Sprinting: race with the wind

The Olympic track-and-field program includes 24 types of men's and 23 kinds of women's disciplines. Track and field athletes are the most numerous team at the Olympics. But in athletics there are unique competitions at a distance of 100 and 200 meters - this is a sprint run.

The race in such competitions lasts (at a high level) just over 10 seconds - this is more than a hundredths of a second, and the world achievement in running at 100 m, less than 10 seconds. On 0,48 seconds. The average person during this time will have time to breathe in and out, such is sprinting. A little more time is needed for athletes to overcome the 200-meter distance: high-class runners overcome it in 20 seconds, +/- 0.30 seconds. These are fascinating transient competitions, requiring special, fantastic physical and moral-volitional efforts.

The technique of sprinting raises exceptional requirements for the physical training of athletes. An important condition for success in a form of discipline, such as sprinting, are the inclinations inherent in man by nature. For sprinters, this is primarily the ability to a high frequency of leg movements: the speed of a complex and simple reaction in such people significantly exceeds the indicators of the average inhabitants of the Earth. But without the ability to focus on the actions performed, without the ability to disconnect from all external signals (only the judge at the start) to achieve high results in the sprint is impossible.

Sprint running athletes running 100-200 meters, is different from the technique of running mids and stagers. The length of the step exceeds that of the steers 2 times, the frequency of movements is incredibly high, coordinated movements of the hands help to control their body. Here, unnecessary and unreasonable movements are eliminated: even when starting, athletes run in a half-tilted (torso at an angle of 45 degrees) position of 15-20 m - so, while keeping their center of gravity artificially, athletes can quickly gain maximum speed. Having gained speed, they straighten and already at maximum speed rush to the finish. Sprinting requires athletes, in addition to speed-strength efforts, also the high frequency of leg movements. Highly qualified athletes are able to do up to 5.5 steps per second, for which they overcome about 11 meters distance.

In the 200 meters race, the athlete, in addition to high-speed qualities, will need the ability to resist fatigue or speed endurance. The technique, if different, is only a purposeful running along a rounded treadmill with the body tilted to the left, to keep the athlete at a distance.

And what an indescribable atmosphere reigns over the stadium, when the teams of the 4x100m relay race go to the start! What the audience will see, they will be remembered for a long time: the baton flashing in their hands, the coordinated actions of the runners from one team, the incredible speed and intensity of the sporting event.

The statement that the queen of sport is athletics, sprint confirms its royal influence on the whole world of sports.