Word: sprinters
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...Naturally a sprinter, Flahive earned 976 of her 3,650 points in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 8.69 seconds...
...experts think humans can get faster still. Half a century or ago or so, we didn't believe a human could run a 4-min. mile - until Roger Bannister proved us wrong in 1954 when he ran it in 3 mins. 59.4 secs. At the 1936 Games in Berlin, sprinter Jesse Owens won the 100m gold with a blistering time of 10.3 secs - today, that's par for junior level speed athletes. We now have better equipment, better training and improved nutrition, along with faster tracks and, crucially, a lot more endorsement money to be made by running as fast...
...Elite sprinters are not, however, simply improved versions of the average Sunday runner. They are physiologically different. For example, a typical human has in his skeletal muscles an equal balance of "fast-twitch" muscle fibers (quick contracting, easily fatigued muscle tissue that generates high power) and "slow-twitch" fibers (the muscle mass that uses oxygen - aerobic, rather than anaerobic), on which endurance runners rely. Slow-twitch muscle can contract for long periods of time with less fatigue, which helps some distance athletes run up to 60 mi. per day. Sprinters legs are genetically blessed with 70% fast-twitch...
...Modern sprinters seem to be operating close to the limits of the human body," says Bramble. "Still, when someone who is not built like a classic sprinter - [Bolt is] taller and leaner than most - smashes the world record while making it look easy, maybe all bets should...
...Beckford believes that the very exalted status Jamaica's sprinters have earned the country also acts as a hedge against doping: No Jamaican sprinter today would risk being caught cheating, she believes, because "the national condemnation would be too great...