Usain Bolt is the fastest man to ever live, at least in the 100-meter dash where he holds the world record of 9.58 seconds and now Cambridge statisticians claim that Usain isn’t actually living up to his full potential and could potentially shave 0.13 seconds off his world record without the need for additional conditioning.
The Telegraph reports that Usain Bolt’s biggest problem comes from his rather slow start off the starting block where he could shave 0.05 seconds off his start time.
The rest of Bolt’s new record breaking time however would come from environmental conditions. For example if the maximum allowable tailwind of 2m/s is behind him he could shave off another 0.05 seconds and if he runs at the highest allowable altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level he could drop another 0.03 seconds off his best time.
This isn’t the first time statisticians have predicted Usain Bolt’s speed using various factors however in those cases the world class sprinter has managed to beat their expectations for “best possible” running time.
While the team of mathematicians admit their predictions are just that, predications, they believe their match is getting closer to properly predicting the performance levels of athletes. According to the study’s lead researcher:
“What this study serves to illustrate is the insight maths can give into sports performance, which has not been done previously to such a degree of accuracy.”
What researchers can’t predict in their studies regardless of how advanced those studies become is the personal push Usain Bolt places on himself to run harder and ultimately faster.
