# Do 200m sprinters go flat-knack from the very start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724 "2000-09-19T14:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MadHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MadHatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadHatter)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/1 "2000-09-19T14:51:15Z")
I am talking about running here, not swimming. Do they go all out no holding back like in the 100? Or do they go 85-90 at the start so they have just little bit left to bring it on home? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/2 "2000-09-19T15:34:02Z")
If they want to win, they go all out from the word Go. When I did track meets (over 15 years ago), I did. But what do I know? I used to go all out in a mile. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/3 "2000-09-19T16:42:15Z")
The better sprinters are the ones who can go all out (100%) for the entire race, yet still find a little extra from somewhere (110%) for the end. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/4 "2000-09-19T17:35:44Z")
I’m pretty sure that elite runners go all out in the 100, 200, and 400. A friend of mine who ran track at UCLA said that people in the 800 pretty much went all out for both laps. She told me that running the 800 was very painful. In the 400, runners speak of “the bear” which supposedly jumps on your back when you hit about 300 meters. That last 100 is pretty much hell. ---
**Author:** ![Grendel69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7bcc69/32.png) [@Grendel69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grendel69)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/5 "2000-09-19T20:33:42Z")
BobT gave the best synopsis. 100, 200, 400 are usually all out, but the 800 is by far the most difficult event to run. Milers and up have to worry about pacing. 100, 200, 400 is pretty much all out. The 800 though is for freaks. People who don’t have the speed for 100, 200, 400 and are too muscular for mile and on up. It is a bitch to run and you get a lot of different types of runners in the event. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/6 "2000-09-19T20:49:39Z")
Last Olympics, Mike Johnson became the fastest man on earth as a result of the _200_ meter dash, at 19.32 s. His time over the course produced a higher average speed than that of the 100M world record holder. Heck, it’s even faster than Ben Johnson’s earth-shattering (and disqualified) 100M time of 9.79 s (2 x 9.79 = 19.58 s). If you accept such a comparison, that is… ---
**Author:** ![BrothaTJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@BrothaTJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrothaTJ)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-200m-sprinters-go-flat-knack-from-the-very-start/33724/7 "2000-09-21T03:15:14Z")
Sofa King, you’re comparing apples and oranges. I believe it was NBC who tried to organize a 150m showdown after the '96 Olympics between Johnson (the 200m winner) and the 100m winner (Donovan Bailey of Canada if I recall correctly.) I forget if they ever held the event…but I’m pretty sure they did and Johnson pulled up lame midway through the race, some say because he was going to be easily beaten. The whole concept of the race was thoroughly ridiculed by sports writers. The idea of a 150m showdown started because of an ignorant comment made by Bob Costas at the Olympics: He stated the formula you used Sofa King. What he failed to take into account was that Michael Johnson had a flying start for that 2nd 100m. He essentially ran two 100m’s if you want to split it up; the first 100m was a convential starting block start like Bailey’s, but Johnson was moving at 25+mph at the start of his second 100. Therefore one can’t just split Johnson’s 200 up into 2 100’s.