Why the world record for 200m is less than double the world record of 100m??

Question

men's world record for 200m :19.32s

men's world record for 100m :9.72 s

It is weird that the world record of 200m is less than double of the 100m record.Is that means if the person who created the record for 200m can also break the 100m record i he participate for 100m event??if not,why??

Answer 1

     It takes a certain amount of time to accelerate from a standing start. Part of this is the time from the sound of the gun until athlete are allowed to leave the starting block; any earlier than that is classified as a false start. The result is that the best times in 200 meter races are slightly faster than twice the 100 meter race.

     The endurance for running 200 meters is different from running 100 meters, though not by much. They are both short races, run by sprinters. The winner of either race is certainly able to compete in the other, but might not win the other. Competition is extremely close and specialized at world class levels.

Answer 2

because at the begginning you lose 2 or 3 seconds in accelaration, but in the 200m the "second 100 m" you dont lose those few seconds because you are already going top speed

Answer 3

In the 100m, you have to accelerate from a standing start, costing you time. You also have to accelerate from a standing start in the 200m, costing you time in the "first 100", but you begin the "second 100" at near top speed, giving you an advantage. For Michael Johnson, who has that 19.32, the advantage he gained in the "second 100" was slightly greater than the time he lost from having to start the "first 100."

In fact, if you look at 4x100m split times, the legs that start at top speed (2nd, 3rd, 4th) are in the low 9's, which would ALL be world records by far. I'm guessing Michael Johnson's splits for his world record 200m time were something like 10.20, 9.12.

Johnson would certainly have made a good 100m runner, but as it turns out, he was an even better 400m runner, currently holding the world record in that distance as well.

Answer 4

Athough they run less in the 100m, their speed increases over time the more they run (like acceleratin of a car). So put it like this ( 9.72s in the 1st 100m and the 2nd 100m they will take less time than 9.72s.

hope this helps =)