Taking the gold: The cheetah wins the gold medal for fastest land animal sprinter. But other animals can fly and swim even faster, leaving humans way below bronze.
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Malene Thyssen
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At the 2008 summer Olympics, Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, broke two world records, earning the title "the world's fastest man." He sprinted 100 meters in 9.69 seconds and 200 meters in 19.30 seconds.
Bolt's top speed of 37.6 kilometers per hour (23.4 miles per hour) is impressive for us humble humans. But it's barely a jog for many animals. In a global competition, we would not even medal. N. C. Craig Sharp, of the Center for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at London's Brunel University, ranks some of the top-performing animals in a new review paper published online last month in Veterinary Record.
"Major sporting events such as the Olympic Games highlight extraordinary human athletic achievements, performed by the extreme physical outliers of our species," he wrote in the review. "However, there is a range of animal performance that goes far beyond these."
The classic footrace winner, sprinting at an astounding 104 kph (64 mph), is the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). But some of the other super-quick wild species might surprise you. And the fastest animals of all literally fly.
View a slide show of some of the fastest animals on land, in the sea and in the air
When it comes to endurance, though, we can go the distance. Samuel Wanjiru won the 2008 gold metal for the marathon, running the 42.2 km (26.2 miles) in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 32 seconds. (The current world record belongs to Patrick Makau Musyoki, who ran a 2011 marathon about three minutes faster.) And in uneven terrain, humans can beat horses over a 35.4-kilometer (22-mile) distance, Sharp noted.
Plenty of animals, from racehorses to dogs, have been bred to run fast—and in the case of huskies, long. But even the speediest thoroughbred horses and greyhounds have not run much faster than about 70 km per hour (43.5 miles per hour). Nature, on the other hand, has selected only an elite subset of animals to reach top speeds.
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7 Comments
Add CommentYou write that the peregrine falcon can dive at a speed up to 185 kph (115 mph) - in fact the falcon has been blitzed diving in excess of 300 kph (186 mph)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn August 2009, in Berlin, Usain Bolt ran 100m in 9.58 seconds, starting from rest. His AVERAGE speed calculates to 37.6 kilometers per hour, but his MAXIMUM speed has to be something greater than his average speed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAmong humans, East African blacks run faster than other races.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the name of God
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyes that's right i have read it once in Encyclopedia
And something i forgot to say:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis speed is just for the usual flying , once i have heard that when that bride (first one)falls or dives his speed goes until 300
In the 2012 London Olympics 400 meter relay, the winning Jamaican team averaged a speed of over 39 kilometers per hour. The second place US team averaged over 38.8 kph, equal to the previous world record set by Jamaica at the 2011 world championships.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe cheetah is the fastest land animal, achieving a top speed of about 70 mph. This incredible speed comes with a price, though -- a cheetah is a rather puny large cat. It's small and lightweight, usually less than 3 feet (1 meter) tall and about 4 feet (1.2 meters) long [source: Defenders of Wildlife].More than half of that length is the tail, which is crucial to maintaining control during a 70 mph chase. Cheetahs have adapted claws that are Liek cleats which help it get an extra boost. Cheetah's are literally built for speed. From their spine, which acts as a spring propelling the legs forward, to their large nostrils, allowing for easy breathing and air intake, nothing on a cheetah slows it down. Using Bolt has a lot of competition.
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