Does height effect your running?

[XCrunner40]

Does height really effect your running?
I know most Olympic runners are typically huge, but do you think a
short runner could dominate the 100m?

[Mike88]

Being huge and being tall is very different. Most sprinters are TALL!!! Over 6 foot but they are not all huge. You don't have to be tall to be good at sprinting but you do to break a world record. For example, both a tall and short man possess the same leg speed but the taller guy would have a much greater leg span which would win him the race. So th smaller guy would have to do twice the amount of work.

[Run4Fun]

Being huge and being tall is very different. Most sprinters are TALL!!! Over 6 foot but they are not all huge. You don't have to be tall to be good at sprinting but you do to break a world record. For example, both a tall and short man possess the same leg speed but the taller guy would have a much greater leg span which would win him the race. So th smaller guy would have to do twice the amount of work.

That might be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard, Tyson Gay (the world champ at 100 and 200 meters) is only 5'11", and I', pretty sure if he didn't have that little insignificant wind, he would be holding the world record right now. I also don't think that Michael Johnson was that tall, about as tall as Tyson, so you're pretty wrong here. Being tall just slows you down on the curve, and yes, in theory having longer legs would make you go faster, but just look at the best in the world right now, they are all short: Tyson Gay, Jeremy Wariner, Alan Webb, the list goes on and on....

[Mike88]

First of all- Tyson Gay is 6'2'' and what about 6'3'' Asafa Powell- the All-time world record holder?

[Run4Fun]

http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Gay_Tyson.asp (http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Gay_Tyson.asp)

He's 5'11", Asafa may be 6'3", but look at most of the other really good 100-400 sprinters, they are all small and compact, really explosive.

[supz_supz]

height definately does not affect sprinting, the average height in the US is like 5'9 right?

Two of the most dominant sprinters in the late 90's and early 2000's were Ato Bolden and Maurice Green both stand at 5'9, check it out! Very average height.
Up and coming track athlete walter dix (2nd fastest 200m runner behind Tyson gay is 5'9)

There is no ideal height, its whether you are born with it or not I guess. I use to run track in high school im 5'7,and I ran 11.3, much faster than guys that were 6 foot....it all depends on the person, plus I'm asian.

I think asians really do have potential in track & Field, however ALOT of them focus on their career, although I probably did not have the potential to be a track star, I didnt even give it a chance.

You have some world class asian sprinters:

Koji Ito (Japan) ran 10 flat
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981214/34850274.html

Ashara, Suetsugu (Japan) have both run 10.02

You have liu xiang, 110m world record holded, olympic and world champion

My friends' brother, ran 10.56, when he was 16, that was faster than Matt shirvington at the time (who has run 10.03), difference was the borther became a banker, shirvo got a good trainer and became Aussie champion.

As you can see Im a short asian dude, and always love the underdog winning and stereo types being broken! Go Rocky!

[Shango]

Height helps a lot I believe. Being 5'8'' it was every so hard running a 400m, cause to me the 400m is really a sprint. I may have had the speed and strength but the height was always a disadvantage. The same with the 100m, too much ground to cover too quickly. The only safe race for a shorter guy is the 200m for me. Even that is hard to deal with. I had to have the strength of a 400m athlete and the speed of a 100m specialist. It landed a shorter runner like me somewhere in the middle. Although Bershawn Jackson is around 5'7'' so I probably should have done 400m hurdles. Nah hell no.

[trackstarq21]

i agree im only 5'5 and my best event is by far the 200 i cant really explain why tho but form some reason i cant run a good 55

[kakarat27]

Ok guys. Here's the low-down. Did any of you think about stride length? It doesn't matter if your 5'5 or 6'5. The stride length is nearly the same. A shorter guy will have to lift his knees higher to cover the optimal ground required to race competatively and because he's short, he will have excellent turnover. The tall guy on the other hand has to sacrifice stride length because if his strides get too long he will ultimately slow down. Bottom line, he will have to keep a fast stride frequency by shortening his natural stride or he'll get beat. The fact of the matter is, like I said earlier, the strides are nearly identical. You don't believe me? Compare Asafa Powels strides to the shorter heighted Leroy Burrel. It may look like the taller guys are covering more ground but it's an illusion. So for you short guys, don't worry about the tall guy. Worry more about your lift and your turnover! Now if you're under 5', your SOL.

[Run4Fun]

Ok guys. Here's the low-down. Did any of you think about stride length? It doesn't matter if your 5'5 or 6'5. The stride length is nearly the same.

True, but your height will also affect your start and how you go around the turns. For indoor track, if you are over 6' 1" or 6' 2", your most likely screwed becuase the turns suck so much.

And taller people will usually get into other sports where height is a more valued asset, or they may do a jumping event.

[farzamk]

More height means longer strides, longer strides = worse stride frequency. Therefore a tall person will have longer strides but will lack the speed, the short guy will have the speed and lack the stride. However guys like Justin gatlin who had a huge stride length, nearly as long as the tallest sprinter, Usain Bolt. he made up for his lack of height due to a lot of strength. Height does not affect sprinting.

[easytiger]

I guess we all have our theories on height playing a factor, but personally i think it comes down to the athlete, i am South African between 5.8 and 5.9 and i run a 100 in about 10.5 and and a 200 in about a 21.3. so thats proof enough that height means jack at the end of the day!

[ADRIANROCK]

Is not about the height but the strides! the world class sprinters need at least 43.5-47.5 strides in 100m so that they can run in a world class level. Tim Montgomery performed approximately 47 strides when he did 9.78second! His leg turnover was fast as twice or a little faster then asafa powell who performed under 44 strides in 100m. If you're 1.80m and above you must train your leg to be faster while if you're under 1.70m, at least try to open your stride about 2.2m after 60m...

[bthaler]

First of all, I see that some of you are on the right track with this. However, I want to straighten the rest of you out. Height DOES NOT MATTER. There are so many examples of this, there are both fast short guys and fast tall guys. I am a sprinter in college and I am 5'9", I was part of an all-american 4x4 last year. Now speed is the product of two things stride LENGTH and stride FREQUENCY. So a shorter sprinter will naturally have more stride frequency so they need to compensate some of that frequency for some stride length. On the other hand, a taller sprinter will have to sacrifice some of their stride length for some frequency. Last year we had two 400m guys and in indoor one ran 47.7, and the other ran 46 low. The slower one was 5'4" and the taller one was 6'3", they were 4th and 2nd respectively at D2 nationals. After practicing with both of them everyday, I can stand firmly and say they were very close in speed. For various reasons the taller guy ran faster. In outdoor they opened up the season with very close times, but the guy who had got second at indoor nationals had one more outdoor season while the guy who got fourth was out of eligibility and didn't take the rest of the season seriously. So indoor or outdoor size does not matter, if you do not believe me look it up, these are actual facts and if you look at the results from last years national meet with these stats you will find out who these guys are and see that one of them is now in the top 50 in the world. This should put an end to anymore arguements.

[Shango]

I can't emphasise this enough. At 5'8'' no matter how strong or powerful I think I am, the 400m is far more difficult for me than if I were about 6 feet tall. There is no getting around that. The shorter races yes, but not the 400m.

[Hunta]

you all confuse the hell out of me with all this stride frequency stuff im a mid 21 runner over the 200 n am 6 ft 3 n ino a few guys over here that are not far behind if not quicker that are short as it gets. if your quick your born with it don't let someone tell you coz ur short or tall u aint gunna make it do ur own thing

[grimyd18]

Does height really effect your running?
I know most Olympic runners are typically huge, but do you think a
short runner could dominate the 100m?

how short are u talking ?

[mudskipper]

I agree, with true talent and training you can overcome many problems such as short stature or shorter legs compared to your overall height. I don't think it hurts to be a bit over average so long as you're not gnalgy and uncoordinated.

[quicksilver]

dont forget trinton holliday 5'5 and he runs 10.00

[Stick305]

There is a guy who goes to Monsignor Pace High School who is going to be a senior next year and he ran a 10.6-10.7 consistently at 100m, his best being a 10.43 at the Florida Relays. Also, he ran in the low 21's in the 200, with a best time of 20.97 in the State prelims. By the way, he is 5'5, if he is even that tall, becausee on rivals.com, he went to a combine and it said he was 5'5but this guy is really short and he can beat most guys he races against.

[George]

I think that things balance themselves out when it comes to height. If you are shorter then you don't have the stride length to increase your speed. But if you are taller you have to be able to move the legs more powerfully to make use of that leg length.

So either way I think it works out.