Scientific research has revealed that human beings could one day sprint up to 40mph, some 12mph faster than the top speed attained by current world 100m record holder Usain Bolt, spikesmag.com reports.
The study titled, ‘The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up' investigated thefactors which limit the potential of human speed.
Results from running backwards and forwards on a treadmill showed the period of foot contact was identical. However, hopping on one leg revealed the forces of foot – ground contact exceeds those applied during top speed running, by almost 30mph.
The boffins concluded that being able to exceed the foot-ground contact of top speed running on one leg, suggests that humans are capable of applying more pressure on one leg than two.
The scientists found: ‘Our simple projections indicate that muscle contractile speeds that would allow for maximal or near-maximal forces would permit running speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour and conceivably faster’.
Even after these findings, however, humans would still be considerably slower than the world’s fastest land mammal – the cheetah – which can reach speeds of up 70mph.