Could Manzano beat Rudisha if he was the same height?

Yes.

Manzano was once tested by carmichael i believed and his heart was bigger then that of a 7 foot basketball player. Though he himself is only 5'4" - 5'6".

Yes, if you are taller you can take longer strides, but you are also going to be heavier. So it really depends on the demands of the event, marathoners are going to tend to be shorter and lighter than sprinters because a small weight is more important over 26.2 miles than the longer stride length (which means more weight). Heck, until Bolt came along no one thought someone that tall could go that fast. The ideal sprinter was thought to be average height 5'8"-6'0", that seemed to be the sweet spot where stride length, bodyweight, and muscle mass came together.

Top ten:

Bolt - 6'5"

Gay - 5'11"

Powell - 6'3" (wow, he doesn't seem this tall...)

Greene - 5'9"

Bailey - 6'0"

Surin - 5'11"

Burrell - 6'0"

Gatlin - 6'1"

Fasuba - 5'5"

Lewis - 6'2"

Anyway, my point is you don't get something for nothing. With an increased height, Leo would be heavier, so who knows if he would be the same runner.

You can't mix and match parts to make the ultimate runner. People always say - what if you put Solinsky's engine in a smaller body? The same cardiovascular system needed to move a 165 lb man in 26:59 could surely be amazing in a 125 lbs man. True, but...you can't do that. Every runner is a combination of all their parts. Put Solinsky's heart in a tiny Kenyan and it will not have to work as hard any more, so it will not be as strong as it is in Solinsky's body.

There is no way Manzano is 5'5". He looks way shorter than that.

Manzano in platform shoes > Rudisha ?

heres something wrote:

Anyway, my point is you don't get something for nothing. With an increased height, Leo would be heavier, so who knows if he would be the same runner.

You can't mix and match parts to make the ultimate runner. People always say - what if you put Solinsky's engine in a smaller body? The same cardiovascular system needed to move a 165 lb man in 26:59 could surely be amazing in a 125 lbs man. True, but...you can't do that. Every runner is a combination of all their parts. Put Solinsky's heart in a tiny Kenyan and it will not have to work as hard any more, so it will not be as strong as it is in Solinsky's body.

This is exactly the thought that I had while watching Webb's "new and improved" stride and leaner body. He obviously had something going right for him before, making such drastic alterations to a 3:46 miler may not have the desired effect, but it will be fun to watch to say the least.

It depends on how you get them to the same height.

If Leo is put in a rack and stretched to Rudisha's height, I don't think the adjustment would help his running, so no he wouldn't beat Rudisha. In fact, I would argue, this is hypothetical mind you, that he would finish even further behind!

BUT if you were to somehow crush Rudisha down to Leo's size (say taking out several vertebrae, probably the most logical way) then I think this would indeed slow Rudisha down as he adjusted to his new found shorter stature in life and then Leo would beat him!

This is, of course, a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question. I also think that Mike Ditka would beat both of them if they were all shrunk to 6 inches tall...

NoFatty wrote:

There is no way Manzano is 5'5". He looks way shorter than that.

He is. I've shook his hand.

Stating the obvious wrote:

It depends on how you get them to the same height.

If Leo is put in a rack and stretched to Rudisha's height, I don't think the adjustment would help his running, so no he wouldn't beat Rudisha. In fact, I would argue, this is hypothetical mind you, that he would finish even further behind!

BUT if you were to somehow crush Rudisha down to Leo's size (say taking out several vertebrae, probably the most logical way) then I think this would indeed slow Rudisha down as he adjusted to his new found shorter stature in life and then Leo would beat him!

This is, of course, a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question. I also think that Mike Ditka would beat both of them if they were all shrunk to 6 inches tall...

Bingo, we have a winner

If my aunt Edna were a man, she'd be my uncle Earl.

I don't know but I've heard he has to have turn-ups on his shorts!

Stating the obvious wrote:

BUT if you were to somehow crush Rudisha down to Leo's size (say taking out several vertebrae, probably the most logical way) then I think this would indeed slow Rudisha down as he adjusted to his new found shorter stature in life and then Leo would beat him!

If you took Rudisha's height off the bottom I am fairly certain that Leo could beat him.

Ednas nephew wrote:

If my aunt Edna were a man, she'd be my uncle Earl.

That explains the mustache.

Touche sir

Avocados Number wrote:

Ednas nephew wrote:

If my aunt Edna were a man, she'd be my uncle Earl.

That explains the mustache.

The world records from 100m to 800m are held by three guys over 6 feet.