Automatic timing devices must be used as they are more accurate as opposed to manual, the device must be approved as accurate by the IAAF, this is to ensure sprinting times are officially accurate.
- The athlete has to finish the race to be recognized for his performance during the race.
This is a fundamental rule for all athletic running events.
- The running track should be made with such a material, which allows athletes to run on it with spiked shoes.
Spiked shoes are the standard for sprinting on outdoor tracks as they give the grip a 100 meter sprinter needs.
- If a athlete commences two consecutive false starts they are likely to be disqualified
The IAAF states that if the athlete moves within 1/10th of a second after the gun has fired the athlete has false started. False starts are looked for in sprint races especially, where the fractions of a second gained could make the difference between winning and losing. Also it is known that athletes would deliberately make false starts to psyche out opponents before a race. This is why the IAAF purportedly made a three strikes rule.
3.
The job of officials is to organise and control an activity. Without an official an activity cannot take place. Many officials in athletics have organisational roles, as they have to organise the competitors and maintain the smooth running of the event. Very few officials are actually paid. However for professional sports played at higher levels such as 100 meter sprints there are more full time paid officials at the highest levels. This is because the standards are high and the players and fans demand the highest standards from an official. Officials for the 100 meter sprints include:
Senior officials:
Referees
A referee has authority to make decisions about play in the 100 meter event. The referee is also responsible for starting the race with a starter gun, the referee watches the event to make sure that everything is done correctly.
Judges
Judges play an important role to make sure the athletes start of the starting blocks correctly or otherwise make false starts. They make sure runners are in the correct like and look out for deviant behaviour as such. Also a finish judge sees if the runner has passed the finish line or not and the time keepers time the run.
Minor officials:
Timekeeper
For Olympic events every aspect of timekeeping is electronic, even the starting gun. For example, the time between the gun and first kick against the starting block is measured electronically, via sensors built in the gun and the blocks. Also when the performer’s cross the finish line a laser beam or electronic eye detects when a runner crosses the line, the beam is blocked, and the electric eye sends a signal to the timing console to record the runner's time. Meanwhile, a high-speed digital video camera aligned with the finish line scans an image through a thin slit up to 2,000 times a second.
4.
2. Terminology and Tactics
1.
There are ten stages to the 100 meter sprint:
- Race Preparation
This is just before a race when the performer has completed their warm up. The athlete is preparing their body and mind for the race. The athlete's focus should be on the technical and tactical components of the race while stabilizing his emotional level. “The athlete is trying to optimize his emotional level to be as powerful and explosive as possible without getting too excited, which can lead to tight muscles and decreased performance.”-http://healthfitness.com.au/articles/highperformancetraining/100_meters_sprint.htm
- Narrow Focus
This is the part when the performer is about to reach the starting area but has not been positioned in the starting blocks. The performer is trying to narrow his mental and emotional focus by removing any distractions that might still be present from the "race preparation" stage. Physiologically, it is important to re-activate the nervous system so the body is ready (neurally) to explode out of the starting block. Quick explosive movements such as tuck jumps or high knee movements will help to activate the nervous system. The athlete should perform no more than two explosive movements to ensure appropriate energy stores are not reduced.
- Precuing
Any mental or tactical errors must have been eliminated by this stage. The purpose of this stage is for the performer to focus on the task only that is exploding out of the starting blocks the moment the starting gun is fired).
- Reaction
This stage is when the performer is in the starting blocks. The athlete responds to the starting gun (stimulus). In the 100m race the gun is the primary stimulus to the athlete. It is an auditory stimulus. The "reaction time" is the interval of time between the sound of the starting gun and the first movement of the body. Reaction time has been recorded for elite athletes between 0.11 and 0.18 seconds. Reaction time can be broken down into two separate components:
a) Premotor Time - The time between the sound of the starting gun and the time it takes the neural stimulus from the brain to reach the muscle fibers involved. This causes a subsequent increase in muscle fiber activation without visible limb movement.
b) Motor Time- The time from the electrical activation of the muscle fibers involved (end of the "Premotor time") till the beginning of the first observable limb movement.
- Start
The start requires the body to overcome inertia, thereby initiating movement. Three basic laws of physics explain how the body can initiate movement. Newton's first law states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless some force induces a change in the resting state. The start stage requires a combination of explosive muscle contractions which leads to a production of great force. Newton's second law states that the production of force is a combination of the athlete's body mass and acceleration. Once the force into the blocks has been created, the blocks produce a subsequent reaction, which propels the body forward from the starting blocks. This occurs due to the premise of Newton's third law - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- Drive Phase
0-15m the drive stage involves the first step out of the blocks and this continues for a further two to eight steps, each consecutive step increases in length and the athlete's body starts in a low forward lean position and starts to straighten with each step. It is called the drive stage because the focus is to drive as much force as possible into the ground to produce a transfer of energy from the ground back through the athlete. This leads to an increase in speed of the athlete's movement.
- Initial Acceleration
10m-30m the athlete is driving forward and moving their body at as fast as they can. The athlete's steps continue to increase and the forward lean of the body starts to straighten even further. The athlete is still driving there arms and legs hard and fast in order to achieve great speed and increase stride frequency.
- Full Acceleration
25-50m the body is still increasing speed, but the hips are starting to straighten and the knees are coming under the hips. This stage the athlete is nearly at maximum speed and is trying to increase stride frequency and stride length. This stage is sometime called "transition", because the athlete is transitioning from an acceleration position (forward lean) to a maximum speed position (straightened body).
- Maximum Speed
40-70m this is the portion of the race when the athlete has reached his maximum speed. It takes most athletes between four and six seconds to reach maximum speed and unfortunately it cannot be maintained for long periods of time
- Speed Maintenance/Deceleration
2. Terminology and Tactics
Getting into the right state of mind before a 100 meter sprint race is essential as it is also essential for the body to be fully prepared physically. The reaction time to the starting gun is a crucially important stage as the athlete will have better advantage, and may be the difference between winning and losing. During the drive phase the athlete must be increasing their speed at maximum acceleration a forward lean of about 25 degrees makes the initial stage more efficient. During the initial acceleration it is essential that the athlete uses his body to “drive forward” as fast as possible, this makes use of the arms as they will help to gain momentum in accordance to the runners legs to go faster. At the full acceleration stage the athlete must “transition” his body out of the slight forward lean (initial acceleration) to an upright straight body position, (full acceleration) the athletes head should be high and focus on moving at maximum speed, as this is the best position to be in to maintain this speed. It is important that the sprinter never looks behind them when sprinting as this can result in losing seconds of their time.
There are at least six key terms that are relevant to 100 meter sprinting.
1.) Stride frequency – this is the frequency that an athlete takes strides in a second. Increased stride frequency results in increased speed.
2.) Stride length – this is the length of an athletes stride. Increasing stride length results in increased speed.
3.) Reaction time - time it takes for the athlete to respond to the starter gun. Reaction time can be broken down into two separate components.
a) Premotor Time - The time between the sound of the starting gun and the time it takes the neural stimulus from the brain to reach the muscle fibres involved. This causes a subsequent increase in muscle fibres activation without visible limb movement.
b) Motor Time- The time from the electrical activation of the muscle fibres involved (end of the "Premotor time") till the beginning of the first observable limb movement.
4.) Acceleration – acceleration is key in getting runner to maximum speed in the quickest time possible, stages 6-9 above are acceleration stages. The athlete will accelerate for half the race (50m).
5.) Power – power is the amount of energy used to do work. A 100 meter sprinter must be very powerful for them to reach maximum speed in the shortest time possible. Preparation is essential; training should include weight training to increase upper and lower body strength.
6.) Speed endurance – this is the amount to which an athlete can endure and maintain maximum speed. A professional 100 meter sprinter will only be able to maintain their maximum speed (about 30mph max) for a short period of time, this time will be about 5 seconds or less.
7.) Mechanics - the mechanics is the way in which an athlete performs
3. Analysis and Evaluation (Strengths & Weaknesses).
There are numerous skills which must be executed correctly in order for an athlete to perform a successful 100 meter sprint.
- The sprint start, starting a sprint race is all about explosion of speed and power. Exploding out of the blocks quickly is essential.
The performer must be relaxed, being relaxed helps the body run efficiently and quickly at any distance. Taking deep breathes will help to calm nerves.
Now crouch on one knee and form a high bridge with fingers just behind the line, hands should be slightly wider than shoulder width.
Next raise your hips to a level just above the shoulders. Eyes forward looking ahead.
Lean the body as forward as you can and aim to begin running without stumbling.
Anticipate the starting signal, when the gun goes off breathe out hard and pump the arms and legs. Thrusting elbows as high as possible with each backward swing and driving the legs.
2. Sometimes athletes can get intimidated and nervous before a major event; this can be a weakness as it may affect an athlete’s performance. An athlete must keep calm and relaxed before an event to help the body run more effectively. Poor form when an athlete is positioning in the starting blocks may make it harder to explode out of the blocks correctly.
Anticipating the starting signal is crucial, an effective start will give an advantage over other competitors. The reaction time of an athlete is very important. At the start, some athletes play psychological games such as trying to be last to the starting blocks. The new rule is that, after one false start, anyone responsible for a subsequent false start is disqualified immediately. This rule has led to some sprinters deliberately false-starting to gain a psychological advantage: an individual with a slower reaction time might false-start, forcing the faster starters to wait and be sure of hearing the gun for the subsequent start, thereby losing some of their advantage.
4. Planning, Practices and Training
Typical Training session
Start with a Thorough Warm up Jog for 10 minutes at an easy slow pace followed by some simple range of motion stretches for your shoulders, hips, ankles, neck, trunk and head. Move slowly and breathe deeply.
20 Meter Drills
perform the following drills 2-3 times each session.
- High-step walking: (lifting knees up to hip level)
- High-step jogging: (lifting knees up to hip level)
- Skipping
- Crossovers: (Jog sideways while crossing right leg over left leg, then left over right leg)
- Heel kicks: (while jogging kick heels to buttocks with each step)
- Ladder drills: one foot contact per square
- Plyometrics: single leg hopping, bounding, bunny hops, tuck jumps, jumping obstacles.
30 Meter Drills
perform the following drills 2-3 times each session.
- Double leg hops (jump forward over cones or another marker)
- Zig Zag hops (jump forward in a Zig Zag pattern)
- One Leg lateral bounding (jump sideways one leg, then the other)
Cool Down
Jog for 10 minutes at a slow, steady pace and finish with gentle whole body stretching.
- There are often many different methods of training employed by an athlete training for the 100 meters sprint race. Including hill sprints which help to improve sprinting ability also improving total body speed and power. Plyometrics training include fast movements with the body aimed at making the body become faster.
- Speed endurance, strength, speed and flexibility are the main components of fitness for an athlete training for the 100 meters. A 100 meter athlete would have a large proportion of fast twitch muscles in the legs for power, upper body strength is important too, dynamic arms and torso add an additional explosive weapon to the sprinting armoury. The athlete must have a great speed endurance this is how athlete can maintain their maximum speed. A 100 meter athlete must be flexible as flexible muscles are generally more powerful.
The Perfect Model
1.
The perfect model is the technical mastery of a skill, the knowledge of the perfect model is an invaluable tool to a performer. Advanced PE for Edexcel describes the perfect model as:
“The perfect model is the technical mastery obtained in the performance of a skill as defined by a recognised coaching scheme, awards programme, governing body publication or a coaching manual.”
It has been chosen to discuss the start phase/drive phase routine of the 100 meter sprints in context of a perfect model.
The start phase of the 100 meter sprint race is the 5th phase out of the 10 explained earlier in this text. The phase after this is the drive phase. These phases combined together are very important for an athlete to achieve a good time, and are the exploding out of the blocks part which is a fundamental skill that must be mastered by a 100 meter athlete. The athlete is already positioned in the starting blocks, and has reacted to the stimuli of the starting gun; the neural stimulus of the brain has reached the muscle fibres. The beginning of the first observable limb movement is the beginning of the, start stage. This part is when an athlete explosively pushes out of the starting blocks with both legs. The front leg should extend remaining in contact with the ground while the back leg swings forward. The extended front leg and trunk form a straight line. Arms should swing opposite to the legs, elbows flex at 90o and the palms flat swinging towards the forehead.
- Asafa Powell, a perfect model?
The core skills for a textbook perfect model for the 100 meter sprints are Stability, Power & Stamina.
Keele (1968) defined a motor programme as being a set of muscle commands that allow movement to be formed without any peripheral feedback, according to Keele, the person sees a movement and stores model of the task in the brain. When a 100 meter athlete practices a skill, they will constantly compare the outcome and nature of the movement with the model. As with 100 meter sprinting further motor programmes can come together to form executive motor programmes. An example of such a motor programme in 100 meter sprinting is the skill of exploding out of the blocks.
Bibliography:
Internet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games
http://www.olympic.org/uk/passion/museum/permanent/coubertin/index_uk.asp
http://www.sportsofworld.com/olympics/athletics/men-100m.html
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/olympic-timing2.htm
http://healthfitness.com.au/articles/highperformancetraining/100_meters_sprint.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/athletics/skills/4249356.stm