Running Analysis: The FASTEST Man in the World

Running analysis of the greatest sprinter of ALL TIME! We take a look at different components of his running form and take a peak at what makes him the FASTEST man in the world!

Let me know what you guys think of Usain Bolt in the comment section below!

Also, I would LOVE if you stopped by to see more content:

Original race footage of 100m and 200m race are from the world finals in Berlin 2009!

Music by Vexento

[anunchuckfan]

People tend to overlook Usain Bolt’s power. His power of glutes and hamstrings is possibly the largest ever. Taller people don’t show size. Bolt’s legs are thick and strong as hell. But people, especially non-sprinter tend to consider him as “slender”, which is not true. Your stride length mainly comes from how much force you input to the ground. The “height advantage” is only working when landing, which is minor. Every step is literally like a mini jump. There are many short sprinters produce huge stride length: Mike Rodgers, 5’7, 45strides to cover 100m, Nesta Carter, 5’7, 44.5-45strides to cover 100m. Gatlin, 6’1, 42 strides to cover back in 2004, while Usain, 6’5, 41strides to cover

[aristodiga]

nice analysis on the lateral side to side movement. also, I just knew that his left leg is a bit longer that his right. it's amazing how it doesn't stop him from being the fastest man alive...

[JohnnyRanks-sz]

Certain people that are only once in a life time. Bolt. Excellent explanation of his mechanics. He is very tall, has scoliosis, runs lateral in his start, his left leg is a half inch longer, he has flat feet, rocks side to side while running, and is still the fastest man ever. This really shows how gifted he is.

[peterberg]

Honestly one of the best sports-analytical videos i have ever seen. Good job man, simple yet intelligently explained

[musclelessfitness]

Hello there. I have a few things that differ from what you said, but it's just my opinion heheh:
1- Start up: Usain bolt is only 2 inches taller than Asafa Powell, so taking just 4 steps instead of 5 isn't because of his height. IMO, it's because of him using the full range of his hip and ribcage mobility.
2- In the middle to the end of the race, the main reason why his stride length is the longest is once again, the full range of hip movement and side to side trunk movement. Not just his height.
3- Scoliosis: I dealt with a similar issue. In fact a lot of people deal with it. This topic would take a long time to discuss, but in most cases, people are miss-diagnosed with Scoliosis. The main reasons for being unbalanced is A) a lack of mobility in one of your hips, B) Having a dominant leg that you overuse even when you're not running, C) Eye dominance, D) not moving your trunk side to side equally. I have to make a video about this topic one of these days.
4- When he broke the record, his form was better than in 2012. In 2012, I can see him arching his back ... also, his arms trail behind him too much.

[Zicoslater]

Great analysis! Shows you that EVERYONE has strengths and weaknesses, it's just how you capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses that matter and, Usain Bolt's running success is a great example of this. Thanks for making this video.

[terah]

Imagine if Usain Bolt didn't have a slight scoliosis, allowing him to have a perfect sprinting technique. He easily could have run below 9.50.

[derekpaulwilliams]

Excellent detailed analysis. Thanks for explaining the impact of the scoliosis on his left leg length and the impact on his form. Thanks for highlighting his persistence, despite the disability

[TH-cxyx]

Usain Bolt's start is literally amazing considering his height. at his peak he lead every race from the start, and even has the fastest 0-10 meter split recorded in history

[awakenthedrummer]

The hip mobility makes his steps look like he's in the triple jump.
Really good work here man. Great attention to detail.

[jetli]

Bolt’ folding and extending leg tech as well as high keel skills are really amazing and unbelievable for such a tall man

[ayecuai]

Thanks man I have the track meet in a few months and I wanna make my school become first

[joey]

Cool video. Very good. I agree with everything you said. I learned how to run by watching Usian Bolts form. You didn't mention anything about the physics principal torque however. I believe that taller runners like Usian Bolt and myself (6'2) benefit from the increased torque that is able to be produced per stride due to the length of their legs being longer. Think of your legs like wheels.

[rezzbuilds]

The rotation about the hips is key, you're generating so much energy by loosening the hips up

[fomalhauto]

According to this site, Usain Bolt has the ideal anatomy for an elite sprinter


Athletes Foot
Usain bolt has a size 13 foot, which is about 27.9 cm.
A foot of an elite sprinter generally has a different anatomy than an average person.
Sprinters' feet have longer toes than the average foot. Usain’s phalanges are 8.2cm length which provides extra power because the foot can only push you forward when it's actually in contact with the ground. Feet with longer toes stay in contact with the ground for a split second longer on every step. That adds up to a significant amount of extra forward motion in just a few seconds.

The achilles tendon acts as a lever as it pulls on the back of the heel to make the foot plantar flex as it pushes off of the ground. Usain has a very long achilles tendon which acts as a powerful spring to store energy and explode off with very little energy expenditure. The achilles tendon acts as a lever, so the longer it is the more leverage it has and the muscles attaching to it have a longer distance to contract for, so they do so more quickly. This increase his ability to accelerate in a shorter distance with fewer strides.


Lightning Legs
Usain Bolt’s legs are mainly composed of fast-twitch muscle fibres, about 80%, which include a combination of both Fast- Oxidative Glycolytic (FOG) and Fast-Glycolytic (FG) muscle fibres. The combination of these muscle fibre types allows for quick muscle contraction and high force production, which is essential in a short distance sprint. Another advantage bolt has is that his legs are longer, so it takes him less strides to cover the desired distance.

Calves
The calves comprise two muscles: gastrocnemius and soleus. These muscles are vital to sprinting more than regular running, because the muscles of the calves control foot flexion when running. Sprinters should be prepared to spring off the next foot during each stride before impact to minimize time on the ground. Strong, elastic calves support the additional speed of a sprint. Usain Bolt has a very short gastrocnemius due to his elongated achilles tendon. Despite the muscle’s reduced size, it is still extremely powerful due to both training and its natural makeup of fast-twitch muscle fibres.


Quadriceps
The quadriceps are the muscles at the front of the thighs, covering the anterior of the femur. The quadricep group is made up of four muscles; rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and vastus medialis, that are responsible for knee extension and hip flexion. These muscles raise the leg and propel the runner forward. Muscles throughout your body work in coordinating pairs. One muscle group pulls in one direction and its coordinating muscle group pulls in the opposite direction. The quadriceps work in conjunction with the hamstring as the most important coordinating pair for sprints. The quadriceps pull the legs forward for fast bursts of running. The stronger the quads are, the faster your legs will pull your body forward -- and the faster you'll be able to sprint. Along with Usain’s genetically gifted muscle composition, he also has an elongated patella tendon, particularly the portion that branches to the vastus lateralis. This tendon length, along with his unusually long femur, forms an extremely powerful lever that is able to propel his whole body forward with great force and speed.


Hamstrings
The hamstring group is made up of three muscles; biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus, that run over the posterior aspect of the femur. They are “two-jointed”, which means they cross over both the knee and hip joint, and are responsible for hip extension and knee flexion. The hamstrings are the agonist muscles at the back of the thighs that work with the quadriceps. They pull the leg back so that the sprinter has the force to push off the ground quickly from the calves. Both the quads and hamstrings work at the same time on alternating legs, so sprinting is quickest when each is toned and elastic for speed. The hamstrings are most elastic when the hips and glutes are strong and stabilized.


Hips Don’t Lie
The hip flexors are a group of muscles that surround the hips and work with the glutes, quads and hamstrings. The muscles that are responsible for flexion of the hip include tensor fasciae latae, sartorius and iliopsoas. The gluteus maximus is responsible for hip extension. Other muscles surrounding the hip control abduction and internal/external rotation and of course there is the hip adductor group These muscles are often overlooked, but are crucial to sprinters, because nimble hip flexors allow your legs to move quickly and in concert with the rest of your body's speed of propulsion. Stretching the hip flexors, in particular, is important to maintaining speed throughout your sprint without injury.


Down to the Core
The rectus abdominis and the external oblique make up the core. A strong core is essential for sprinters because it is crucial for stability and energy efficiency. Much of Usain’s conditioning is core-centric in order to compensate for weakness due to his scoliosis, curvature of the spine, he’s had since childhood. With the extra work, Bolt is now considered to be one of the most technically stable runners on the track.


Upper Body
The arms counter-balance the legs, provide uplift and set the running pace. Bolt's technique helps stabilize his torso so that power is efficiently transferred through his hips, which improves his acceleration.

[InfoArtistJKatTheGoodInfoCafe]

Excellent breakdown. Thanks! I did this with Ben Johnson's race (eventually disqualified) in the 1980s.

Some additional moments:
- the fastest part of the leg and a most important contributor to speed is the heel. Length and explosivity of heels is one of the most important keys - this is why animals and ostriches are rining faster - because of the mechanics/length of heels and upper legs acting almost only as suspension;
- shoulder(compensating) motion upwards as much as Bolt does, may transfer resulting vector of power more backwards, not making mass jumping vertically too much;

This analysis requires much more detail. Compensation of rotational momentum of the body is a very good point and very important. And how Bilt hets larger steps with twisting legs, not wasting so much on lifting ankle...that is almost unique.

[delmiaisha]

LOL I was just looking for references of ppl running to draw an animation and this is GOLD thanks!

[ptjww]

Very interesting...I thought heel strike was the way to go for speed, so as to minimize the braking movement from ankle flexion... Looks like forefoot strike didn’t prevent him from running this fast...

[kujojotarostandoceanman]

the opimalmization of body use is so underated to the general audiance, Usain maximumize that so crazily his body doesn't even have that much advantage from other players but he is no.1 for the maximum optimalization he use every fiber of muscles and weight transfer