200M

It is possible but would be unlikely unless you have not really been training/playing sports at all. If you really want to be a good sprinter maybe the 400 is a good goal, maybe you can get down to 24.xx and maybe still break 50 in the 400… not knowing anything about your background I think you have a much better chance at a good 400 than a good 200.

Thanks for the reply, for context this is the first time I’ve done any form of sport. I might take your advice and focus on the 400, since it’ll probably be easier to cut down my times.

No 24.xx 200M runner will ever be able to break 50 in the 400.

There is no such thing as a 200 specialist. You are either 100/200 or 200/400.

Discover which is your better event, and as you improve upon that, your 200 time will improve with you.

To run 49. you must be able to run at LEAST a 22 in the 200.

I once ran 27.0 as a master and there was a young dude running 22 in the next lane. The video was hilarious, our strides were in sync but he absolutely surged out of frame. 22 vs 27 is about 3 classes of athlete, totally different ballgame. It is not just a few of the right workouts away.

i don't know you but my first instinct based on your times and where you ended up is 400-down may not be your immediate future and i'd suggest trying hurdles, distance, or field events. don't take this as a slap. take it like you are just trying soccer and we don't know where to play you for a position yet. when i started in junior high we encouraged everyone to try a bunch of events. the coaches then experimented with some different distances a few meets. maybe last third of the season we actually settled down someplace where either we were best suited or the coach thought we'd get the right rest for relays.

so try some stuff. as your coach if you can work with the hurdlers or the distance guys or the throwers or the jumpers. i knew guys who weren't speed burners who were solid 110H or 300H guys, as you can somewhat offset speed with height and technique. ditto some field events. and while 27 may be ho hum on its own, a distance runner who can do 30-40 second 200s over and over is fairly competitive. maybe try XC in the fall. see how that goes.

last, if you are relatively new to sports, my suggestion would be play an active sport this summer, soccer, hoops, tennis. get active. try sports where you run, jump, cut. if you haven't played a lot of sports and are trying to run, you may simply need to get fit. maybe a fitter you can shave some time next year.

now, 5 seconds, that's a lot. that's from uncompetitive JV to varsity top few finalist in 3 years. that's dreaming. you could maybe do 2-3 seconds. if you were a raw but decent and out of shape sprinter i'd have been looking for 24-something. that's why i am like, maybe your calling is another event. unless your school is a hurdles factory like mine was, there is usually plenty of room for a new, developing hurdler, kids who can run mid to high 50s 400s can with decent hurdle form run you low to mid 40s 300H, which is serviceable.

guy at alma mater, over 12s 100m and 26s 20s 200 the one time they had him run those, really a hurdler, ok 300H with that speed (43-44) (not progressing out of area), but he's a good 110H who got out of area. it helps with elite competition at hurdles to be fast, but your average varsity hurdler isn't that fast.