The World’s Fastest Family

“New levels, new devils,” he said.

Others his age have had better results. Christian Coleman, a college rival who is 18 months younger than Burrell, won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019. Cameron did not make that national team.

“I told him he has to take any concerns he has about making the Olympic team off the table,” Lewis said. “I said, ‘If you run the time you have already run, you have made it.’”

Sprinting 100 meters seems like it should be the simplest event in sports, an all-out burst. It isn’t.

“It’s about managing speeding up and slowing down for 90 meters,” Lewis said. “Every off-season your body forgets how to do it, and then it takes some races to get back into the rhythm.”

Elite sprinters do not reach top speed until about the 50 meter mark, and they can only stay at top speed for 10 meters or so. The margin for error is minuscule. Fractions of a second make the difference between triumph and 11th place.

Leroy Burrell said there are a handful of things his son could do slightly better, even 1 or 2 percent better, to become that consistent performer who runs under 10 seconds in every race. He needs more confidence in his start and to better maintain his stride length and frequency through the finish. He needs to balance his weaker left side with his stronger right. He could relax and enjoy the pursuit of his dream a little more, too, his father said, though the sports actuarial tables say he is just about to reach his athletic prime.

“He could have done anything he wanted, and he chose to run,” Leroy said of his son. “He’s got to really go get it this year.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/sports/track-olympics-postponed-burrell.html