Justin Gatlin Olympic trials SloMo – Sprint Mechanics

    Posted In: Video Review

        • Participant
          st06002583@outlook.uwic.ac.uk on July 3, 2012 at 8:54 am #18443

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_mhw5LH16o

          I think Gatlin’s mechanics warrant discussion, and they can be clearly seen in this video.

          I think a lot of people’s ‘natural’ running mechanics are similar to what Gatlin displays, and are often corrected by coaches. Is this necessary? We’ve all heard the Michael Johnson and Clyde Hart scenario, and Gatlin seems to have kept his ‘natural’ style.

        • Participant
          Josh Hurlebaus on July 3, 2012 at 9:19 am #109027

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_mhw5LH16o

        • Participant
          st06002583@outlook.uwic.ac.uk on July 3, 2012 at 9:23 am #109028

          Thanks… I’m about ready to punch my computer screen lol

        • Participant
          st06002583@outlook.uwic.ac.uk on July 3, 2012 at 9:32 am #116702

          So, he’s sitting, big backside mechanics, flicking the lower leg, longer ground contacts?

          Is this an effective way for the ‘power house’ to run? I know Gatlin is an ex long jumper so I presume he has great plyo ability and seems to lack some of the hamstring mass of other elite sprinters.

        • Participant
          Josh Hurlebaus on July 3, 2012 at 9:34 am #116703

          Powerful glutes plus increased moment of inertia from an earlier extended knee = more force hitting the ground as long as limb speed is able to be maintained.

          And since Weyand studies showed limb speed is not correlative to faster sprinting, maybe the earlier extension is allowing the glutes and hams to prep for ground contact earlier allowing them to be stiffer or preloaded prior to ground contact?

          Just some thoughts off the top of my head!

        • Participant
          Josh Hurlebaus on July 3, 2012 at 10:10 am #116690

          Powerful glutes plus increased moment of inertia from an earlier extended knee = more force hitting the ground as long as limb speed is able to be maintained.

          And since Weyand studies showed limb speed is not correlative to faster sprinting, maybe the earlier extension is allowing the glutes and hams to prep for ground contact earlier allowing them to be stiffer or preloaded prior to ground contact?

          Just some thoughts off the top of my head!

          edit- I worded the weyand study wrong or weird. I don’t have the study off hand but it showed untrained and trained athletes move their limbs roughly the same speed, no?

        • Participant
          Jon Wilkes on July 3, 2012 at 10:36 am #109025

          If you take what he’s taking you can run however you want. It’s like putting a small parachute on a ferrari. The engine is so big that bad technique hardly slows him down. The guy is a joke. it’s people like him and Jeter who make a mockery of this sport. You’re telling me he runs FASTER then when he was younger and caught doping? So youth and drugs must have been hindering his progress? Riiiiiight.

          Dennis Mitchell is his coach…aka the man who came up with the sex and beer excuse after his own failed test.

        • Participant
          utfootball4 on July 3, 2012 at 10:49 am #116674

          If you take what he’s taking you can run however you want. It’s like putting a small parachute on a ferrari. The engine is so big that bad technique hardly slows him down. The guy is a joke. it’s people like him and Jeter who make a mockery of this sport. You’re telling me he runs FASTER then when he was younger and caught doping? So youth and drugs must have been hindering his progress? Riiiiiight.

          Dennis Mitchell is his coach…aka the man who came up with the sex and beer excuse after his own failed test.

          Really…

        • Participant
          Josh Hurlebaus on July 3, 2012 at 11:02 am #116675

          PEDs are an easy scapegoat and make it easy to ignore the mechanics of what is going on.

          Ben’s usage of drugs didn’t stop people from dissecting his start and acceleration mechanics. There are lessons to be learned from any performance.

        • Participant
          st06002583@outlook.uwic.ac.uk on July 3, 2012 at 9:47 pm #116283

          Lemaitre runs in a similar fashion I think.

          Dan Pfaff said that Dwain’s power was his enemy at max v because he tried to ‘push’ for too long. But I wonder whether Gatlin and Lemaitre would be able to put their power down with ‘text book’ mechanics and quicker ground contacts? I’m not so sure.

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on July 4, 2012 at 1:12 am #112674

          and now dwain is running slower :-/ lol

          I think gatlins mechanics look exagerated but not too far from maurice imo

        • Participant
          st06002583@outlook.uwic.ac.uk on July 4, 2012 at 2:36 am #113202

          and now dwain is running slower :-/ lol

          I think gatlins mechanics look exagerated but not too far from maurice imo

          They’re a lot like your former athlete Joel as well… another ‘power house’ runner.

        • Participant
          Christopher Glaeser on July 4, 2012 at 4:17 am #112995

          Dennis Mitchell gave a presentation at the VS Athletics clinic on a rest day during the US Olympic trials. The presentation was filmed, but I don’t know when the film will be available. Here are a few of the topics he discussed.

          1. Athlete should be comfortable in the blocks.

          2. Hands should be very quick out of the blocks.

          3. Position of the hips are important during the first 8-10 steps.

          4. They filmed every sprint during practice this year.

          5. Integrated electronic timing into their training this year.

          Regarding electronic timing, I have been corresponding with approximately fifty elite track and field coaches and athletes for the past year who have added electronic timing to their training, including sprints, hurdles, and jumps. There are two major approaches to who gets the timing data: a) coach keeps all the times and may share some information with the athlete, and b) athlete has immediate access to all the times. Mitchell has been using the latter approach.

          Best,
          Christopher

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on July 4, 2012 at 7:08 am #113025

          Very true Ben lol Joel’s technique was very power based and improved fast, big front and backside mechanics lol

          With MK he has tried bringing it in a bit to a more conventional technique

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on July 4, 2012 at 7:12 am #113026

          A lot of those athletes seem to have a very high rear ankle lift – except Gatlin. One of the big concepts from Ralph Mann’s book was that a high rear ankle is inefficient, and a lower heel carry was better – at least that was my understanding.

        • Participant
          Chad Williams on July 4, 2012 at 7:27 am #113027

          Gatlins technique looks pretty good to me . . .

          His form is definitely not natural, it takes great strength to do what he does. Look at the lower leg rotation down at the track in preparation for foot strike . . . pretty sick.

          And craig is right, lower ankle recovery is ideal. Allows for greater front side. He doesn’t extend all the way which is also very good. He is generating a massive amount of force per stride.

          I pick Gatlin for bronze at the OG’s.

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