Usain Bolt branded 'pathetic' by boffin
Thu 27/05/2010 10:30
The accomplishments of Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt have been branded “pathetic” by a leading professor, at least when compared to other mammals, spikesmag.com reports.
In fact,
Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at
Harvard University believes
our long distance running achievements as illustrated by world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie are far more impressive.
“The maximum sprinting speed of Bolt is around ten-metres-per-second which is well below the maximum galloping speed of most mammals,” Lieberman told The Times. “Bolt would be beaten by any dog or even a squirrel. A lion could go twice as fast for much longer.
We suck. The truth is, as sprinters, man is pathetic.”
Lieberman in his paper, the Evolution of Marathon Running, was much more complimentary of the top distance runners who hit a pace of six metres per second for 26.1 miles.
He says over longer distances man could outrun all mammals even horses. This he says is because of man’s ability to keep cool. Most mammals slow down because they rely on panting as a cooling mechanism and this affects breathing.
Lieberman says humans are ‘specialised sweaters’ meaning we can get rid of heat via a high density of sweat glands.