Trivia: How fast was he running in MPH? ______ Jamaican Powell sets men's 100m world record ATHENS (Reuters) - Jamaica's Asafa Powell set a new 100 meters world record Tuesday after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. On a warm summer's night on one of the fastest tracks in the world, the 22-year-old beat Tim Montgomery's previous record of 9.78 set in Paris in September 2002 to become the fastest man ever over the distance. Powell earlier this week had said he would take a shot at the record during the Athens super grand prix at the stadium which hosted Summer Olympics last year and where American Maurice Greene also set a new 100 meters mark in 1999. "This goes to show that the no one knows how fast a man can run," a smiling Powell told reporters. "I am just happy to have set the record on a track where Maurice Greene also broke the world record. "I knew I could break the world record and I am very happy that I succeeded." Asked whether he could run even faster, Powell smiled. "If you ask what I can do more this year, you will have to wait until the end of this year's season to see," he said. American Greene's mark of 9.79 seconds survived for three years until Montgomery beat it at the grand prix final in the French capital. "I congratulate him on the record but I was shocked he broke it so early in the season," Montgomery told his agent Charles Wells Tuesday. In front of a sparse crowd in the Greek capital Tuesday, Powell showed he was in fine form during his semi-final when he clocked 9.98 seconds despite easing up in the last few meters. In the final, he got off to a good start and powered past his opponents to finish three meters ahead of Aziz Zakari from Ghana, who was second in 9.99 seconds and Jamaican Michael Frater, who was third. The wind speed of plus 1.6 meters per second was within the legal limit. Tuesday's record made up in part for Powell's disappointment at finishing fifth in a 100 meters final he was favorite to win at last year's Olympics. He had already set the fastest two times over the distance this year at 9.84 and 9.85 seconds. link
Somehow, I view most new world records in track and field with a large dose of skepticism...especially when the short distances are concerned. Too often it turns out later that the athlete was full of drugs...
I read somewhere when Ben Johnson on steriods beat Carl Lewis he was running about 26 mph. Funny though cause if Ben Johnson ran that same time now he'd get smoked.
He's right. 9.77 seconds equals .0027138 hours. 100 meters equals .0621371 miles. .0621371/.0027138 = 22.896713 miles/hour
I thought so, I did it the extra long way though. 10m/.977s * 100cm/1m * 1in/2.54cm * 1ft/12in * 1mi/5280ft * 60s/1min * 60min/1hr = 22.9 (rounded of course)
LOL! No joke. I remember watching that race and thinking "WTH, the dude just ran something like a 9.8 and the last few meters he was popping his knuckles, doing the cabbage patch, posing for pics, adjusting his jock, looking over his shoulder, and giving Carl Lewis the finger!". If he hadn't raised his arms in victory, it was like he could've run a 9.7 flat, if not better. You knew that dude was on stuff...
As for how fast he was running trivia, I smell a debate about instantaneous velocity on the horizon... you guys are calculating average velocity. His max speed or max instantaneous speed along his trek was definitely higher than 22.9.
Agreed its basic physics. Obviously he didnt start at 22.9 mph and end kept goin at the same speed. He covered the last 10 meters a hell of a lot faster than he did the first 10. You cant take average velocity to tell that. You just have to clock him with an instrument to find out or come up with an equation that shows his acceleration, position, that kind of crap.
Looking for an absolute top speed not an average ~ 26 is close, but not fast enough. Michael Johnson ran somewhere around 22.9 mph when he broke the world record in the 200 meters. Bonus Trivia ~ what is the wind aided 100 meter world record and top speed? (it's unbelievably fast)
