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ATCoaches love to talk about max velocity, but the START / the first 3 steps in a sprint are a LOT more important than you realize.
The velocity changes here are the most drastic vs any other part in the race, You have you reached well over 50% of your max velocity after the first 3 steps (block clearance + first 2 steps).
To illustrate: If two athletes have equivalent top speeds, but Athlete A has a more explosive start and reaches the end of the start in .7 seconds at a velocity of 7 m/s vs Athlete B who has a poor start that takes 1 second and has a velocity of 5 m/s by the end of step 3….
Not only does Athlete A have an immediate .3sec advantage but he MAINTAINS this +2 m/s advantage UNTIL they both reach top speed. If they both accelerate at the same rate to the same top speed, Athlete A will win the 100m by a whopping .7 seconds JUST from having a better start.
When you combine an elite start with even higher top speeds, this is where world records are made. This was evident in Usain Bolt’s WR performance (last clip) where he was leading at the 20m mark despite being 6’5” 205lbs (2nd fastest 60m split too behind Su Bingtian) AND reached top speeds far greater than his opponents (around 12.3 m/s).
@athletic.doc
