Sprint Analysis for Sha'Carri Richardson

Published on 01/01/2024

The Sparkdit application was used to analyze the strength and weaknesses of athletes. The application in its current stage focuses on the mechanics of sprinting. It does not emphasize the sprinter's psychological aspects.

Criteria Taken Into Consideration:

 Category Criteria Description
 Start1.Start Technique Evaluate the athlete's starting position, including the stance, set position, initial force applied to blocks and first strides.
 2.Reaction to Gun Consider the athlete's reaction time to the starting gun. A quick and precise reaction can provide an advantage.
 3.Block Clearance

Assess how efficiently the athlete exits the starting blocks. Proper technique ensures a smooth transition into the sprint.

 4.Start Mechanics Observe the sprinter's posture, arm movement, and overall form off the blocks including force applied to block, landing of first stride, knee motion, changing angle of body.
Acceleration1.Acceleration Technique Assess how well the athlete transitions from the start into the acceleration phase. This involves the first 10-30 meters, where the sprinter aims to reach maximum velocity.
 2.Acceleration Mechanics Examine the angles of the athlete's body during the acceleration phase, focusing on the position of the torso and the angle of the shin.
Top Speed 1.Stride Length Look at the length of each stride. A balance between stride length and frequency is crucial for optimal performance.
  2.Stride Frequency Analyze how quickly the athlete turns over their strides. A higher stride frequency is generally associated with top sprinters
  3.Running Mechanics

Observe the sprinter's posture, arm movement, and overall running form. Efficient mechanics contribute to speed and reduce the risk of injury.

 

4.Top Speed Maintenance 

Evaluate how well the athlete maintains top speed during the latter part of the race. This involves sustaining optimal stride length and frequency.

 Finish1.Deceleration Phase Note any signs of early fatigue or a decline in speed towards the end of the race. Athletes should aim to minimize deceleration.
  2.Finish Line Speed through the finish line should be optimized. The analysis will measure the effect of a lean on the finish line or when running through the finish line on acceleration and speed.

Analysis


The AI analysis using the Sparkdit application shows that in order to outperform the other athletes in the study, Richardson would need to work on two aspects of her race: (i) the Start  (in particular her lack of consistency as reflected by a high standard deviation) and (ii) the Acceleration Phase (0 -30m). 

In the other phases of the race Sha'Carri Richardson was in a league by herself. Her top speed, her ability to maintain the top speed, her stride length (resulting from her running form) as well as her frequency (number of strides per second) as well as her finish have no parallel. 

Recommendations

In order to suggest improvements video clips were analyzed using Sparkdit Unsupervised Machine Learning model to identify a cluster of athlete with similar running techniques. While the cluster of athlete with similar running styles was relatively small, it contained some very prestigious names, including Jesse Owens.

A close comparison between Jesse Owens start and Sha'Carri Richardson, pointed to a quick difference that has been for the past decades banned by coaches. Yet, it may be exactly what Sha'Carri Richardson needs to improve her start: LOOKING UP (INSTEAD OF DOWN) WHEN IN THE STARTING BLOCKS AT THE SET POSITION. In other words raise your chin up when in the starting blocks, a la Jesse Owens.

This practice has been frowned upon by most coaches for many decades. It is believed that the reason for that is a predominent push towards a style of running that is more forward leaning than athletes like Sha'Carri Richardson or Jesse Owens. It is clear, when analyzing their running style, form and technique, that they share a highly similar running style that is based on a more vertical, lighter (It does not mean they do not push as hard, they just seem to barely touch the ground) and more fluent sprint. They reach their top speed  when running vertically (i.e. not leaning forward) this is where they optimize their landing foot strike, which maximizes their stride length and allows them to maximize their stride frequency. The combination of these effects yields a supperior top velocity. They also have an uncanny ability to maintain the top speed through the finish line and thus do not need to rely on finsh lean to make up for the decelration process. This explains why Sha'Carri runs the 100m launched in an exceptional 9.65. 

As a result, the recommendation is to start the 100m in her blocks by looking up like Jesse Owens. It serves several benefits:

  1. Allow the athlete who naturally reaches their top speed more vertically, to get the vertical position faster.
  2. Provide a visual focus on the finish line.
  3. Shave between 0.15. and 0.28 seconds off the100m time per the Sparkdit Machine Learning model.

More interestingly these recommendations will not yield the same results to other current sprinters as most tend to lean their torso forward and have a different running form.

Conclusion

Given that the cost of practicing the new start with the head looking up is a matter of 2 to 3 weeks of practice. It may be worth experimenting and checking if the new style makes a difference. The pottential benefits of lowring Sha'Carri Richardson's time by 0.15 - 0.28 second in the 100m are significant to warrant the expetiment.