In all fairness to the last post on the three recent 60 meter European races, here are the two races on American soil.
Last year, Nesta Carter made huge improvements in the 100 meters by lowering his PB in the 100 m from 9.91 to 9.78 in Rieti. (see the Video of 2010 Rieti here). Only five three men have run faster than 9.79, and we know which three usual suspects they are. So it’s no surprise to see Carter open up his indoor season with a 6.52.
One of the biggest mistakes coaches make, and in particular high school coaches, is telling the sprinters to “keep the elbows locked at 90 degrees”. Take a look at the 2 videos below. With the amount of force being generated on the backswing, there is no way the elbows can remain locked or bent. The arm opens up, some more than others, especially during the drive phase.
Another good study is the Boston race below. Look at the head-on camera shot of Trell Kimmons and Chris Davis in slo-mo. Kimmons’ arms are just pumping up and down like pistons on a straight plane, whereas Davis’ arms cross at midline with hands towards his face. I prefer coaching the latter.
SIDENOTE: My apologies to Mario Forsythe of Jamaica who ran 9.95 last year in Rieti, for excluding him on the list of the top 6 Jamaican sprinters in Wednesday’s article. Jamaica will have its hands full for the 4x100m selection.
2011 Mens 60m, 104th Millrose Games
Results:
- 1 Nesta Carter JAM 6.52
- 2 Mike Rodgers USA 6.56
- 3 Trell Kimmons USA 6.57
- 4 Lerone Clarke JAM 6.67
- 5 Ivory Williams USA 6.70
- 6 Oshane Bailey JAM 6.71
2011 Mens 60m, New Balance Boston Indoor
Results:
- 1 Trell Kimmons USA 6.60
- 2 Chris Davis USA 6.66
- 3 Ivory Williams USA 6.68
- 4 Gavin Smellie CAN 6.75
- 5 Leroy Dixon USA 6.75
- 6 Adam Harris GUY 6.77
- 7 Carlin Isles USA 6.79
- 8 Jermaine Brown JAM 7.01
Jimson Lee
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The extended back swing is coached greratly by top american sprint coaches. I attended a lecture/masterclass with Loren seegrave where he explained the Extended back Swing has direct influence in the expression of force our of the blocks and subsequent steps
By extended the arm you actually slow yourself down enough to be able to get enough extension from the legs to create greater propulsive forces.
I have my young lads learn this by exagerating the movement, firstly by having the arms locked (like a T-Rex) and accelerate (the legs will move fast but through a very small ROM) and then the opposite (good ROM and stride length but slower turn over) what were looking for is a mixture of both to some degree at the start, extended force production to the rear, short sharp forceful pop to the front.
I think we euro/UK athletes have pretty good acc ability, it seems to be the top end where we falter greatest (Chambers, being prime example of late). would be good to see the difference in the approach of our Vs there (US, JAM etc) approach to improving this. (in fact im going back to my books, papers and lecture notes now lol)
In contrast, with the Armin Hary rocket start of 1960, his arms were thrust very high and forward, but elbows bent and never going back past the hips.
I think Loren is correct to have the “long arms” with greater emphasis in force application during contact time, but a lot of kids don’t have the years of training (in the weight room) to generate that much force.
Every time I hear coaches, all they talk about is keeping the arms at 90 degrees.
“Arm carriage: The arms should maintain a 90-degree angle at the elbow throughout the upswing as well as the backswing (see figure 7.1b). Athletes can imagine the arms rotating around a dowel rod that runs through their shoulders. During the running phase, their arms should not elongate or shorten.” Mark Guthrie
IMO the slower you are the more ‘appropriate’ to your technique that would be 12.00> however at a greater speed the importance of machanical leverage and force expression, requires (demands) a more ‘speed’ appropriate technique. (thats between the fixed position and natural swing)
In fact I would go along with saying learning correct arm carriage at a younger age leads to better leg technique naturally as they stop trying to be ‘toofast’ and spinning the wheels which is usually the issue with people wanting to be fast they turn over too quickly not going through enough ROM and expressing the power that they do possess. with the younger kids (i dont coach younger than 14) we work on 3/4 speed with technique
from all the vids in this and the other posts, all the winners and mostly all the athletes have a free natural swing that extends to the rear.