THE PHYSICS OF THE
100 METER DASHBy: Tilar Law, William Duff, Zoe Howell
The Mechanics of Sprints Body Position
ArmsLegs Head
Inertia Speed and Acceleration
The 100M In Action
Body Mechanics Head
The head should stay level with the jaw at a forward constant position during the duration of the race.
Body Mechanics Arms
While running keep your arms at a 90 degree angle to your elbow and let them naturally flow. Your arms swing as a counter to the forward movement produced by your legs while running.
Creating this movement is due the flexibility of the runners shoulder gridle
Body Mechanics Legs
Legs trust downward and back at 50-55 degrees
Legs should be in flexion to reduce the inertia and make forward movement easier
The lifted leg should never reach a horizontal position while running
What Not To Do
Inertia• At the starting point of the race, Inertia is
working against the runner.• In order to speed up the runner must
make short and quick strides to gain speed.
• As the runner speeds up, their strides become longer to cover a farther distance.
Speed and Acceleration
Speed and Acceleration
0 2 4 6 8 10 120
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Acceleration
Speed m/s
Speed and Acceleration
Citations http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/schools/lhs/
athletics/track/msprinting.html http://physicstt.tripod.com/id11.html http://www.faqs.org/sports-science/Pl-
Sa/Running-Sprinting.html