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u/vksdann 1d ago
I've been a professional runner for 12 years now and have seen all sorts of crazy things and I have an insight about how she won the race. The key here was running faster than the other runners. Hope that made things clearer for all the non-runners.
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u/YouAnxious5826 12h ago
Speed was definitely a defining factor, but let's not forget timing. The fact that she made sure she overtook all the other runners before crossing the finish line helped her tremendously. That's how you can tell an elite runner from the crop.
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u/MIKE-CHECKA 1d ago
I believe that is Abby Steiner. That girl can motor.
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u/ouchouchouchoof 1d ago
Could motor. She was recruited by a new shoe brand and the structure of the shoe gave her a severe injury. She's retired now.
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u/Aliensinmypants 1d ago
What a rollercoaster
Eta: In case anyone else is curious about the story
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u/ouchouchouchoof 1d ago
It's really a sad story. She was neck and neck with Sha'Carri Richardson before the injury.
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u/SabbyFox 1d ago
Damn, that sucks. Looks like she had a brilliant career ahead until the injuries.
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u/ouchouchouchoof 1d ago
Yeah. Poor starts but an incredible final 50. If she had stayed healthy and improved the starts it would have been something.
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u/JohnnyTamaki 19h ago
While never a pro athlete, as i kid I lived soccer and pumas also killed my feet from doing any further athletics. Managed to sprain both ankles at the same time and have had a losing 10+ year fight with plantar fasciitis all because stupid little me thought the puma logo looked cool. I feel so bad for her😓
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u/notMy_ReelName 1d ago
The best and worst part of reddit is by the time we enjoying the great post , news like these hits like a head on bus.
It like we lost a potential olympian.
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u/be-knight 1d ago
Not retired, but taking a longer break to get her masters degree. But yes, another foot injury fuelled this decision
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u/darren_flux 1d ago
Last time I saw this issue ppl are blaming her isntead and says she's faking it or smth. Turns out Puma is actually liable?
That fkn sucks dang
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u/ouchouchouchoof 1d ago
Isn't accusing people of fraud a hobby for some people? I think it's the cheaters who think everyone else is cheating.
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u/Jesus_Harold_Christ 1d ago
It is 100% her, she just retired from sprinting, after her third major surgery on her left foot.
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u/ravenmortal 1d ago
Terrible start. Great finish!!
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u/Far_Character_270 1d ago
My wife said the same to me last night
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u/powdered_dognut 1d ago
10 seconds?
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u/ShankThatSnitch 1d ago edited 1d ago
Imagine if she improved her speed off the line. She would have smoked them all.
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u/christophPezza 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm no runner but Usain Bolt does something similar, slow start out the gate, but accelerate as he went down just like Blue. I wonder what the biomechanics of it are
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u/Verticalrun 1d ago
Usain Bolt is 195cm and pretty big.
Shorter sprinters have faster leg turnover in the first few steps and reach an upright position more quickly. Bolt needs several steps to straighten up and get up into his ideal high hip position.
Not the same for this girl tho. Shes about the same build as everyone else. So she can problaby work on that in the future.
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u/happymancry 1d ago
She had a career ending injury due to defective shoes (Puma) - sad story really.
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u/Elementaldot 1d ago
Usain Bolt’s block starts were so bad, it was estimated he would improve his time by about .05 seconds if he put actual effort into improving it lol. Reality was he didn’t need to, MF galloped mid 100m dash and smoked everyone 😭
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u/ShankThatSnitch 1d ago
Usain was just way taller, so once he got his stride, each step took him further than everyone else. This girl isnt really taller, but her legs are just moving way faster. She just dropped her gear down and upped the RPMs like crazy.
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u/Intelligent-Guard267 1d ago
Sad that we dont see him run anymore. Suppose there are some new young whippersnappers making news these days
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u/be-knight 1d ago
You can imagine it like rolling down a slope. This is why Bolt used to do 2 things more than most others: he kept his upper body low and forward leaning for longer as others in the beginning, bc this is practically falling forward and keeping yourself to fall by running. This is extra acceleration for practically free. And he raised his knees as far as he could, using the same mechanism.
If you now get in a roll in which the timing of your high knees, the point at which you touch the ground and the gravity pulling you forward is perfect, you're already getting fast over time without actually running.
And now instead of just rolling you also get push forward with your feet. Now you get to reach your personal current highest possible speed after about 60-70m and it's not hard to keep it, as long as you keep the roll going - which admittedly is pretty draining
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u/scribblebear 1d ago
Worst at starting, best sprint form.. weird mix.
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u/casulmemer 1d ago
Isn’t that Usain Bolt as well tho?
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u/aka_Foamy 1d ago
I think his height is a factor there. Longer legs mean slower starts. The woman in the post doesn't look that much taller than the others, but it's hard to tell.
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u/Chefmeatball 1d ago
Happens to a lot of white athletes, they get labeled technicians when their form/skillset may out weigh natural talent
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u/Bornless_planet 1d ago
Damn.. white girl had wheels.. I mean not like a wheelchair. But very fast
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u/KindsofKindness 1d ago
How the fuck..
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u/Fr05t_B1t 1d ago
She has less drag. Everyone’s else’s hair is acting like parachutes.
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u/Mount_Mons 1d ago
Incredible that most of the female runners don’t accept this very true aerodynamic truth…
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u/Responsible_Name1217 1d ago
Imagine how fast she'd be if she could get off the blocks properly...that was pretty impressive.
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u/post-context-bot 1d ago
The following post context was provided by u/BenFord333:
The runner who started at the back of the race did not seem like she would catch up or win
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u/MrA-skunk 1d ago
I wonder how their legs feel to them. I imagine a little like pedaling a motorcycle.
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u/Wizzle_Pizzle_420 1d ago
My buddy is like that in the 400m. Always last place once everybody hits the 200m mark, then he damn explodes and crushes everybody. If he tightened up that first 200 he’d destroy folks even more.
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u/DrinkDumpsterSludge2 22h ago
Like most competitions, its not how you start, its how you finish. Theres a reason theres no medals for "1st person to get off the line!"
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u/DoritoAssassin 6h ago
I'd be curious to see the actual velocity and acceleration stats. Did the others slow down or maintain speed? Did she continue to accelerate at a rate lower than others that hit top speed halfway? Etc
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u/Anon_be_thy_name 1d ago
Good technique once she was upright, poor start though. Needs to work on that, she would have won by a much larger gap if she started better off the block.
Probably could set her own record with it too.
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u/02meepmeep 1d ago edited 1d ago
This seems fake. I have never seen someone make up ground like that after the halfway point in the 100. I saw Usain Bolt make up a yard or so due to a bad start but he was capable of finishing 2-3 yards ahead of the best in the world.
Edit. OK, 10.9 is no joke for a time in the 100. Maybe this was a qualifying heat and her opponents were not as fast?
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u/blvckcvts 1d ago
Or ya know she was just FAST. People train like crazy for this sort of stuff it doesn’t automatically make it fake because you’ve never seen a women be that fast
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u/02meepmeep 1d ago
Usually the other people in the race are also really fast or it’s kind of a waste of time.
And I have never seen a HUMAN come from that far back after the 50 yard mark. I ran the 100 in high school so I kind of have a passing interest in the sport.
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u/Usual_Office_1740 1d ago
My takeaway from this is that I need a blue leotard if I want to run faster.