Usain Bolt Debuts 2009 with a 400-Meter Win
Usain Bolt in Lane 5 (extreme left)
World 100 and 200 metres record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt running in lane 5, ran to victory in his first race of the season on Saturday, winning a 400 heat in 46.35 seconds at the outdoor Camperdown Classic in Jamaica.
"It was all right. I am not really in the best of shape, but I'm happy I got through it and looking forward to (the UWI Invitational) next week," he said.
Image Courtesy: Jamaicaobserver.com
Labels: Athletics, Jamaica, Usain Bolt
posted by Soumen at
2/15/2009
1 Comments:
I think Usain Bolt (with practice) can break the 400 meter records of Michael Johnson because if he can beat that amazing 19.32 by 0.13 seconds then (him being 6'5" etc.) he might be able to break the 400 record by a similar amount (by matching what Mike Johnson did from 200 to 400 meters ....albeit at a slower pace to save energy for that last tough 100 meters). So 42.8 (which is 0.14 seconds faster than Mike Johnson's best 4x400 "split" of 42.94) and 0.38 seconds faster than his current World Record of 43.18 which itself is comparable to a 9.79 100 meters based on a 4.41 to 1 ratio (Like Lee Evans and Jimmy Hines of 1968 in Mexico City with 43.8 and 9.95). So I am predicting a 42.8 second 400 IF Usain decides to train hard for it based on 9.7 * 4.41 = 42.777 (roughly 42.8 seconds). If he adjusts as well to the 400 as he did to both the 100 and 200 with extreme performances of 9.58 in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200 then it might be possible for him to run a near unbelievable 42.25 seconds! That estimate is based on 4.41 times 9.58 but I suspect 9.7 times 4.41 is a more realistic estimate as it is hard to predict how well he can maintain his speed past 300 meters (I have no doubt that he could sizzle 300 meters but that last 100 meters in the 400 is painful to run)! Of course if he does break Mike Johnson's 400 meter records they'll want him to break the 800 record too and become something that neither Mike Johnson nor Alberto Juantorena dreamed of doing, breaking all major records (sprinting and running) under 1 kilometer! So after he breaks 43 seconds in the 400 meters they'll want him tro run the 800 meters in 1:41 or better! Maybe the 100 second barrier in the 800 meters is reachable too!
October 23, 2009 at 8:58 AM
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