What’s the limit in the 100m dash? 12.75 meters per second? Is a .78 10m split possible? What information is best to predict performance? I think the Bob Hayes split set the tone long before Rome and Berlin, since it happened and the context was clear that he was limited. Great performances in bad conditions (dirt, little training, special diets, sports medicine….) clue us to what can be done with better talent and better circumstances. I don’t know exactly what the limit is but I do know what demands are necessary to achieve faster speeds. The fastest biped is 350 pounds and lays 3 pound eggs, not a kangaroo. I believe that more athletes will run faster in general and the upper limits may be seen with only Bolt. As we get ready for WC in 2011, I am interested to see what camps do to prepare for what I expect to be a great show in the Men’s 100m final. Some readers will ask if I think flying down with a Hampton Bar Pad and Bret Contreras will help. Since no 6’5 can use a reverse leg press, advocated by late Charlie Francis. I say it’s worth a shot. The belief I have is that the Universal Machine was a resourceful way to train the posterior chain in hip extension, and this was not for getting more back kick as the presentations in the 80s were clearly trying to work on stepping over. I think we need to look at a balanced perspective of what can be changed, as adding is often causing ripple effects nobody has witnessed.
