Bben Johnson's Start

Dammit, I hate it when I make a typo in the title.

He literally sprang out of the blocks like a kangaroo, and was off and blasting. If only....

Ben's start was possible only because of his extreme strength/power (as we know, not natural), and some very astute technical work with Charlie Francis.

Apparently, Ben went into the weight room in Japan (training camp 2 weeks before Seoul), and blew the minds of the East German coaches with some of his lifts.

turku wrote:

Ben's start was possible only because of his extreme strength/power (as we know, not natural), and some very astute technical work with Charlie Francis.

Apparently, Ben went into the weight room in Japan (training camp 2 weeks before Seoul), and blew the minds of the East German coaches with some of his lifts.

It's gotta be a little sketchy going into the weight room a couple weeks before the Olympics and lifting massive weights. Even pro lifters get rips and tears. Though they would have probably just given him a cortizone shot and stuck a finger sized 'roid pill up his bum like the race horse he was.

Just found this and remembered what a punk Mo Green was:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfmtOmmH7OE&feature=related

Acting like he's in high school. I'd love to see Rupp pull that fire extinguisher on the shoes trick if he wins the 10K at trials in front of the home crowd.

Agreed - the point would be they weren't even massive lifts for Ben, just for everybody else. As I heard the story, they weren't max. single lifts, more like 3-4 quick reps. of significant poundage, probably just enough to eff. up the minds of any who heard the story.

I read somewhere that Ben put the pedals of the blocks close together, not lead leg/back leg positioning that most sprinters do. He then pushed off hard with both feet equally.

IMA BUFF wrote:

I read somewhere that Ben put the pedals of the blocks close together, not lead leg/back leg positioning that most sprinters do. He then pushed off hard with both feet equally.

That would be difficult to do as natural gait requires one leg to be moving forward. Pushing hard off both feet equally and simultaneously would land you flat on your face. Not good.

Not necessarily if you could project your self UP with enough power to start striding.

If Ben Johnson's urine didn't get sabotaged, he would've run 9.6x on a fast track with no rounds and not letting up like he did in '88. still the best sprinter ever in the steroid era with one of the best coaches ever.

Running Dogg wrote:

IMA BUFF wrote:

I read somewhere that Ben put the pedals of the blocks close together, not lead leg/back leg positioning that most sprinters do. He then pushed off hard with both feet equally.

That would be difficult to do as natural gait requires one leg to be moving forward. Pushing hard off both feet equally and simultaneously would land you flat on your face. Not good.

Yes, very difficult to do. But Ben was (artificially) strong enough to do it. He was able to propel himself upward with the strength of both legs rather than just the front leg push. I found this quote online:

"There are exceptions to this "dominant leg" rule. Some people choose to have their foot pedals perfectly even or just slightly separated... an aggressive style that Ben Johnson used to get such a great start back in the 80's. This technique really forces you to use both legs with an equal amount of force. Different strokes for different folks. Like I encourage in every article, you need to find what works best for you as an individual athlete."

I tried it, and could not do it. Incredibly hard!

6 of those 8 finalists in '88 were subsequently busted. Johnson was/is in good company.

His start was amazing - transitioning from a leap to a run.

Making fun of ebonics is not funny. It is racist!

Even in a strider like Carl Lewis there is still a proportion of double leg push. He just shifts to single earlier than Ben. Ben is about the latest i've seen. You can see it quite clearly from the front on shot of him in Rome when he also mis-steps on his second stride out and moves a bit sideways.

Ben is the best roids or not and Charlie Francis was pretty amazing.