The key to running fast? SYMMETRICAL knees: Sprinters with even legs use less energy and cover distances more quickly

  • Researchers measured the knees of 74 elite Jamaican sprinters
  • Runners with symmetrical knees had the quickest times over 100 metres
  • This was because it is the only race which requires running straight
  • While runners who had to make corners in longer races had uneven knees
  • Previous research revealed the symmetry of children's knees at age eight predicts how fast a person runs 14 years later in life
  • Symmetry is said to make movement easier and saves energy

Jamaican sprinters excel at the sport because of their symmetrical knees. 

Research has discovered that runners with the most even knees have the quickest track times over 100 metres, because it is the only race which requires running in a straight line.

While runners who had to make corners in longer races were found to have more uneven knees. 

Gold medalists (L-R) Nickel Ashmeade, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Usain Bolt and Nesta Carter of Jamaica pose after the competes in the Men's 4x100 metres final  during Day Nine of the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow 2013 at Luzhniki Stadium on August 18, 2013 in Moscow, Russia.  (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Jamaican sprinters (gold medalists Nickel Ashmeade, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Usain Bolt and Nesta Carter pictured) excel at the sport because of their symmetrical knees. Research has found that runners with the most even knees have the quickest track times over 100 metres

'You can easily imagine why,' explained evolutionary biologist and professor of anthropology and biology Robert Trivers of Rutgers University.

'If you watch someone running a 100-metre race, you can see his or her knees continually churning up and down, propelling the sprinter forward.

SYMMETRICAL FACES ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE

Research from the University of New Mexico recently found that symmetrical human faces are more beautiful to the opposite sex. 

Women partnered with men who have symmetrical bodies have more orgasms, for example. 

And women with symmetrical breasts are more fertile than those with less even breasts. 

The trend is also spotted in nature, where bees are attracted to symmetrical flowers because they typically produce more nectar.

'Symmetry is very efficient.'

The study explored why Jamaica is home to so many of the world's elite sprinters - runners who compete in the 100, 200, 400 and 800-metre races.

Previous research noticed that the symmetry of children's knees at age eight can be used to predict how fast a person runs 14 years later in life.

For the more recent study, researchers measured the knees of 74 elite Jamaican sprinters from the MVP Track and Field Club.

This included Jamaican Olympic 100-metre champion, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Nesta Carter, the man with the fifth fastest 100-metre runs ever recorded.

A control group included 116 non-sprinting Jamaicans of the same age, sex, size and weight.

They found the 30 sprinters who specialised in the 100-metre race had knees that were much more symmetrical, according to the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Researchers  measured the knees of 74 elite Jamaican sprinters (Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pictured). A control group included 116 non-sprinting Jamaicans of the same age, sex, size and weight. They found the 30 sprinters who specialised in the 100-metre race had knees that were much more symmetrical

Researchers measured the knees of 74 elite Jamaican sprinters (Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pictured). A control group included 116 non-sprinting Jamaicans of the same age, sex, size and weight. They found the 30 sprinters who specialised in the 100-metre race had knees that were much more symmetrical

ProfessorTrivers said: 'So far as we know, this is the first time anyone has isolated a variable that predicts sprinting speed in the future as well as among the very best adult sprinters now.'

Symmetrical individuals not only tend to be stronger, healthier and better-looking, but symmetry also makes movement easier and saves energy.

While this study establishes a relationship between knee symmetry and running speed in elite sprinters, it does not establish a causal relationship.

Professor Trivers concluded: 'We don't know for sure whether the sprinters are great sprinters because their knees are symmetrical, or whether their knees are symmetrical because of all the time they spend practicing.'

Future studies will compare the differences in the strength of sprinters' right and left legs, to see whether the symmetry between them changes over time.

 

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