Wimbledon 2015: fastest serve 235
kmph.
Fastest cricket ball 161 kmph
Fastest badminton smash 493 kmph
U Bolt 37 kmph. 100m/9.58s
So, how do these players create such high
speeds?
What is actually going on?
Let's
examine racquet sports first. Tennis & Badminton.
The
ball/shuttle is more or less stationary at start. And then it reaches speeds of
235 to 493 kmph!
For any
object to change speed, it needs a source of power. And in sports, the only
sources of power are the player and the racquet/equipment.
The
power to get the ball/shuttle to move at such high speeds is generated by a
combination of the following:
1. Body
movement: If the ball/shuttle is too close to or too far from your body, you
cannot generate enough power as you miss out the power that can be generated by a full swing. Also, the power is not only from the arms. The
swivelling of the hips & feet movement in tennis or the alignment &
rotation of the rest of the body in badminton adds to the power.
2. Arm
movement: The arm has to move in line with the direction of the shot and hit
the ball/shuttle in the right direction so as not to waste any power.
3.
Racquets: Lower string tension and larger head size improves the power. In
tennis, where there are different racquet sizes, smaller head sizes improve
control.
4.
Timing: Hitting the ball/shuttle ahead of the body and with the racquet face as
perpendicular as possible to the final trajectory of the ball increases power.
Let's
take cricket next.
How does
fast bowlers bowl at 150-160 kmph?
1.
Run-up: This creates the basic momentum required for bowling fast.
2.
Bowling action: A smooth bowling action reduces wastage of energy and maximises
pace. The movement of the front arm is as important as the bowling arm. A
combination of the shoulder/arm strength as well as movement of the body
creates pace.
3. Wrist
action: The wrist is snapped at the time of release to add further pace.
How does
Usain Bolt run so fast?
1.
Take-off: Bolt has an explosive strength that is much higher than his competitors.
So, he gets greater lift each time his foot hits the ground.
2. Stride
length: At 6'5", he is not only taller but his strides are much longer. In
his world-record setting run in 2009, he took 41 steps while his closest
competitors took 44. (Read full
article here)
3.
Air-drag: Funnily, the air resistance should be slowing him down as he runs
upright - unlike other athletes. But like the Bumblebee (that is not supposed to fly as per the known laws of physics), he does not seem to be
aware of the laws of physics and goes ahead and runs faster than anyone else anyway!
How fast can you run? :)
