Paris 2012 100m: Gay wins, times are crappy

The shuffle start you speak of... yes that would be something Gay could use. Very forgiving while maximizing the distance traveled. But in order to do that he would have to learn to reverse his actions when he comes out of the blocks.

By reverse, i mean, what one side does the other side has to follow while in the drive phase. Called "sweeping" (of the arms) that would stop that side to side motion and push him forward efficiently while setting him up for a fast finish.

I agree with most of your post though, perhaps Gay IS trying a different style of start to save his body but still trying as hard as possible, its just it isn't that fast of a starting style for him.

As far as Kim Collins i have a theory (irrelevant to the topic though) on why he fades out like that:

Gay's turnover in the start isn't really that fast compared to Collins. Gay seems to be saving that neural energy by having longer strokes and this allows him to have more in the tank for the end.

Collins on the other hand has much shorter ground contact times and high hips coming out of the blocks for a LIGHTNING fast get a way at the expense of a TERRIBLE finish. He's completely fatigued his central nervous system by the first 50 meters and so his force application is greatly lessened.

Gay is trying to do what Gatlin is doing: Long strokes to save energy in the start and turning on the turnover at the end. But his technique is so sloppy.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

master: "The only way you're coming out of the blocks slow is if your reaction time is garbage because you are consciously thinking about getting out slow."

This is completely wrong.

Master, you've gone off the rails!

Eh? Some clarification is needed on that one. I mean, the only way you can consciously come out of the blocks slowly is if you are thinking about coming out gingerly to save your body, which will throw out the window a fast reaction time. Thinking and reasoning on the line is a major NO and very likely to result in a bad reaction time. That is why the 100m dash is considered an instinctual event.

You spend hours refining technique in practice because once you get to the race you won't be able to sprint and think at the same time.

Combined with adrenaline and anxiety at wanting to get a good start, you will start as hard as possible while relaxed.

Gay's upper body looks quite a big bigger than last year. He might be tentative on his starts because of the injury. He was tremendous in the 2nd half of the race. Lemaitre's start was wretched, yet he got 3rd. Were these guys down or were the conditions lousy for sprinting? My bet is the latter. You'll see more 9.8s next week.

CL's start was abysmal, yet he closed on Gatlin.

Good conversation in here. Why are Gay's first 2 left strides so much different than his first 2 right strides? After that he's reasonably symmetric.

Also, Ben Johnson was an obscenely good starter before he started doing roids. If wasn't only the juice that let him start like that.

Gay is starting his races with one side of his body.

So far this season he's gone 10.00 -, 9.86 1.8, and 9.99 0.0 with just one leg to start his races.

He also ran his AR 9.69 2.0 with what looked like a weak side as well.

I think if he uncorks it he'll be able to hit 9.7's in London for a medal, perhaps even Gold seeing as how things are now shaping up.

gay had the best time this yr

randomcoach--

You are correct, Johnson was a good starter before the 'roids, in part because he was thinner and weighed much less...but I must ask, how is it that you know?

I know because I saw him all the time while in the Optimist club, but how do you know?

But, it WAS only the juice that let him start like that. What I mean by that is not only the formal execution of the jump start, but the FAST execution of the jump start. Anybody can do the jump start--I can do it myself, and use it on occasion, for amusement--but unless you are juiced, the start will not be as fast as other starts, like the shuffle start. Ashmeade's recent attempt is a good example.

So, what I mean is that the juice enabled Johnson to execute that start fast, something that has not been possible for any clean athlete to yet do. Compare a massively doped Johnson's start speed in 1987 and 1988, to his much-less-doped or even clean start speed at the 1992 trials, using the same jump start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z894i3LU_do

The form is the same, and he executes the start without getting buried--but the start is only of mediocre speed, impossible to do fast without the juice. He would have gotten buried had he tried to do it any faster.

I like Ashmeade trying it, though. I think that if an athlete learned that start young, and developed in response to its demands, then he might be able to execute it fast as an adult, while being clean. Is Ashmeade young enough for the required adaptations to occur? I don't know. Is Ashmeade clean? I don't know. But it will be interesting to see if he sticks with it, and to what degree he can execute it when it matters.

Well guys, there is definitely an asymmetry in those first 2 strides. Given the fact that he hasn't been training long, especially start-related movements, that is not unexpected--although his NYC start looked oh-so-much better.

I just hope that when it matters, he doesn't try to go out too hard, and stumble in the effort. Gay just recently said something to the effect that he just tried to be patient in the Paris race. Whether that means that he tried to be patint in the start, I don't know.