New research suggests there is no universal blueprint for sprinting success.
An international team of researchers is questioning long-standing assumptions about what gives elite sprinters their extraordinary speed. Their findings offer new insight that could influence how Australia trains and develops future track stars.
The study, published in Sports Medicine, approaches sprinting from a dynamical systems perspective. Rather than attributing success to a single ideal running style, the researchers argue that top performance arises from the interaction between an athlete’s body, surroundings, and training background.
Led by Flinders University in partnership with ALTIS, Johannes Gutenberg University, and Nord University, the project explores how coordination, muscular strength, limb structure, and other physical traits work together during high-speed running. This combination of factors helps explain why elite sprinters often look very different from one another at full velocity.
Dr. Dylan Hicks, a movement scientist at Flinders’ College of Education, Psychology and Social Work and the study’s lead author, says the results challenge the long-accepted belief that coaches should guide every athlete toward a single technical blueprint.
“For decades, sprint coaching has often been based on the belief that all athletes should move in one prescribed way,” says Dr. Hicks.
“But our research shows that sprinting is far more complex. The best athletes in the world don’t all run the same. What they share is not one technique but the ability to organize their bodies efficiently under pressure, and that looks different for every sprinter.”
Individual Profiles and Elite Speed
One example discussed in the paper is rising Australian sprint standout Gout Gout, who is recognized for his long stride, explosive power, and advanced neuromuscular control.
Although he is frequently compared to Usain Bolt, the researchers stress that Gout’s performance is rooted in his own distinct physical and mechanical makeup rather than in copying another champion’s style.
“Gout Gout shows how individual characteristics can shape world‑class speed in different ways,” says Dr. Hicks.
“His longer limbs, elastic qualities, and remarkable coordination blend to produce the step patterns we see when he’s at full flight.
“You can’t coach another athlete to simply copy that. What you can do is understand the principles behind his coordination and create the right conditions for each athlete to find their own most effective version.”
The study explains that a sprinter’s form does not remain constant throughout a race. Running mechanics naturally evolve as an athlete builds speed, hits top velocity, and begins to tire. These adjustments are not signs of technical failure. Instead, they are expected and essential features of high-speed sprinting.
The researchers also challenge the long-held belief that movement variability should be eliminated. What some coaches have viewed as inconsistency is described in the paper as a crucial factor in long-term development. Small variations in movement help athletes adapt to changing demands and refine their performance.
This perspective carries important implications for coaching methods. Rather than emphasizing repetitive drills designed to lock athletes into a single pattern, the authors recommend designing practice settings that allow sprinters to experiment with different movement strategies.
Coaches can guide this process by modifying task constraints, such as changing hurdle spacing, adjusting running surfaces, or altering rhythm. These targeted changes encourage athletes to self-organize and gradually develop more efficient sprinting mechanics.
Implications for Australian Sprinting
“Great coaching is not about enforcing one template, it’s more about guiding an athlete to discover how their own body produces speed,” says Dr. Hicks.
“When we give athletes opportunities to problem‑solve through movement, we open the door to more resilient and adaptable sprint performance.”
The authors believe this approach could help identify and develop future Australian sprint talent by better recognising how individual athletes move, rather than filtering them against an outdated checklist of technical shapes.
Dr. Hicks says the findings also help explain why Australia has recently produced a wave of exciting young sprinters, including Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout.
“When an athlete is supported to move in a way that suits their structure, their strength profile, and their natural rhythm, performance accelerates.
“We’re seeing what’s possible when individuality is embraced, not coached out,” he concludes.
The research team hopes their work sparks broader discussion within coaching circles and provides a more modern, evidence‑based foundation for helping Australian sprinters reach the world stage.
Reference: “Sprint Running Coordination: A Dynamical Systems Perspective” by Dylan S. Hicks, Stuart McMillan, Wolfgang Schöllhorn and Roland van den Tillaar, 13 January 2026, Sports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-025-02380-6
Funding: Nord University
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1 Comment
very good