Why doesn't Usain Bolt run the 400m or more?

Question

Just curious

I'm not a athletics expert or anything.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Usain Bolt is only good as a short distance runner. He probably would lose because you have to set a pace. He goes 100% on the short distance.

Answer 3

he's a sprinter, shithead.

Answer 4

Well he might run the 400 one day.  When he was 16 he ran it in 45 seconds, so that plus his height gives him good potential  He doesn't really want to do it because it is such a hard race but he promised his coach he would run it in the next six years, and his coach says he could run as fast as 42.5.  If that's true, I cant wait.

Oh and check this out,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqJM9_uAN...  

Answer 5

The consensus of track and field athletes is that he is built for that event.  He doesn't want to run it yet however, but he says he might do it later in his career.  His coach wants him to do it.  Personally, I wanted him to try the 4 by 400 relays in Olympics.

Answer 6

He's geared for sprinting. His long legs and muscle make him better at short bursts of energy and not long, grueling events. His body is simply programmed for shorter races.

Answer 7

Good question! Athletes have both fast-twitch and slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch fibers help a person lift heavy weights or perform an activity with high speed. Carl Lewis has 80 percent of fast-twitch fibers for muscles that are used for sprinting and powerlifters have fast-twitch fibers for muscles related to squats and bench presses. Long distance runners have 80 percent slow-twitch fibers and these fibers prevent early lactic acid buildup for muslces used for long distance sprints. Most people have a mixture of both with less amount on all muscles of the body. It is further stated that not all muscles have the same fiber type and this is why some athletes excel at pushups and not ab crunches.

Lactic acid buildup is when an athlete feels a burn after a physical excercise or activity.

At Olympic Training Centers, excercise physiologists give an actual surgical procedure on athletes to test for muscle fibers by taking a sample of a certain athletes muscles. This procedure is painful and very expensive. That is why coaches prefer simple fitness tests.

Answer 8

He doesn't have enough endurance to go full speed for the whole race. True his legs are long which is ideal for long distances but he's trained to have his strides rollover very quickly resulting in many steps per second. This expends lots of energy best used for speed over short distances.

Answer 9

I heard bolt is going to train and run the 400m maybe in 2012 which may turn out to be his best event.  Anything longer than 400M and his sprint speed no longer matters, its more an endurance event.  

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/spor...