Ben was a true sportsman with high style and persona, we could se his strategy to beat Carl the egoist. He was calm and composite.That 1988 Seoul race is in our memory, he will be always be No.1 for me no matter who played conspiracy and politics against this gentlemen.they will get their punisments.
You have the famous catapult start, the trademarked lateral first stride and the ankles not collapsing. Beautiful. For me, the best sprinter of all time.
He is definitely one of the best ever, especially when just considering his start mechanics. His reputation will always be tarnished though because of the PEDs..
I actually think the ban adds to his allure. After all just what were we all denied due to that needless suspension. I think a 9.5 or 9.4 was within his capabilities.
That's interesting. He definitely had a great start but didn't seem to have the top speed to get down into those times, at least from what I saw on his splits
Legendary Ben Johnson...Pure Power....Stretegy and techniques well executed....Hail from Jamaica where ever you are in the world Ben...You combine gift and will-power a magnificient race and still today and decades to come...
While training at York University (Toronto) indoor track in the winter of 1987 I had the unique experience of setting up in the blocks on the 60m track right beside Ben for a practice start. It was a random thing as all the sprinters... old, young, male, female just got in line and took one of the available 8 lanes. While he was in international celebrity at the time, Ben just lined up like everyone else in those days and hardly anyone paid any attention since he had been around that track on a daily basis for many years. When those hurtle slats were slapped together, his launch and acceleration, a couple of feet away from me, was simply breathtaking to witness.
@@dennisrobinson8008 so interesting you made that comparison, because I was recently thinking how both Ben Johnson and Mike Tyson are my two most favorite & most exciting athletes ever!
The main things predicated to his start are reaction time and strength. His foot placement was almost parallel in the blocks, he would literally jump out of the blocks, having wider hands allowed him to jump out at more of an acute angle. Which his incredible strength allowed for. His left hand would come up his body like an upright row with a flick at triple extension. Fabulous sprinter.
Ben's starts were so fast that they had to come up with the reaction time rule which is in place today... By far the best start of any sprinter I've ever seen when he gets the timing right....If you look at some of his earlier races, he would almost trip himself because he'd have both feet in the air and he'd catch a spike on the track.....
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Still my favorite 100m race to watch (Seoul, Korea 1988). I like to watch all the progressions in the elimination rounds to the finals. Great build up.
most of the field was on the juice he still deserves and apology from the entire sporting world for taking the fall for the entire sports community. His form is flawless. He is a missile
...he admitted to cheating for almost his entire pro career..and after testing positive for PEDs in Seoul.. actually ran again..and got popped again for Steroids.. lifelong cheater...Carl Lewis never tested positive for PEDs..tested positive for stimulants once (cold meds or caffeine in supplements) and served a short suspension.. Bye.
Johnson deserves exactly what he got as do every other cheater. If 8 guys cheat on their wife and one guy gets caught does that guy that got caught deserve an apology? Hell no.
@@ghostrider764 Every person on that line FAILED the doping test. ALL OF THEM. Most Olympic level athletes are on drugs. It's a fact whether you like it or not.
I watched that race live on TV in 1988. Perhaps the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen. I'm not a sprinter and don't know much about the topic. But one thing about Ben Johnson that I've noticed is that his hips, torso and upper body have very little up and down movement when he is at full sprint - it's only leg and arm movement with him. It seems quite unusual since his legs are rather short, and his stride is quite long for his height. So he maintains a very long stride while at the same time maintaining almost no up and down motion from the hips up. However to me his arm movement doesn't look very efficient. He tends to throw his arms out at an angle backwards. But who knows, maybe that arm motion is what maintains his hip stability. I would think all, or most of this is simply natural talent, rather than taught. He probably ran this way purely by instinct.
Yes, 6 of the 8 starters in the 1988 Seoul Olympics final, including Carl Lewis, are known to have committed drug violations. The other 2 were probably on them too, but were too clever to cover their tracks. So that makes the drug use irrelevant. The skill of these athletes is BY FAR the dominant factor. Ben won that race fair & square, so majestic to watch, in his phenomenal world-record time of 9.79
I remember watching this and it was stunning to watch him shoot like a rocket when the gun fired...one of the best scenes in Olympic history, roids or no roids..and I used to partake of the cheeba back than...imagine watching that when you’re high..
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You realize he was a 10.1 sprinter until the drugs. There have been high school runners faster than that. He was only on top 3 years even with the drugs. Even on drugs he was .2 slower than Bolt. GOAT my ass....
@@SDesWriter Ben's the GOAT fior sure - 6 of the 8 starters in 1988 Seoul Olympics final, including Carl Lewis, are known to have committed drug violations. The other 2 were probably on them too, but were too clever to cover their tracks. So that makes the drug use irrelevant. And the skill of these athletes is BY FAR the dominant factor. Ben won that race fair & square, so majestic to watch, in his phenomenal world-record time of 9.79
@@SDesWriter Bolt set his mark 21 years later. You don't think sports science has evolved over those two decades? Plus with Bolt's height, he had a massive stride length advantage over Ben Johnson
The guy on the end that also gets his feet down with Johnson is Robson Da Silva. He and Calvin Smith were the only two competitors in this race never linked to doping in any way. I know some will say Carl Lewis but Lewis tested positive prior to this race and it was overturned as “inadvertent”. That makes no sense because everyone is going to say that it was inadvertent.
Hay, man. Please do a breakdown on his start and/or the starts of the greatest starters. Especially his 1987 start in Rome at World Champs when he ran 9.83s. That's my favorite race.
Watch 9.79* documentary on youtube. It breaks down everything about this race including who else was taking performance enhancers but were never called to task. I love watching Ben race.
An International Olympic Committee (IOC) official told the CBC that endocrine profiles done at those games (1988) indicated that 80 percent of the track and field athletes tested showed evidence of long-term steroid use, although few were banned or had their medals stripped.
@@frankcoletta that was testing done in the 90’s on the same samples so they didn’t know that until a long time later. But yeah pretty much everyone in this race except Robson Da Silva and Calvin Smith were doping.
@@frankcoletta well, no. If we are going to retroactively give the medals where they belong then it should be Calvin Smith’s again (he won the gold in 1984) and Robson Da Silva the silver. In my opinion, anyway. Also, Ben Johnson ran out of his line multiple times anyway.
@@J.W1180 In that respect you're probably right that Calvin Smith should have been recognised as the winner - but I think Carl Lewis actually won in LA in 84 from his team-mate Sam Graddy and Ben actually finished third. Calvin was however the WR holder before Ben, if memory serves.
I believe this maybe true! Especially given the fact that during the last 10 years there are multiple ways to break new barriers, whether it’s better knowledge and training techniques, faster running tracks, faster technological sports shoes, more knowledge of sports science etc. If you asked a running coach in the 90's what they were doing, it was all based on form! But now what they figured out is that what makes these guys faster is how forcefully they can hit the ground in relation to their body weight. The science is clear: the top elite athletes are specialised to deliver the most force to the ground and that’s what makes them fast. But even now, (2019) we’re still in the formative phase and it hasn’t yet translated into broad practices in training. Ultimately, I see Usain Bolt's 9.58 100m record being tested and even broken in the near future. I also see that 9.3 record Ben Johnson predicted come to fruition. However, i look forward to seeing man run even faster than that; perhaps 9.2! In the modern era the incentives to go faster than ever before are huge! Ironically the incentives to use sophisticated Performance Enhancing Drugs are just as inviting.
I'm not so sure about that because he may of been caught with the steroids in his body his last shot could of been 2 weeks before the race! So the drug was actually leaving his body which the effects would not 100 % be there 👌I think he took them so close because of his hamstring tear.
Hamstrings, glutes, spinae erectors, upper back, abs especially obliques, lower traps, and rear delts are the muscles to strengthen and condition for speed and sprinters. Also vacuums to strengthen the inner core fascia/sheath. Hip flexors for upper leg drive. But remember, speed is developed best through actually sprinting regularly, not lifting heavier and heavier weights which just fucks up recovery from speed sessions. Unless you're on the juice on course, you can recover from weights sessions and sprint sessions forever more. If you're natural though, take into consideration your limited recovery reserves and remember the goal is to be fast, not awesomely strong.
Interesting, thanks for posting. I think I'll always have a soft spot for Johnson. Great technique, ahead of his time. You can see the others twisting and twirling down their lanes, but not Ben Johnson: bolt upright, powering down to gold. Amazing sprinter. Would love to know how fast he could have gone with another 20+ years of training knowledge and sports science to apply! Anyway, are there any current (or recent) sprinters who use the "two arm" technique off the gun? All the ones I see seem to throw one arm back.
I do not think there are any more two armed starters, that is a good point. I love Ben Johnson's technique too. So much greatness in it and as someone who is looking to consistently improve my own technique it makes it that much more impressive that was able to be consistently great.
Of course his arms go back when he starts, he used his massive shoulders to help his push-off using his hands in addition to his legs....Actually he pulled himself out of the blocks with his hands on the ground in front of him while his legs drove his center of gravity forward and underneath his upper body, which was why he got upright so quickly....The greatest starter of all time...!
even tho he transitions into max V off the bat, he's still using that torque and ER-IR as an adaptation to make his style of acceleration phase. IDK, do you know if he has bow legs that cause a greater varum of the knees?
The external rotation of one of Ben's hips was probably due to the fact that he had less mobility in one hip according to Charlie Francis. Ben's coach. Also. Lewis wasn't faster than Ben at top speed. There are splits from a bio-mechanics study by Charles University that shows that Johnson reached the same max velocity as Lewis (12 m/s). Also his outstanding mobility around the hips and shoulders was due to sports therapy from his exceptional therapist and Charlie. Ben's start was pretty much his own and I would caution trying to copy it. Also the guy squated 2 x 5 x 550lbs by accident in the run up to the Seoul 100m final.
They said he squatted a little over 600lb for a max, which the 550lbsx5 proves. So 3x bodyweight squat shows he has a high level of power and control. So since were talking... So my thoughts on this two footed start that Johnson used. So when the sprinter comes out of the blocks, the desired force is in a linear direction forward. I observed it's quite obvious he had more "velocity right out of the blocks". I'll explain why i think it's happening and probably true... So instead of that force being linear, lets take that force and turn it vertical. If one was applying that force vertically, a two footed leap vertically is going to be higher and with more force and power than a one footed leap, where you swing the rear leg for momentum. It's simply going to be more due to 2x greater force. So the two footed start simply replaced the first step of the start out of the blocks. Everything after that first step is "normal". Personally i think his arms should've powered forward with momentum instead of back like he did, and then into a proper 1st step to 2nd step drive. It's surprising the two footed start didn't become the standard....
@@dennisrobinson8008 Hmm Ben NEVER squatted his max with Charlie. Charlie said he didn't want to risk the family jewels with maximum attempts on the squat... So just like the story where Ben was supposed to have squatted just before the 100m final...it's not true.
@@mrnewmanhha8025 There is footage of 500x5 with a spotter. The gossip was his max was around 600 and that's believable seeing how he controlled 500lb.
Your comment that he throws both arms back is incorrect. His left arm and hand goes forward and above his head. His right arm and hand goes back behind his body
ben uses the enjoy-the-start idle grace-jones time to add an extra ferocious push forwards by putting down an extra kick immediately faster after the jump start... physics always makes sense.
I'm sorry, but I disagree with you on your initial comments regarding Ben's start in saying he "throws both arms back" during his initial push out of the blocks. That is incorrect. The left arm is in actuality raised slightly forward. It is bio-mechanically impossible to throw both backward as you say. Arms and legs move in opposition to each other as a natural movement in counterbalancing opposing torque's about the body's long (vertical) axis. If you watched other angles of Ben's start, you'll see that he pushes off with both feet simultaneously, although the left foot is the last to leave the block as it is the block most forward. What Ben did so well is to use a powerful shoulder shrug to help extend his body so that forces against the blocks were directed through his long axis, not in contraindicating directions. That gave Ben the biggest "boost" out of the blocks and allowed for his quick 1-2-3 staccato tempo of his feet that you note in your video.
K Francis with all due respect his left arm definitely goes back maybe even more than the right arm. Also, swimmers start with a staggered stance and swing both arms back so that may be where he got the idea from. Point being it is not biomechanically impossible.
He was moving his arms so fast that sometime he will fall on the floor... In regards to your comment, have a look at this picture below : www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
@@Performancelabofcalifornia In Richard Moore's book, there is a photo taken from behind the blocks that shows them getting out of the blocks. With Lewis, Christie, & Smith, you see only the heel of their shoes as they are pushing off with their left leg. Johnson tho, looks like he's hovering above the track because he's already launched himself out of the blocks. He was a phenomenal starter!
I assume you are trying to compare Ben's time to an American Football scouting 40 yd dash? They use a manual start with a laser finish which can affect their posted times by almost 0.5 seconds (because they are starting the stopwatch based on the movement of the runner) so it's not really comparable. i.e. Not including his start reaction of 0.132 seconds, Ben actually ran the first 30 metres in 3.67 seconds, and 50 meters in 5.37. I calculated they he passed 36.58 metres around 4.16 seconds. Best guess is that a football scout would have clocked his time in the 3.80 second range using their flawed partial electronic method.
Have a look at this picture : www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
Ben was simply the best. I don't want to hear about steroids. All of them in this field were on some performance enhancing drug! Especially cry baby Carl Lewis! Ben again!
Performance Lab of California Bro thank you so much for the Trindon Holliday breakdown, I really appreciate it. Can you please do a breakdown of Andre Cason? He is a forgotten sprinter that had incredible form & Sprint ability. Remember he was a world record holder in the 60m dash. Here is a very good video of his 60m world record with a few angles, th-cam.com/video/3iNtZNZwAxc/w-d-xo.html. Thank you once again in advance. th-cam.com/video/3iNtZNZwAxc/w-d-xo.html
God given talent and a whole lot of hard work and preperation. The work has to be put in to get the result. No one comes out of their moms womb running this fast or jumping 40 plus inches on the vertical.
Outside of the performance-enhancing drugs (which all but 2 of those runners were eventually popped for - including the classless, shameless hypocrite carl lewis), Ben Johnson did everything perfect. His technique was unique and in this race was a marvel of perfect execution.
Did he kill anyone? Did he sell drugs? Did he commit a crime so bad it warranted such disdain from the Sport? No!!! All he did was hurt the Americans and Carl Lewis. Ben, in my opinion, set the Athletics world alight in his time and paved the way for the rest. He's an absolute Legend in my books and do I miss such commentaries from the late David Coleman & Ron Pickering, UK sports commentators! Also as eluded I think 6 or 7 of those athletes were juicing up too and on drugs in the race! Carl Lewis had suspected samples but the Americans had such a pull in that Sport, his samples were let's just say, overlooked. Who hears Carl Lewis's name these days? Yet I still hear Ben Johnson's......... plus, even Linford Christie said Ben was the best he's ever seen!! Best 100m final everrrrrr!!
If anti-doping regulations had been strictly enforced, Calvin Smith would have left the 1988 Seoul Games as the Olympic 100 meters champion and world-record holder. Ben Johnson tested positive for the steroid stanozolol following his victory in a world-record 9.79 seconds in Seoul. Carl Lewis had failed 3 drugs tests for stimulants during the 1988 Olympic trials. Under the rules of the time he should have been banned from the Games but the results were covered up by the U.S. Olympic Committee after it accepted his plea that he had innocently taken a herbal supplement. Linford Christie failed a test for the stimulant pseudoephedrine after the final but was cleared on a split decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission when he argued that he had taken it inadvertently in ginseng tea. If Lewis had been banned from the Games and Christie disqualified, Smith would have been next in line for the gold medal and his world record would have stood once Johnson's times were scrubbed from the books.
Very true. West Africa has produced most of the best sprinters in the world and Jamaica brought over three times the number of West Africans to their small island nation as the US did.
@@jbilly24 Regardless of who was caught and who wasn't, athletes are not able to compete at that level without performance enhancement. It's well documented that the Americans were *cough* lax in their testing and we all know that 6 of the 8 sprinters in that race were eventually popped for performance-enhancing drugs. Devon Larratt, a world champion arm wrestler was trounced by a roided out Russian named Denis Cypenkov. When asked about Denis's over-the-top roided strength and size, he said (and I paraphrase) "so what, you do it then". In other words, you also need immense natural talent. Ben Johnson was the real deal and outside of Usain Bolt, the best sprinter ever.
Hi Morey, thank you for the fantastic breakdowns. I truly appreciate them. Can you please do a breakdown of Trendon Holliday 100m? I'm training a 5'6" sprinter with tremendous abilities & I need your help. I think Trendon would be a great example for him as well as Jeffery Demps & this video Ben Johnson. Here is a great video with different angles that you can use, Trendon Holliday 100m NCAA finals 2009 th-cam.com/video/icyrfI6Z8w0/w-d-xo.html One more thing, based on the video footage, it appears that Trendon ran about a 9.8 & not a 10.00 as the final time suggested. Tell me what you think? Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Breuckelensfinest
Ben is better than Carl at out the Blocks start and Quick Acceleration but Carl is Floating after 50m to the finish to past any sprinters because of his Long strides.
Both arms are not back!!! It only looks like that. His left arm is forward, however he does not bring it up in an arch motion which is not the most efficient and fastest way, he brings it up above his head in a straight line! Check again!!!!
Both elbows move back, have a look on this picture ! www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Nah, he gave up when he was 13 because he got Osgood-Schlaters. Could have been anything. Made state for all running events 70, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500. His best events were the 400 and 800. He ran a 61 second 400 at 11 years old as well.
Okay since a Cheetah does have 4 legs running at 4.9 seconds at 100m. You have to adjust this to an equivalent comparable time on two legs; the Cheetah take twice as long (2x4.9sec)=9.8 seconds. So now compare that to Ben's 100m time on 2 legs which was 9.79 seconds. BEN TECHNICALLY BEATS THE CHEETAH.. LOL
@@dennisrobinson8008 And using steroids allowed his muscles to recover quicker so he could do more lifting. BTW weightlifting alone does not produce quick twitch muscles needed for sprinting, but it does build muscle mass that can then be converted into quick twitch muscles, this is what Ben Johnson did with the aid of steroids.. Any way you look at it Ben Johnson was a cheater.
@@phoebus From nervous system improvements and muscle fibre conversion. You can get alot more stronger and more powerful without adding muscle. Adding muscle mass does not help beyond a certain point. Ben wasn't lifting to get "bigger" like a body builder. He's lifting for more muscular POWER and control. Gaining a little size is a by product, but trust me, they would keep excess size OFF by adjusting nutrition. Ben was a good size for a "power" sprinter. By the way, I'm going to add a comment. Usain bolt is seen to still be accelerating all the way to 72m and his top speed holds. Ben Johnson wouldn't have shown Usain bolt anything he hasn't seen before by 60m. Usain Bolt would've shown Ben that incredible and rediculous top end speed that ends the race between 60-80m from usain bolt. By the way, it's in my opinion that a majority of paid atheletes are on some sort of compounds. Like you said it helps with recovery so they can train harder and more often.
He was flying on drugs. This video is lame ! Nothing good about him , he Choose to cheat , lie and didn't admit till he got got. Nothing good about him..
For me, it was the biggest race of all time and Ben Johnson held the biggest sprint of all time. Pure wonder.
Sublime, the most beautiful thing I’ve seen as a Canadian. The most powerful sprinter in history
@@nm9xkthe biggest steroid taker in history ie Johnson was a cheat its clowns like Johnson who have totally destroyed athletics
Ben was a true sportsman with high style and persona, we could se his strategy to beat Carl the egoist. He was calm and composite.That 1988 Seoul race is in our memory, he will be always be No.1 for me no matter who played conspiracy and politics against this gentlemen.they will get their punisments.
His greatness will be appreciated someday
I think it is appreciated but it will always have an asterisk because of the PEDs
You have the famous catapult start, the trademarked lateral first stride and the ankles not collapsing. Beautiful. For me, the best sprinter of all time.
He is definitely one of the best ever, especially when just considering his start mechanics. His reputation will always be tarnished though because of the PEDs..
I actually think the ban adds to his allure. After all just what were we all denied due to that needless suspension. I think a 9.5 or 9.4 was within his capabilities.
That's interesting. He definitely had a great start but didn't seem to have the top speed to get down into those times, at least from what I saw on his splits
They were all taking juice and his time wasn't matched for like 10 years. Amazing sprinter! Greatest of his time.
Legendary Ben Johnson...Pure Power....Stretegy and techniques well executed....Hail from Jamaica where ever you are in the world Ben...You combine gift and will-power a magnificient race and still today and decades to come...
So true. Regardless of the PEDs, still have to put in work in order to be the best!
While training at York University (Toronto) indoor track in the winter of 1987 I had the unique experience of setting up in the blocks on the 60m track right beside Ben for a practice start. It was a random thing as all the sprinters... old, young, male, female just got in line and took one of the available 8 lanes. While he was in international celebrity at the time, Ben just lined up like everyone else in those days and hardly anyone paid any attention since he had been around that track on a daily basis for many years. When those hurtle slats were slapped together, his launch and acceleration, a couple of feet away from me, was simply breathtaking to witness.
It literally was an "explosion" out of the blocks, on par with Mike Tysons explosiveness.
@@dennisrobinson8008 so interesting you made that comparison, because I was recently thinking how both Ben Johnson and Mike Tyson are my two most favorite & most exciting athletes ever!
@@phadley78tube Micah Williams from University of Oregon has that same energy.
@@dennisrobinson8008 sounds interesting I'll check em out, thanks!
These elite sprinters look like a blur when they are accelerating haha
The main things predicated to his start are reaction time and strength. His foot placement was almost parallel in the blocks, he would literally jump out of the blocks, having wider hands allowed him to jump out at more of an acute angle. Which his incredible strength allowed for. His left hand would come up his body like an upright row with a flick at triple extension. Fabulous sprinter.
His start was something very unique and special for sure.
It was a beautiful form. The best sprinter, and he won that race.
Love his acceleration! 💯💪
Ben's starts were so fast that they had to come up with the reaction time rule which is in place today...
By far the best start of any sprinter I've ever seen when he gets the timing right....If you look at some of his earlier races, he would almost trip himself because he'd have both feet in the air and he'd catch a spike on the track.....
The best start and 100m race ever
One of the best to ever do it!
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Still my favorite 100m race to watch (Seoul, Korea 1988).
I like to watch all the progressions in the elimination rounds to the finals. Great build up.
Ben,Gun&Gold.
most of the field was on the juice he still deserves and apology from the entire sporting world for taking the fall for the entire sports community. His form is flawless. He is a missile
💯
...he admitted to cheating for almost his entire pro career..and after testing positive for PEDs in Seoul.. actually ran again..and got popped again for Steroids.. lifelong cheater...Carl Lewis never tested positive for PEDs..tested positive for stimulants once (cold meds or caffeine in supplements) and served a short suspension.. Bye.
“Everyone cheated in the test. So we should all keep our mark” .
You re an Idiot
Johnson deserves exactly what he got as do every other cheater. If 8 guys cheat on their wife and one guy gets caught does that guy that got caught deserve an apology? Hell no.
@@ghostrider764 Every person on that line FAILED the doping test. ALL OF THEM. Most Olympic level athletes are on drugs. It's a fact whether you like it or not.
I watched that race live on TV in 1988. Perhaps the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen.
I'm not a sprinter and don't know much about the topic. But one thing about Ben Johnson that I've noticed is that his hips, torso and upper body have very little up and down movement when he is at full sprint - it's only leg and arm movement with him. It seems quite unusual since his legs are rather short, and his stride is quite long for his height. So he maintains a very long stride while at the same time maintaining almost no up and down motion from the hips up.
However to me his arm movement doesn't look very efficient. He tends to throw his arms out at an angle backwards. But who knows, maybe that arm motion is what maintains his hip stability.
I would think all, or most of this is simply natural talent, rather than taught. He probably ran this way purely by instinct.
Years of coaching from one of the best sprint coaches of all time, Charlie Francis, combined with his natural gifts are why he ran this fast.
Shane Smith basically
His lower back, glute, and hamstring pull from that straight leg position is insane.
master cobra kapp
For how much muscle he had, the range of motion was still phenomenal.
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Absolutely, he has my favorite running technique, personally. very Clean IMHO.
Love the way this guy totally dismisses Ben's steroid use because he knows everyone then and now uses them.
Yes. PEDs just allows them to train harder and train more. Even junior, 16- 17 year old athletes are on juice.
Yes, 6 of the 8 starters in the 1988 Seoul Olympics final, including Carl Lewis, are known to have committed drug violations. The other 2 were probably on them too, but were too clever to cover their tracks. So that makes the drug use irrelevant. The skill of these athletes is BY FAR the dominant factor. Ben won that race fair & square, so majestic to watch, in his phenomenal world-record time of 9.79
I remember watching this and it was stunning to watch him shoot like a rocket when the gun fired...one of the best scenes in Olympic history, roids or no roids..and I used to partake of the cheeba back than...imagine watching that when you’re high..
Green Mile must have been great. I get excited watching that start now.
Performance Lab of California - It was something for sure..
power sprinter
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Greatest sprinter of all time. I also mimic his start in High School
I love it!
GOAT. Period.
You realize he was a 10.1 sprinter until the drugs. There have been high school runners faster than that. He was only on top 3 years even with the drugs. Even on drugs he was .2 slower than Bolt. GOAT my ass....
@@SDesWriter Ben's the GOAT fior sure - 6 of the 8 starters in 1988 Seoul Olympics final, including Carl Lewis, are known to have committed drug violations. The other 2 were probably on them too, but were too clever to cover their tracks. So that makes the drug use irrelevant. And the skill of these athletes is BY FAR the dominant factor. Ben won that race fair & square, so majestic to watch, in his phenomenal world-record time of 9.79
@@SDesWriter Bolt set his mark 21 years later. You don't think sports science has evolved over those two decades? Plus with Bolt's height, he had a massive stride length advantage over Ben Johnson
I love these breakdowns! ❤️
Thank you!
The guy on the end that also gets his feet down with Johnson is Robson Da Silva. He and Calvin Smith were the only two competitors in this race never linked to doping in any way. I know some will say Carl Lewis but Lewis tested positive prior to this race and it was overturned as “inadvertent”. That makes no sense because everyone is going to say that it was inadvertent.
Hay, man. Please do a breakdown on his start and/or the starts of the greatest starters. Especially his 1987 start in Rome at World Champs when he ran 9.83s. That's my favorite race.
Ruan Oosthuizen could you send me a link with great quality?
Ruan Oosthuizen that was his best start. His lead 0,5 second in was amazing. Sucks that he stumbled
@@отпирайте same thing I was thinking. No stumble, 9.79 before the 9.79 easily.
Watch 9.79* documentary on youtube. It breaks down everything about this race including who else was taking performance enhancers but were never called to task. I love watching Ben race.
An International Olympic Committee (IOC) official told the CBC that endocrine profiles done at those games (1988) indicated that 80 percent of the track and field athletes tested showed evidence of long-term steroid use, although few were banned or had their medals stripped.
@@frankcoletta that was testing done in the 90’s on the same samples so they didn’t know that until a long time later. But yeah pretty much everyone in this race except Robson Da Silva and Calvin Smith were doping.
@@J.W1180 Fair play - so also probably fair to say Ben Johnson should still have the gold medal in his keeping.
@@frankcoletta well, no. If we are going to retroactively give the medals where they belong then it should be Calvin Smith’s again (he won the gold in 1984) and Robson Da Silva the silver. In my opinion, anyway. Also, Ben Johnson ran out of his line multiple times anyway.
@@J.W1180 In that respect you're probably right that Calvin Smith should have been recognised as the winner - but I think Carl Lewis actually won in LA in 84 from his team-mate Sam Graddy and Ben actually finished third. Calvin was however the WR holder before Ben, if memory serves.
Ben Johnson says on today's faster track, shoes, training, [drugs] he could run a 9.3.
I believe this maybe true!
Especially given the fact that during the last 10 years there are multiple ways to break new barriers, whether it’s better knowledge and training techniques, faster running tracks, faster technological sports shoes, more knowledge of sports science etc.
If you asked a running coach in the 90's what they were doing, it was all based on form!
But now what they figured out is that what makes these guys faster is how forcefully they can hit the ground in relation to their body weight.
The science is clear: the top elite athletes are specialised to deliver the most force to the ground and that’s what makes them fast. But even now, (2019) we’re still in the formative phase and it hasn’t yet translated into broad practices in training.
Ultimately, I see Usain Bolt's 9.58 100m record being tested and even broken in the near future. I also see that 9.3 record Ben Johnson predicted come to fruition.
However, i look forward to seeing man run even faster than that; perhaps 9.2!
In the modern era the incentives to go faster than ever before are huge!
Ironically the incentives to use sophisticated Performance Enhancing Drugs are just as inviting.
Yeah it is going to get harder and harder for performance enhancing drugs to be found in athletes
More like 9.6
Performance Lab of California how do they hide them so good?
Performance Lab of California I thought drug tests caught everything?
The PEDs gave Johnson the endurance to _maintain_ the top speed, he always was a fast starter, so this is a good video.
Exactly, straight facts!
Thank you!!
I believe 90% of pro athletes use pads. So stop whining. Your fav just didn't get caught. Almost every pro I know was on peds
Ken Star Not true
I'm not so sure about that because he may of been caught with the steroids in his body his last shot could of been 2 weeks before the race! So the drug was actually leaving his body which the effects would not 100 % be there 👌I think he took them so close because of his hamstring tear.
Hamstrings, glutes, spinae erectors, upper back, abs especially obliques, lower traps, and rear delts are the muscles to strengthen and condition for speed and sprinters. Also vacuums to strengthen the inner core fascia/sheath. Hip flexors for upper leg drive. But remember, speed is developed best through actually sprinting regularly, not lifting heavier and heavier weights which just fucks up recovery from speed sessions. Unless you're on the juice on course, you can recover from weights sessions and sprint sessions forever more. If you're natural though, take into consideration your limited recovery reserves and remember the goal is to be fast, not awesomely strong.
The best ever.
Probably the best starter ever.
@@Performancelabofcaliforniaprobably the best steroid taker ever seriously Johnson was a total drugs cheat
I’ve practiced this start but I dive with both arms forward and stretch out as long as possible then start swinging my arms
What about the end of the race? Raising his arm before he finishes.
Great insight Dan
Great point, it might been a 9.72 without the arm raise and let up. To me he's the GOAT.
That was the race.
Interesting, thanks for posting. I think I'll always have a soft spot for Johnson. Great technique, ahead of his time. You can see the others twisting and twirling down their lanes, but not Ben Johnson: bolt upright, powering down to gold. Amazing sprinter. Would love to know how fast he could have gone with another 20+ years of training knowledge and sports science to apply! Anyway, are there any current (or recent) sprinters who use the "two arm" technique off the gun? All the ones I see seem to throw one arm back.
I do not think there are any more two armed starters, that is a good point. I love Ben Johnson's technique too. So much greatness in it and as someone who is looking to consistently improve my own technique it makes it that much more impressive that was able to be consistently great.
Of course his arms go back when he starts, he used his massive shoulders to help his push-off using his hands in addition to his legs....Actually he pulled himself out of the blocks with his hands on the ground in front of him while his legs drove his center of gravity forward and underneath his upper body, which was why he got upright so quickly....The greatest starter of all time...!
Definitely a fascinating start. Christian Coleman has an amazing start as well.
Diadore didn't pay off certain people like Adidas would do, which is why he was busted for drugs. Source Ben Johnson.
even tho he transitions into max V off the bat, he's still using that torque and ER-IR as an adaptation to make his style of acceleration phase. IDK, do you know if he has bow legs that cause a greater varum of the knees?
Nicholas Coen good question I do not know
The external rotation of one of Ben's hips was probably due to the fact that he had less mobility in one hip according to Charlie Francis. Ben's coach. Also. Lewis wasn't faster than Ben at top speed. There are splits from a bio-mechanics study by Charles University that shows that Johnson reached the same max velocity as Lewis (12 m/s). Also his outstanding mobility around the hips and shoulders was due to sports therapy from his exceptional therapist and Charlie. Ben's start was pretty much his own and I would caution trying to copy it. Also the guy squated 2 x 5 x 550lbs by accident in the run up to the Seoul 100m final.
Martey K Newman HHA thank you for your comment. Great information! You know your stuff 💪🏻💪🏻
Carl Lewis was doing 600lb, not sure of the reps.
They said he squatted a little over 600lb for a max, which the 550lbsx5 proves. So 3x bodyweight squat shows he has a high level of power and control. So since were talking... So my thoughts on this two footed start that Johnson used. So when the sprinter comes out of the blocks, the desired force is in a linear direction forward. I observed it's quite obvious he had more "velocity right out of the blocks". I'll explain why i think it's happening and probably true... So instead of that force being linear, lets take that force and turn it vertical. If one was applying that force vertically, a two footed leap vertically is going to be higher and with more force and power than a one footed leap, where you swing the rear leg for momentum. It's simply going to be more due to 2x greater force. So the two footed start simply replaced the first step of the start out of the blocks. Everything after that first step is "normal". Personally i think his arms should've powered forward with momentum instead of back like he did, and then into a proper 1st step to 2nd step drive. It's surprising the two footed start didn't become the standard....
@@dennisrobinson8008 Hmm Ben NEVER squatted his max with Charlie. Charlie said he didn't want to risk the family jewels with maximum attempts on the squat... So just like the story where Ben was supposed to have squatted just before the 100m final...it's not true.
@@mrnewmanhha8025 There is footage of 500x5 with a spotter. The gossip was his max was around 600 and that's believable seeing how he controlled 500lb.
Speaking of Johnsons, how about a speed breakdown or the numbers of Michael Johnson?
I will do this today and release soon. Thank you for request!
No need.
How about Jon Drummond's perfect smoothness?
Not in the same league. Not even remotely close!
Your comment that he throws both arms back is incorrect. His left arm and hand goes forward and above his head. His right arm and hand goes back behind his body
ben uses the enjoy-the-start idle grace-jones time to add an extra ferocious push forwards by putting down an extra kick immediately faster after the jump start... physics always makes sense.
I'm sorry, but I disagree with you on your initial comments regarding Ben's start in saying he "throws both arms back" during his initial push out of the blocks. That is incorrect. The left arm is in actuality raised slightly forward. It is bio-mechanically impossible to throw both backward as you say. Arms and legs move in opposition to each other as a natural movement in counterbalancing opposing torque's about the body's long (vertical) axis. If you watched other angles of Ben's start, you'll see that he pushes off with both feet simultaneously, although the left foot is the last to leave the block as it is the block most forward. What Ben did so well is to use a powerful shoulder shrug to help extend his body so that forces against the blocks were directed through his long axis, not in contraindicating directions. That gave Ben the biggest "boost" out of the blocks and allowed for his quick 1-2-3 staccato tempo of his feet that you note in your video.
K Francis with all due respect his left arm definitely goes back maybe even more than the right arm. Also, swimmers start with a staggered stance and swing both arms back so that may be where he got the idea from. Point being it is not biomechanically impossible.
He was moving his arms so fast that sometime he will fall on the floor... In regards to your comment, have a look at this picture below :
www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
They were all on the Juice of some description. Even Carl Lewis.
Woah he does go with both his arms back that's different
Check my comment above. Both arms aren't back!!!
Paul Burnett if anything he initially goes straight up with that opposite arm but he definitely does not go forward like a traditional start
@@Performancelabofcalifornia In Richard Moore's book, there is a photo taken from behind the blocks that shows them getting out of the blocks. With Lewis, Christie, & Smith, you see only the heel of their shoes as they are pushing off with their left leg. Johnson tho, looks like he's hovering above the track because he's already launched himself out of the blocks. He was a phenomenal starter!
With that start..what is his split at 40 Yards? Sub 4 seconds methinks
I assume you are trying to compare Ben's time to an American Football scouting 40 yd dash? They use a manual start with a laser finish which can affect their posted times by almost 0.5 seconds (because they are starting the stopwatch based on the movement of the runner) so it's not really comparable. i.e. Not including his start reaction of 0.132 seconds, Ben actually ran the first 30 metres in 3.67 seconds, and 50 meters in 5.37. I calculated they he passed 36.58 metres around 4.16 seconds. Best guess is that a football scout would have clocked his time in the 3.80 second range using their flawed partial electronic method.
@@screaminbabyjones excellent analysis I always thought that was sub 4
Christian Coleman has a similar running technique..
Definitely
Yes, but Coleman hasn't learned how to relax yet after 60m. He's holding himself back because of that.
Hos start got him a meter at the gun...read speed trap by his dead coach Charlie Francis. Its a great book
Ben lejos un velocista unico!!!!
Best is Ben.EVER...
He doesn't throw both arms back. The left arm is well ahead of his body.
Have a look at this picture : www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
Ben was simply the best. I don't want to hear about steroids. All of them in this field were on some performance enhancing drug! Especially cry baby Carl Lewis! Ben again!
Yeah do Micheal Johnson what’s the science of his upright running style? And low knee drive
I run jus like Michael Johnson
Will do. Thank you for request
The Performance Lab of California no problem
Performance Lab of California Bro thank you so much for the Trindon Holliday breakdown, I really appreciate it. Can you please do a breakdown of Andre Cason? He is a forgotten sprinter that had incredible form & Sprint ability. Remember he was a world record holder in the 60m dash. Here is a very good video of his 60m world record with a few angles, th-cam.com/video/3iNtZNZwAxc/w-d-xo.html. Thank you once again in advance. th-cam.com/video/3iNtZNZwAxc/w-d-xo.html
Johnsons thing was conservation of energy
asafa powell 9.72
The number behind the 100 (Christian Coleman)
The reason he got off to a great head start is because he was stronger than everybody else...I wonder why?
@Marten Dekker I believe you completely.
At which point in the race do they reach top speed? Like halfway through?
It is different for everyone but generally around 60m
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Thanks!
Drugs alone cannot do it!! It takes. God given talent I wish they would cut it out!!
God given talent and a whole lot of hard work and preperation. The work has to be put in to get the result. No one comes out of their moms womb running this fast or jumping 40 plus inches on the vertical.
Ben having the best sprinter body shape muscle... incredible
today he would run 9.6 he would give bolt a run for his money id say a tie
Real Tan I would pay to see that race...
@@greenmile4233 Bolt would dominate in the last 40m. Johnson wouldn't show bolt anything by 60m that Bolt hasn't seen before.
Outside of the performance-enhancing drugs (which all but 2 of those runners were eventually popped for - including the classless, shameless hypocrite carl lewis), Ben Johnson did everything perfect. His technique was unique and in this race was a marvel of perfect execution.
Did he kill anyone? Did he sell drugs? Did he commit a crime so bad it warranted such disdain from the Sport?
No!!!
All he did was hurt the Americans and Carl Lewis.
Ben, in my opinion, set the Athletics world alight in his time and paved the way for the rest. He's an absolute Legend in my books and do I miss such commentaries from the late David Coleman & Ron Pickering, UK sports commentators!
Also as eluded I think 6 or 7 of those athletes were juicing up too and on drugs in the race! Carl Lewis had suspected samples but the Americans had such a pull in that Sport, his samples were let's just say, overlooked.
Who hears Carl Lewis's name these days? Yet I still hear Ben Johnson's......... plus, even Linford Christie said Ben was the best he's ever seen!!
Best 100m final everrrrrr!!
If anti-doping regulations had been strictly enforced, Calvin Smith would have left the 1988 Seoul Games as the Olympic 100 meters champion and world-record holder.
Ben Johnson tested positive for the steroid stanozolol following his victory in a world-record 9.79 seconds in Seoul.
Carl Lewis had failed 3 drugs tests for stimulants during the 1988 Olympic trials. Under the rules of the time he should have been banned from the Games but the results were covered up by the U.S. Olympic Committee after it accepted his plea that he had innocently taken a herbal supplement.
Linford Christie failed a test for the stimulant pseudoephedrine after the final but was cleared on a split decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission when he argued that he had taken it inadvertently in ginseng tea.
If Lewis had been banned from the Games and Christie disqualified, Smith would have been next in line for the gold medal and his world record would have stood once Johnson's times were scrubbed from the books.
.. and?
If I was Ben I would have had a helicopter 2 yds after winning post … run straight into it … straight to the depths of the Amazon jungle - ❤❤
What do u meanfoot doesn't break down mean being stiff the ankle
A little bit tarnished? Thank you for not being particular!
Lane 1 has a similar technique with his hands
Ben's johnson was bouncing around lol
He's Jamaican don't forget that.
Likewise Christie, Bailey and list goes on and on
Very true. West Africa has produced most of the best sprinters in the world and Jamaica brought over three times the number of West Africans to their small island nation as the US did.
Imagine thinking a single elite mens 100m competitor since then is even in the ballpark of clean...
More great stuff Moury (*spelling?)
Thank you!!!
David Madras appreciate it David and it’s Morey. 👍🏻
So doping is ok??
Never!
@@Performancelabofcalifornia then why are you celebrating it?
@@jbilly24 Regardless of who was caught and who wasn't, athletes are not able to compete at that level without performance enhancement. It's well documented that the Americans were *cough* lax in their testing and we all know that 6 of the 8 sprinters in that race were eventually popped for performance-enhancing drugs. Devon Larratt, a world champion arm wrestler was trounced by a roided out Russian named Denis Cypenkov. When asked about Denis's over-the-top roided strength and size, he said (and I paraphrase) "so what, you do it then". In other words, you also need immense natural talent. Ben Johnson was the real deal and outside of Usain Bolt, the best sprinter ever.
Hi Morey, thank you for the fantastic breakdowns. I truly appreciate them. Can you please do a breakdown of Trendon Holliday 100m? I'm training a 5'6" sprinter with tremendous abilities & I need your help. I think Trendon would be a great example for him as well as Jeffery Demps & this video Ben Johnson. Here is a great video with different angles that you can use, Trendon Holliday 100m NCAA finals 2009 th-cam.com/video/icyrfI6Z8w0/w-d-xo.html
One more thing, based on the video footage, it appears that Trendon ran about a 9.8 & not a 10.00 as the final time suggested. Tell me what you think? Thank you in advance.
Sincerely, Breuckelensfinest
BreuckelensFinest sorry for delay but I will check it out
Our roided guy beat your roided guy! ~ Bill Burr
He bended the rules of running this is hax
Ben is better than Carl at out the Blocks start and Quick Acceleration but Carl is Floating after 50m to the finish to past any sprinters because of his Long strides.
Both arms are not back!!! It only looks like that. His left arm is forward, however he does not bring it up in an arch motion which is not the most efficient and fastest way, he brings it up above his head in a straight line! Check again!!!!
Paul Burnett they are, at least sometimes were. There are pics of that
Both elbows move back, have a look on this picture ! www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualit%C3%A9/canadian-sprinter-ben-johnson-at-the-start-of-the-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/81872586
I could take twice the roids he did but I'd never crack 11 seconds.
Haha I believe in you!
@@Performancelabofcalifornia OK, my son ran 13 seconds when he was 11 ... must have got it from his mother's side.
Matthew Vicendese that’s pretty good! Is he still running track?
@@Performancelabofcalifornia Nah, he gave up when he was 13 because he got Osgood-Schlaters. Could have been anything. Made state for all running events 70, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500. His best events were the 400 and 800. He ran a 61 second 400 at 11 years old as well.
@@matthewvicendese1896 Wow that is excellent! He should have kept running we would be able to fix his Osgood-Schlaters
Buy throwing both arms back he is literally falling on his face if his feet can’t keep up
P Good yeah and that’s why he has great acceleration
He's "jumping" out of the blocks with TWO feet. All the other sprinters use a one foot starting approach to apply force out of the blocks.
Cheetahs run about 4.9 100m in the wild and don't cheat.
Liam G they’re also a different species dumbass
Okay since a Cheetah does have 4 legs running at 4.9 seconds at 100m. You have to adjust this to an equivalent comparable time on two legs; the Cheetah take twice as long (2x4.9sec)=9.8 seconds. So now compare that to Ben's 100m time on 2 legs which was 9.79 seconds. BEN TECHNICALLY BEATS THE CHEETAH.. LOL
“A little bit tarnished” 😂😂😂😂🤦🏾♂️
Steroids or not, Ben was built different.
Yes even with steroids gotta put in the work.
@@Performancelabofcalifornia exactly, if anything steroids allow you to put in more work
Walter dix
Thank you for the recommendation Mr Fox
Bro Ben has been using Test and Winstrol since 1981.
every elite sprinter was on juice. please make that clear. you can't be in this field without juice. period
First
He looked more agressive in the blocks and his competitors appeared not to be in a good position.
Idc if he juiced lol he still fast 😂
Yes Ben Johnson was a very good advertisement for what steroids could do.
his use of weight training was more than they did at the time
@@dennisrobinson8008 And using steroids allowed his muscles to recover quicker so he could do more lifting. BTW weightlifting alone does not produce quick twitch muscles needed for sprinting, but it does build muscle mass that can then be converted into quick twitch muscles, this is what Ben Johnson did with the aid of steroids.. Any way you look at it Ben Johnson was a cheater.
@@phoebus they weren't lifting for muscle. They were building power.
@@dennisrobinson8008 Just where do you think the power to run cones from if not from muscle?
@@phoebus From nervous system improvements and muscle fibre conversion. You can get alot more stronger and more powerful without adding muscle. Adding muscle mass does not help beyond a certain point. Ben wasn't lifting to get "bigger" like a body builder. He's lifting for more muscular POWER and control. Gaining a little size is a by product, but trust me, they would keep excess size OFF by adjusting nutrition. Ben was a good size for a "power" sprinter. By the way, I'm going to add a comment. Usain bolt is seen to still be accelerating all the way to 72m and his top speed holds. Ben Johnson wouldn't have shown Usain bolt anything he hasn't seen before by 60m. Usain Bolt would've shown Ben that incredible and rediculous top end speed that ends the race between 60-80m from usain bolt. By the way, it's in my opinion that a majority of paid atheletes are on some sort of compounds. Like you said it helps with recovery so they can train harder and more often.
EVERY GUY IN THAT RACE WAS JUICED...ESPECIALLY LEWIS
What a weird channel. The guy was doping. He was a cheat. And yet this guy still admires him?
His technique is very admirable. Not the cheating.
World best Runner : Ben Johnson .....whtr he took the drug or not , he is thousand time better than lewis .......
He was flying on drugs.
This video is lame !
Nothing good about him , he
Choose to cheat , lie and didn't admit till he got got.
Nothing good about him..
I thought there was some interesting parts of his start