Article appeared on independent.co.uk
Answered by: Professor Craig Williams, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter
Interview by Holly Williams
Speed limits
Researchers think 30mph could be the human limit. Most use the 100m to calculate how fast we can run. The current record for the 100m is 9.58 seconds, by Usain Bolt in 2009. That gives a speed of 23.3mph. But interestingly, during the 60-80m stretch of the race Bolt averaged a speed of 27.8mph.
However, as Neils Bohr, the distinguished physicist, said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future". Many commentators previously suggested under 10s was unbreakable; now Bolt's coach is aiming for 9.4s. The 100m record now held by a woman would have beaten the fastest male back in the Fifties.
