Usain Bolt Wins 100M Race in New Puma Spikes — And Experts Theorize Why He’s Fastest in the World
Charlie Carballo
Executive Digital Director
Usain Bolt triumphed over the competition on Friday after reaching a qualifying time of 10.07 seconds in the first of three competitions at the World Athletics Championships in London.
While clad in his new shiny new Puma cleats, the athlete claimed victory in the 100 meter heat and advances to the next round today ahead of the final race on Aug. 12.
Indeed, the Olympic gold medalist is still “forever fastest” — a phrase emblazoned across the sportswear brand’s spikes.
Bolt’s Legacy shoes feature an aerodynamic upper designed in gold on the left foot — where “Forever” is marked around the arch — and purple on the other foot, where the arch shows “Fastest.”
Check out my new evoSpeed Legacy Spikes! Available on a limited basis at my official store, check it out at https://t.co/oh4rCO5hzz pic.twitter.com/Xtb4L0yDKr
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 4, 2017
On Tuesday the 31-year-old teased the kicks on Twitter ahead of an announcement on Friday morning.
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“Check out my new evoSpeed Legacy Spikes! Available on a limited basis at my official store,” Bolt tweeted.
Last year Bolt debuted his e-store, which includes apparel, performance footwear, accessories and on-trend fashion by Puma. The label also has a portal featuring Bolt Collection apparel.
Bolt is the fastest sprinter in the world — breaking historical records in 2009 with 9.58 seconds in 100 meters and 19.19 in 200 meters.
And according to an ongoing study that began last June, experts in the biomechanics of sprinting at Southern Methodist University shared some early findings with New York Times on how Bolt might be able to achieve the feat with an anomaly that bewilders some researchers.
Bolt runs with an asymmetrical stride — his right leg is a half-inch shorter than his left.
“Our working idea is that he’s probably optimized his speed, and that asymmetry reflects that,” said Peter Weyand, director of the SMU lab. “In other words, correcting his asymmetry would not speed him up and might even slow him down. If he were to run symmetrically, it could be an unnatural gait for him.”
