Athlo Blog

Although the 100 meter Olympic champion is often labeled as “the fastest man in the world”, it is the 200 meter sprinter who actually has the fastest average speed.  The record breaking performance by Usain Bolt of Jamaica last week was amazingly impressive, but not as impressive as Michael Johnson’s 200 meter performance at the 1996 Atlanta games. 

Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.69 seconds, giving him an average speed of 10.31 meters per second but Michael Johnson’s 200 meters in 19.32 seconds was an average speed of 10.35 meters per second.  Not a huge difference, but enough to question why the 100 meter champion gets an undeserving title.

As of now, the 100 meter female sprinter is the fastest woman in the world.  However, since Florence Griffith-Joyner set both the 100 and 200 meter world records in 1988, there isn’t much of an argument.  Her average speed for the 100 meters was 9.53 meters per second but her average speed for 200 meters was 9.37 meters per second.  A female sprinter would need to run a 20.96 second 200 meter, beating Flo-Jo’s record of 21.34 seconds, in order to have a faster average speed.  Usain Bolt would have to run an unbelievable 9.66 second 100 meter if he truly wants to be the fastest man in the world.  If he doesn’t start celebrating with 20 meters left like he did at the Olympics he can probably do it.

Bicycle Motocross, more commonly known as BMX, is making its first appearance in the Summer Olympics in Beijing this year.  BMX will be the fourth cycling event in the Olympics, along with road, track and mountain biking, which made its debut in 1996.  48 riders, 32 men and 16 women, from 17 countries will be competing for the gold, and I will be watching.

The basic concept of BMX is fairly simple, the fastest guy or girl down the track wins.  No points for style, no points for tricks.  Races usually consist of 2 or 3 heats with 8 racers in each heat.  That fastest four advance to the next heat.  Most heats only last about 40 seconds but because racers start so close together and get reach speeds of up to 35mph, the crashes are frequent and spectacular.

While BMX is still seen as a bit of a “fringe” sport, it has come a long way in the past 30 years.  BMX riding started back in the late 60’s and early 70’s when kids were trying to replicate tricks and stunts they saw motocross riders doing.  It is not the first American-made sport to reach the Olympics though.  Snowboarding and snowboard cross (similar to BMX racing) have both made it to the winter Olympics.  Regardless, it will still be exciting to see American riders flying down the dirt track in Beijing and inspiring kids around the world to get out and ride.