Usain Bolt - New World Record 9.72!!!!

thirtyfoot

He ran this for the 100m in Jamaica yesterday. Had a favourable but legal wind but still its some time and who knows what he will do over the 200 as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFE1ctdRc88

Pherekydes

That's mind boggling. With his height, I hardly expected him to dip too far under ten. The 100m got even more interesting.

myflipflops

An outrageous run. My only issue would be that he's done it way too early in the season. No point in running 9.76 in ealy may and then sh*tting the bed at the Olympics. Asafa powell has been living proof of that over the last 4 years.

Common Sense

What a phenomenal run - the second fastest in history. Although, admittedly, very early in the season you have to take all these things in your stride and 'get it when you can'. Championhsips and Olympics aside, it sets up the 100m for some interesting times ahead ..... and all Jamaicans may not 'blow up' at major championships. How soon before the WR goes below 9.7?? And what can Bolt do at 200m? Isn't it amazing how in a few short years even the great MJ's 'impregnable' WRs seem in danger. Bring it on!:)

High&Low

Common Sense wrote: »

Isn't it amazing how in a few short years even the great MJ's 'impregnable' WRs seem in danger. Bring it on!:)

Come on...

I know its great that 3 or 4 guys have run around 19.6 in the last few years but they are no where near breaking MJs record of 19.32. Tyson Gay is the second fastest of all time with 19.62 and that's a MASSIVE 3/10ths of a second behind Michael Johnson.

thirtyfoot

http://www.coachr.org/LOOKING_AT_100-200_AND_200-400%20RATIOS.htm

You are probably right but seeing as he is more known as a 200 man and he is 6ft 5 and didn't really seem to get going until about 50-60m then we can only assume he has the potential to challenge it or go near to it . Oh yes, he is only 22 as well. At least we can now start to think it can be beaten.

100 PB goes from 10.03 to 9.76 (thats 0.27), so can we assume he can take a reasonable chunk off his 200 time of 19.75? Maybe he doesn't have the speed endurance necessary to get similar gains but then again he has a 400 pb of 45.28. The ingredients are there.

Common Sense

High&Low wrote: »

Come on...

I know its great that 3 or 4 guys have run around 19.6 in the last few years but they are no where near breaking MJs record of 19.32. Tyson Gay is the second fastest of all time with 19.62 and that's a MASSIVE 3/10ths of a second behind Michael Johnson.

We'll let time do the talking -- not only the 200 but the 400 is also under threat, although Wariner's parting with Clyde Hart may adversely his chances.

myflipflops

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=44966.html

Deserves a bump - ran 9.92 when apparently not getting out of his blocks and not completing from 25 metres out in Trinidad at the weekend. It's time to consider him a real contender for the 100 metres in Beijing. I know someone who lived with Bolt over in London when he was training there and by all accounts he was a lazy b*llocks. Seems to have got his act together and is doing the training to complement his unbelievable talent. I know people think his height is an issue over 100 but Powell is 6'3 (only 2 inches shorter) and that isn't held against him. It's added an extra ingredient into what should be a great olympic hundred.

High&Low

I think athletics needs a big 100m showdown with 3 or 4 guys capable of winning the 100m in a new OR or WR. Hopefully there will be no injuries leading up to the Olympics and all the big guns can qualify from the US trials. No Xavier in the 200m kinda spoiled the World's last year.

There may even be a decent relay challenge from the Jamaican's too.

Less than three months to go...

Pherekydes

Bolt beat Gay and set a new WR in NY yesterday!

9.72 to 9.85 (+1.7)

A P

The world record has fallen. There's some footage of it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejvvV1Fg0Gw

From [url]www.bbc.co.uk:[/url]

Usain Bolt set a new 100m world record by clocking 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix meeting in New York.

The 21-year-old Jamaican, who won silver in the 200m at last year's World Championships, was running the 100m for just the fifth time.

Bolt beats the previous best of 9.74 set by compatriot Asafa Powell.

"I wasn't looking for a world record but it was there for the taking so I just went out there and ran my best race," he said.

The 6ft 5ins sprinter made the track world sit up and take note on 3 May when he clocked the second-fastest 100m time in history in 9.76s.

Bolt beat Tyson Gay into second place, with the American running a personal best of 9.85.

My first start wasn't that good but I knew if I got Tyson on the start I would have a better chance of winning.


Bolt has made no secret of the fact that he sees himself as a 200m specialist and earlier in the week he was still undecided if he would even enter the 100m Jamaican Olympic trials.

Bolt has primarily used the shorter distance to improve his start and admitted he was happy there had been a false start the first time he went into the blocks.

"I was glad of that first false start," he said.

"My first start wasn't that good but I knew if I got Tyson on the start I would have a better chance of winning.

"Tyson and I aren't really good at starting so, my coach said concentrate on your drive (out of the blocks) and transition phase, get it right and just take it from there and I did exactly that.

"I had an idea (the record was on) because I ran in Trinidad and I ran pretty bad and still ran 9.92, so I was pretty confident coming here."

thirtyfoot

Slow coach wrote: »

Bolt beat Gay and set a new WR in NY yesterday!

9.72 to 9.85 (+1.7)

Amazing. There is a sketchy vid of youtube and he demolised him. He looks so easy.

Pherekydes

It's also important to realise that Gay's performance is seriously good. The guy will have to peak for the US trials, so he's nowhere near as sharp yet as he could be. I certainly wouldn't rule him out doing something spectacular later on.

shels4ever

Just seen the race there, that was some run, I would love to see how quiick he can go over 200 m now, but can he keep this up untill the olympics?

2Scoops

I'd rather have the world record, even if it may be only temporary, than an Olympic gold medal.

Dodge

Slow coach wrote: »

It's also important to realise that Gay's performance is seriously good. The guy will have to peak for the US trials, so he's nowhere near as sharp yet as he could be. I certainly wouldn't rule him out doing something spectacular later on.

My reading on it too. I'd love all 3 to be at the top of their game in Beijing to have a seriously strong "banner" event. Just hope Bolt hasn't peaked too soon

Oh and IMO there can be no greater accomplishment in athletics than an olympic gold medal

High&Low

WOW... He seemed so relaxed, hopefully he won't tense up ala Powell when it comes to the Olympics.

Will Jamaica finally get that 100m gold that it has been looking for since 1952?


Praying for an injury free build up for all the main contenders...

thirtyfoot

Paddy Power odds are now:

Gay 13/8
Bolt 19/10
Powell 11/4

Bolt 5/2 to break MJ's 200 record and 9/2 for the 100/200 gold double.

Irish specials are:

Eilieen to medal 8/1
Hesh to final 10/1
Gillick to final 14/1
Gillick to medal 100/1

shels4ever

If he does beat MJ record this year that woudl be jsut amazing, from the reports on him that i have read , This year was the first winter that he really did the hard work needed. If that is the case and he can go faster the MJ's record we might be looking at some amazing times from him..

cavedave

What are the advantages/disadvantages of being so tall? I imagine it takes longer to get up and going. Also power to weight ratio tends to favor lighter people over heavier ones (as in light wieghtlifters seem to lift more proportionatly then heavier ones).

How does height/mass effect sprinting?

thirtyfoot

You would expect that starting is a disadvantage to the tall man yet Powell is 6ft3 and he is the best starter in the business which is down to his massive core strength. Japanese reasearchers did a study of the size of the muscles in his core area (can't remember the name of the muscle) but its twice the size of the average olympic sprinter. I would imagine its something similar with Bolt. They are just the perfect sprinting specimens. I presume his extra longer stride length would give him an advantage if he can maintain the same cadence or ground forces as the smaller guys.

Pherekydes

Interesting article about how fast man can run eventually:

how-much-faster-can-humans-run?