Pacific Standard March-April 2013 Cover

How Fast Is Usain Bolt?

Yesterday Usain Bolt won the Men’s 100-meter final in 9.63 seconds. He is faster than an elephant (but slightly slower than a housecat). He is the fastest man on two legs, and by some accounts is "the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen." But how does he stack up against other Olympic speedsters? Over at Engineering Sport, a blog of British engineers, Leon Foster tracked the average speeds of various individual Olympic sports. Bolt (23.4 mph) sits right in the middle of the pack; faster than freestyle swimmers (5.3 mph), rowers (11.36 mph) and triathletes (18.2 mph), but ... Read More