Google+ Running in Cork, Ireland: New York Times article on Europe's fastest man

Sunday, November 20, 2011

New York Times article on Europe's fastest man

The New York Times had an article recently on the fastest man in Europe...Christophe Lemaitre from France.

In a sport where the vast majority of athletes can be traced to being of West African origin, he is unusual in that he is the only white sprinter ever to have broken 10 seconds for 100 metres.
Just as East Africans living at altitude appear to have a natural ability for distance running, West African athletes and their descendants appear to have more success in sprinting. Research published in the early 1970s suggested that black sprinters had several major differences from their white counterparts: less body fat, shorter torsos, thinner hips, longer legs, thicker thigh muscles, thinner calf muscles and a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibres.

Lemaitre who is still only 21 years old has a 100 metre PB of 9.92. By the way, 9.92 is the exact same time that Carl Lewis ran in Seoul in 1988 to win gold and set a new Olympic record. With the fastest sprinters in the world heading to London next year, it will be interesting to see what he can do.

The full article is HERE

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