A new study suggests humans could one day run at speeds of up to 40mph - more than 10 miles faster than the world's fastest runner Usain Bolt.Researchers investigating the factors that limit human speed found that the top speed humans are capable of may be determined by how quickly muscles in the body can move.
Previous studies have suggested the main hindrance to speed is that limbs can only take a certain amount of force.
Humans could be capable of running up to 40mph, 12 miles faster than the world's fastest man Usain Bolt
But according to new research, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, human limbs can handle a lot more force than what is applied during top-speed running.
Scientists used a high-speed treadmill capable of attaining speeds greater than 40 miles per hour which could record precise measurements of the forces applied to the surface with each footfall.
They also had subjects’ perform at high speeds in different gaits.
The researchers found that the ground forces applied while hopping on one leg at top speed exceeded those applied during top-speed forward running by 30 per cent or more, and that the forces generated by the active muscles within the limb were roughly 1.5 to 2 times greater in the one-legged hopping gait by the subjects.
Athletes such as Jesse Owens have amazed sports fans for the speeds they can reach, but new research suggests humans are capable of running much faster. Owens reached 21.7mph at the Berlin Olympics in 1936
They said the new work showed that running speed limits are set by the contractile speed limits of the muscle fibers themselves, with fiber contractile speeds setting the limit on how quickly the runner's limb can apply force to the running surface.
'Our simple projections indicate that muscle contractile speeds that would allow for maximal or near- maximal forces would permit running speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour and conceivably faster,' co-researcher Matthew Bundle of University of Wyoming said.
The paper, titled 'The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up,' was inspired by Bolt's record-setting performances.
Bolt holds the world record time of 9.58 seconds for the 100m sprint, which he secured at the World Championships in Berlin last year.
And U.S athlete Jesse Owens equalled the world record at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by running the 100m in 10.3 seconds, a time which was not bettered for 20 years. This equated to 21.7mph.
The record has slowly advanced since it was first set by American Donald Lippincott, who recorded a time of 10.6 seconds in 1912.
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