Tokyo: How science is helping athletes break the historic 10-second 100-meter barrier | trends

The London 2012 men’s 100m dash final, in which seven of the eight sprinters completed the race in under 10 seconds, was a sign of things to come.

The 10-second barrier was first broken in 1968, but today it remains a major achievement for runners, a badge of honor that sets them apart from their peers, BBC Mundo reports.

The number of Under-10 runners has increased dramatically in recent years.

According to data from World Athletics, the sport’s governing body, in the four decades between 1968 and 2008, only 67 athletes have broken the barrier. Another 70 will join the club in the next 10 years.

And in the past two years until the beginning of July 2021, 17 other men had their first “under-10” races.

The equivalent barrier for women, 11 seconds, is also being broken at an increasing pace, but what happens?

Scientists love Steve HackProfessor of Mathematical Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom A combination of factors that start with increased participation in track events around the world and access to better training methods.

in this time, “More athletes around the world are benefiting from elite training and the help of sports science and technology to improve their chances of running fasterHaki adds.

The evidence is that the U-10 club has expanded beyond major powers like the United States and Jamaica and teams like Great Britain and Canada, which have won at least one Olympic gold in the men’s 100 meters.

The technology was useful. Today’s runners are running with lighter. The latest models can weigh less than 150 grams and are made of completely different materials.

One example is the collaboration between German shoes Puma and the Mercedes Formula One team, which resulted in racing shoes with carbon fiber soles, the same material that was used to design multi-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s car.

theScience also influenced feed and in exercise.

Today’s runners can be accurately analyzed and adjustments made to technique and reaction times.

Researchers have even identified the muscles that are most important to runners’ success.

Last October, a team of scientists from Britain’s Loughborough University, a leading institution in sports science studies, found it The gluteus maximus (the muscle that makes up the buttocks) is key for athletes to reach top speeds on the track.