Interesting, to say the least. It makes sense on one hand, but then why do the typical overall results not mirror that pattern? Rarely do you see the inside to outside lanes go fast-to-slow. The implication is that reaction time has little to do with overall finish.
I could see the 200m being a bit different, where the starter is more toward the center of the pack on the turn, but the research addresses the straight laned races... Dan http://AbleDesign.com - Web Design & Custom Programming http://Run-Down.com - 10,000 Running Links, Fantasy T&F ------------------------------------------------------------ @ o Dan Kaplan - [EMAIL PROTECTED] <|\/ <^- ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) _/ \ \/\ (503)370-9969 phone/fax / / --- On Sat, 6/21/08, Roger Ruth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: Roger Ruth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: t-and-f: Lane Assignment and Reaction Time > To: t-and-f@lists.uoregon.edu > Date: Saturday, June 21, 2008, 4:13 AM > Today's edition of the Vancouver edition of Globe and > Mail includes an > article that's interesting, but without enough > information to know how > well-founded is that interest. > > It describes a study undertaken at the University of > Alberta in which > researchers examined reaction times for the 100m sprint and > 110m > hurdles at the 2004 Olympic Games and found that runners in > the lanes > closest to the starting pistol had significantly faster > reaction times > than those in lanes farther away. This effect was said to > be especially > strong for runners in lane one. > > Unfortunately, the dimension of this difference is not > given in this > report, so whether it would affect an individual's > measured time in > these events cannot be determined. The article says that a > report on > the research, by Dave Collins and Alex Brown, is published > in the June > issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. If > any of our > subscribers has access to this journal, perhaps she or he > can fill us > in on the over-all effect of this difference in reaction > times.
