Have you ever watched the Olympics and wondered what is the most-watched event? The 400 meter? The long jump? The 200 meters? No, the marquee event is the 100-meter men’s final.
In Rio’s Olympic 100-meter finals, nearly 35 million people tuned in to watch who would be crowned as the fastest man alive. However, throughout the Olympics, there is a recurring pattern. All the men that make it to the men’s 100m final come from African descent. Su Bingtian, however, broke this pattern in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics men’s 100-meter finals.
First, we must go back to where it all started; Athens.
The first ever modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece during the Summer of 1896. 15 athletes from eight nations competed for the gold. The man who won it all was Thomas Burke, with an Olympic record of 12 seconds. Now, 12 seconds is a time barrier most high schoolers can break. So why were the times during the first Olympics much slower compared to the present day?
The most evident period disadvantage was the lack of equipment like starting blocks and or proper track shoes. Moreover, technique was underdeveloped when compared to present training and coaching presently. In turn, the lack of development can be attributed to the there were no scientists/physicians who understood the key muscles to improve times as sprinting just became an Olympic sport. Also, the timing had lots of room for error as everything was hand-timed compared to the present day which uses the most sophisticated machines to track the times to the millisecond.
Now that we have traveled back in time to understand the first men’s 100m Olympics, something is missing. Among all the participants, not one of them was Asian.
Takayoshi Yoshioka would to change that.
The first Asian man to make it on the grand stage of the men’s 100m final was Takayoshi Yoshioka. Yoshioka made it to the men’s final in the 1932 Olympics, just 36 years after the first Olympics. In his final, he placed 6th a monumental moment for Asian athletes. The track star began to pave the way for Asian athletes and demonstrated that Asians can compete at such high levels.
89 years later the second Asian man qualified for the men’s 100m final, Su Bingtian of China. In the semis, Bingtian ran a blistering 9.83 wind-legal time and won his heat, instantly putting him in the finals. Although he performed well in the semis, he fell short in the finals getting 6th place with a time of 9.98. Although he did not win a medal, he made a name for himself as he became the 13th fastest man in the world (now 15th).
Bingtian has a true underdog story standing 5 feet and 8 inches tall, 5 inches shorter than the average elite sprinter. Even more so, at 32 years old, Bingtian ran his 9.83 when the peak age for male track performance is ages 25-27. However, he fought and defied each adversity with immense determination and belief. Currently, Bingtian teaches at a university in China while preparing for the 2024 France Olympics–where he will be 35.
Will he make it to the finals again? Science says no, but the human mind says differently.
In the 100m race, there are multiple phases: start, accelerate, transition, and top-end speed. The start is when sprinters are pushing off of their blocks. Block starts are crucial for elite sprinters because every millisecond counts, but for most sprinters a mediocre start but an excellent top-end speed could secure them first. Second, is the acceleration phase when sprinters are trying to explode out of their blocks and apply as much force as they can behind their center of mass. Thirdly is the transition phase when sprinters are transitioning their body from the acceleration phase to their top-end speed phase.
The top-end speed phase ends the race. This is when runners are up tall and attempting to maintain their speed for as long as possible. The most important phase is arguably this final one, as it is a majority of the race. Usually, athletes with longer legs and shorter torso can reach a much higher top-end speed because they can take longer strides. However, this is just one key component that differentiates athletes with longer legs from shorter legs. They must also have high stride frequency, strength, and a high degree of type 2 muscle fibers (fast-twitch muscle fibers). If they can get a high stride frequency, then they can reach a higher top-end speed by covering more ground quicker.
What accounts for the lack of East and Southeast Asian athletes competing in the men’s 100-meter finals?Most East and Southeast Asians have shorter legs and longer torsos. So they can accelerate much faster because it takes less time for their legs to move. They are shorter, however, they reach their top-end speed much quicker while those with longer legs. In turn, Asians find the 100m particularly difficult since they must sustain their highest speed for a longer period of time, whereas individuals with longer legs can typically achieve their top speed later in the race and retain it for a longer period of time and achieved in a shorter amount of time.
There are many other great sprinters beyond Su Bingtian, such as Xie Zhenye who set the Asian record for 200 meters with a time of 19.88 and is the only other Chinese who has broken the 10-second barrier. Puripol Boonson was only 17 when he ran a wind-legal 10.06 breaking his country’s record for the 100 meters.
Don’t sleep on Asia, they have a bright future to make a big impact on the big stage.
