Skip navigation

Northumbria experts help unveil the secrets of Jamaican sprinting success

23rd December 2014

RESEARCHERS have discovered that symmetrical knees are the secret behind Jamaica’s sporting prowess.

Jamaica has produced some of the world’s fastest athletes – including record-breaker Usain Bolt – so academics from Northumbria University joined a team of experts to investigate the small nation’s sporting success.

Their findings reveal that the symmetry of the knees and the ankles can impact on a person’s running speed. It suggests the more symmetrical the knees, the faster a person will run.

UK academics Kris McCarty, a research fellow in the Northumbria’s department of Psychology, and Mark Russell, a senior lecturer in the Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation department, were part of a team of experts who travelled to the Caribbean island this year to carry out the research.

Kris said: “We specifically wanted to look into the success of Jamaican elite sprinters – the best of the best – because the country has so many record holders for sprint events.

“We flew to Jamaica in March where we took measurements from an elite track and field team in Kingston, as well as from a large sample of everyday Jamaicans.

“The findings show us there is a relationship between knee symmetry and running speed, although it is not known at this stage if the sprinters are great because their knees are symmetrical, or if their knees are symmetrical because of the time spent practicing and training.”

The team measured the knees of 74 elite athletes as well as doing the same with a control group of 116 non-sprinting Jamaicans of the same age and sex, and similar in size and weight. They discovered that the sprinters’ knees were much more symmetrical than the knees of people in the control group.

The participating sprinters were all members of the MVP Track and Field Club, and included Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, who holds two Olympic gold medals in the 100-metre sprint, and Nesta Carter, the man with the fifth-fastest 100-metre record.

Thirty of those sprinters who specialise in the 100-metre race, which does not require runners to turn, were found to have the most symmetrical knees of all.  

Although scientists can already predict how fast a non-trained person will run when they are older, by looking at the symmetry of the knees in childhood, this is the first time any research has isolated a variable that predicts sprinting speed in current athletes.

The research was funded and led by Professor Robert Trivers, an award-winning American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist, and co-authors working alongside Northumbria University’s experts include included Bernhard Fink, University of Gottingen, Germany; Brian Palaestis, Wagner College, New York; and Bruce James, MVP Track and Field Club, Jamaica.

comments powered by Disqus
a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

academic Jennifer Aston pictured in a law library holding an open book
Launch of The Regeneration Shop in Chopwell. Sarah Cotton, Senior Programmes Manager at Chopwell Regeneration Group; Jennine Wilson, Lecturer in Fashion and Senior Technician at Northumbria University; Hal Convery, Shop Manager at The Regeneration Shop; Crystal Hicks, Executive Director of Chopwell Regeneration Group; Gayle Cantrell, Assistant Professor BA Fashion Communication at Northumbria University; Sophie Wetherell, Assistant Professor BA Fashion / MA Fashion Design at Northumbria University; Emma Jane Goldsmith Assistant Professor BA Fashion / MA Fashion Design at Northumbria University; Professor Anne Peirson-Smith, Head of Fashion at Northumbria University.
Mooting
A new toolkit has been developed to support rural communities with the development of renewable energy projects. Photo: Adobe Stock
From left to right: Natalie Winchester, Subject Lead Health and Social Care and Post-16 Raising Standard Leader at Bede Academy, Dr Julie Derbyshire – Director of Apprenticeships and Assistant Professor in Nursing at Northumbria University, Andrew Thelwell – Principal at Bede Academy, Professor Alison Machin, Head of Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University and pupils from Bede Academy.
British Military Uniform
the planet Saturn
an image depicting cyber security

Back to top