A physicist calculates how fast Usain Bolt would have been if he hadn't stopped mid-dash for a victory dance
Posted 10.17.2008 at 11:24 am
9 Comments
Usain Bolt
Richard Giles (CC Licensed)
Usain Bolt is freaking fast. Usain Bolt is so freaking fast, so much more so than all those other freaking fast, that he had room to taunt his competitors in a 100 meter dash. We’ll repeat that for emphasis: in a 100 meter dash. Despite a victory dance mid-race, Bolt still broke his own world record lowering it from 9.72 sec to 9.69 sec. But what if he had sprinted through the tape? According to an astrophysicist, Bolt would’ve done something never done before in sport.
Based on video analysis of the race, Dr. Hans Eriksen of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, estimates that if Bolt hadn’t stopped to admire himself, he would’ve run the race in 9.55 seconds. Another 0.14 seconds might not sound that impressive but a quick search on the 100m dash shows it would’ve been an unprecedented performance. Since the era of electronic scoring the biggest single drop in the world record was 0.07 seconds when Jim Hines dropped the record from 10.02 sec to 9.95 sec in 1968. If the estimates are correct Bolt would’ve broken the record by 0.17 sec, more than twice that of Hines. As we said, freaking fast.
Via Telegraph
Want to read more articles like this, plus stories on gaming, music, movies, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science and enter to win $5,000!
9 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Entertainment & Gaming on Popular Science
Regular Features
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Become a Fan On Facebook
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
November 2009: Astronaut 3.0
Inside NASA's astronaut bootcamp and the grueling new training regimen for deep space. Plus, ten young geniuses shaking up science today, one writer's quest to analyze every man-made chemical in her body and more.
Check out the issue's full contents online here
Popular Science Photo Pool
Featured
Entertainment & Gaming
China Tries to Curb Gold Farming
Real-world regulation for made-up money
Tested: The Sports Drink from Space
Can a non-astronaut benefit from--or stomach--NASA's sports drink? I downed a few bottles to find out
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
Entertainment & Gaming
Most Commented
Entertainment & Gaming
Most Emailed
Entertainment & Gaming
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
I agree, really freaking fast.
Give post a once over before posting though.
"those other freaking fast, that"
"that if Bolt if he hadn’t"
Knowledge is not information, it is transformation. ~ Osho ~
Now that wasn't very smart of him! He could have done something never before done in sports and he decided to dance?
I repeat, not very smart.
nope ur right not smart at all .
lol
<(^o^)>
-THE KID
from Buffalo, New York
I agree. Its not very smart to taunt during race, especially race like 100m sprint where 1/100sec decides who finishes first.
from Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Well he knew he was gonna win and he probably wants to be able to break the record multiple times.
Poor sport and likely jacked up on steroids. Doesn't impress me.
He won for speed, but not sportsmanship or personal resect.
Running fast takes 2 things: high cadence and long stride length.
Bolt is taller than the rest of his competition and has the huge advantage of his inseam in that it provides him with an inherent long stride. What makes him a true talent, is that he can actually use this long stride by moving those long legs fast, which most people his height can't do while still coordinating an effective gait.
When you look at Bolt, he definitely doesn't look like one of those juice monkey sprinters who are jacked as hell (Shawn Crawford). He is jacked as hell compared to the average man, but his build is not one that cries out "roids!". He is a tall and skinny kid.
As for the comments about poor sportsmanship, he was winning the most coveted sport event in the world by a landslide. To realize that you are about to win this and be immortalized in the record books is more than enough reason to be happy. He is young yet and has a ton more potential in further development, we can definitely expect great things from this young man. 9.5 will definitely be a possibility in the future.
HOW TO run 100 meter in 9.5 sec. or less?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dOjxA67Sk8