In the 300 meters the 31 second barrier is a difficult test that separates the extraordinary from the ordinary. Leslie tobogo broke the world record and introduced a level of precision and Mastery never seen before adding a new chapter to the story of speed and excellence.
Until 2024 the very icons of the sport were part of the select group of athletes who had broken through this barrier, athletes have used a daring race plan for the long Sprint for more than a century which is what Karsten Warholm confirmed in an interview.
Although it doesn't sound all that sensible this technique has been proven to work over the years, it entails starting the race very fast and then hoping not to pass out from tiredness before crossing the finish line.
A strong proponent of this strategy Wayde van Niekerk utilized it to break world records in the 400 and 300 meters, nevertheless Letsile tebogo has provided an engaging substitute for this antiquated method by starting the race at a steady pace and spreading his effort equally.
His split time in the first 150 meters emphasizes how crucial it is to pace yourself precisely and evenly, as they say it's not how fast you run but how you run fast. Despite falling behind early on his fluid acceleration allowed him to save a large amount of energy for the second half which he then used to easily outperform every member of the elite club.
Letsile Tebogo's running style in the 300 meters is comparable to that of Michael Johnson's pace plan, while Johnson advocates for an aggressive start in long sprints he never used this approach himself instead he started extremely calmly and gradually increased his speed to save energy for the final kick.
The idea is to run a very controlled first 200 meters, "this is the plan that you always follow I always try to run as controlled as possible for the first 200 meters and that will keep me strong for the last 200 meters" Michael Johnson said.
Johnson's personal best in the 200 meters was 19.32 seconds and he never finished the first half of a 400 meters race quicker than 21.2 seconds. "All I'm doing is attempting to be as casual as possible". Letsile Tebogo is a strong competitor in the 400 meters because he has surpassed the greatest quarter milers ofall time in the 300 meters.
He could even try to beat the 400 meters world record if he adopted Michael Johnson's Pace strategy throughout the race. Tebogo had the chance to try that plan in the 2024 Athletics Grand Prix which was held in South Africa a month after his outstanding 300 meter run, Tebogo was prepared for something extraordinary to happen, expectations were high according to athletic South Africa.
On race day he started off like a madman gaining ground on his Rivals quickly, he completed the first 200 m in 20.6 seconds which was incredibly fast and confirmed that he intended to run a very fast time however, after showing such a daring disregard for pacing he casually completed the second half of the race in 23.7 seconds hiding any signs of discomfort he may have experienced that day.
He tweeted that great things never come from being comfortable indicating that the race was more difficult than the Spectators may have thought however, running stupid fast is more than just venturing beyond your comfort zone it's an extremely risky formula for disaster and injury.
With his special mix of strength and speed tobogo could easily finish the race in under 44 seconds, to break 44 seconds he only needed to run the first 200 meters very conservatively aiming for about 21.9 seconds. Interestingly enough, Wade van nerk ran both halves in under 22 seconds breaking 44 seconds for the first time in his career please share your opinions in the comments box below.
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