Lickety Split wrote:
Metric Miler wrote:It's not all about oxygen. How much do sprinters breathe during the 100m?
Fast twitch fibres get their energy from anaerobic respiration.
- I can't answer the question about 100m sprinters.
- I just don't understand your binary position that you are EITHER a sprinter OR your a distance runner solely based on your muscle fiber .... that's what makes me respect the 400IH, 800m, & decathletes so much --- somehow they figure it out. Why can't Coach Hart & Jeremey .... surely they have access to medical professionals to assist with their analysis?
The answer is they barely breathe, some not taking a breath at all. It isn't necessary for fast twitch fibres to get oxygen when sprinting. Sprinters leg muscles are full of these fibres that have very high contractile strength and speed, produce a lot of power, work great under anaerobic conditions but fatigue very quickly. It is simply their nature. I didn't write the rules.
With very aerobic events, success across distances can be achieved simply because they are so close in energy system requirements. More mileage to change a small percentage of fibres and improve other cardiovascular attributes makes moving up possible. Consider that the mile is roughly 80% aerobic, and the marathon 95%. So to be great at the 1500/5k or 5k/10k is not illogical.
However the gap in aerobic requirements between the 800m and 400m is around 30% (depending who you ask).
Do you think if we took David Rudisha and trained him like a sprinter that he could become the next Bolt over 200m? He is tall, powerful, very quick over 400m (likely run 45 flat). He could bulk up a bit and work on his speed, surely? Rudisha started as a 400m runner but found he was much better at the 800m. He was predisposed to be great at the 800m. Same is true for Boris Berian.
I strongly believe, that you can only be really great at the event you are predisposed to be great at. Correct muscle fibre type distribution, better response to aerobic or sprint training, natural lactic tolerance etc.
This is backed up by research into muscle fibre types and also can be observed in athletics today. How many athletes change their event after being great at it? How many have been of an elite standard in an event, then changed and achieved an elite standard in another event? Not many.
Many, many more find the event they are best at and work their whole lives to master it.
This nonsense about moving Wariner up is an insult to his own judgment about his own running and his coaches' ability. If they thought he could be great in the 800m then he would have been.