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January 25, 2013
Q. Sixty years ago, running a four-minute mile was thought to be impossible, though today's record stands at 3:43:13, and John Brenkus in his book “The Perfection Point” says we can do it even faster. When the athletic cognoscenti — those wise guys — start talking about human peak performances in the 100-meter dash, longest golf drive and highest basketball dunk, what might they say?
A. The current record for the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds, but getting off the block within 100 milliseconds could push this to 8.99 seconds, says Mario Aguilar in Wired magazine. In 2009, Usain Bolt sustained a blistering 27 mph for a 9.58-second finish. Next, “factor in a 3.7 percent physiological improvement, plus better environmental conditions, and the 9-second barrier could fall.”
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