’s 9.69 world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I claimed the 2 main reasons of his success was: (1) he had the highest top end speed ever […]
do you think Asafa Powel is faster than Usain Bolt ?Why?
give a summary on why you think Usain Bolt is faster than Asafa Powel
@Tamara - I think the above article explains it all - higher top end speed, and better speed endurance!
Do you think if Usain Bolt and Asafa powel race together ,asafa would win? why?
DO YOU THINK IF USAIN BOLT AND ASAFA POWEL RACE TOETER, ASAFA WOUU HAVE WON?WHY ?
DO YOU THINK BOLT IS FASTER THAN POWEL?WHY ?
Tamara,
You have succeeded in turning reiteration into a four letter word. Amazing. If someone crosses the finish line in less time than anyone else ever has, that person is generally considered to be the fastest.
WHY DO YOU THINK USAIN IS FASTER TAN ASAFA ?
YUH NUH SI SEH DI MAN GREAT AN HIM HAVE MORE COFIDENT INNA HIMSELF THAN ASAFA . MI RATE BOLT BIG TIME , BOLT TU DI FLIPPING WORL. AN NUH SEH AH BUYAS MI BUYAS BECAUSE MI AH JAMAICAN BUT AH BECAUSE HIM AH ONE GOOD ROLE MODEL.