What Happens to Sprint Acceleration As We Get Older?
Watch a good sprinter accelerate and it looks deceptively simple. They push hard, project themselves down the track and progressively rise as speed builds. But producing that acceleration requires something that becomes increasingly important as we get older: the ability to produce a lot of force, produce it quickly, and direct enough of it in the right direction.
A study by Pantoja and colleagues looked specifically at sprint acceleration mechanics in Masters athletes. Rather than simply confirming something we already know — older sprinters tend to run more slowly — the researchers examined why acceleration changes with age. And that distinction matters, because if we understand what is changing, we have a much better idea of what we should be trying to preserve in training.
One of the clearest findings was a progressive reduction in the mechanical capabilities underpinning acceleration. Measures of force, velocity and maximal power all declined with age. The effectiveness with which athletes applied force during the initial part of acceleration also declined.
In other words, the problem wasn't simply that older athletes moved their legs more slowly. Their capacity to put large amounts of force into the ground and use that force to propel themselves forwards was changing as well.
Acceleration isn't just about producing force. It is about producing force quickly and in a way that moves you down the track.
There were other changes we would probably expect to see in older sprinters: shorter steps, longer ground-contact times and reductions in lower-body strength and power. Hip-extensor function is particularly relevant because of its contribution to producing the forces required during acceleration.
None of this means the solution is simply to tell a Masters sprinter to "push harder". Nor should we try to manufacture particular acceleration positions because they look like those of an elite 22-year-old sprinter.
The positions we see during acceleration are partly a consequence of what the athlete is physically capable of producing. If an athlete has lost some ability to produce and rapidly express force, telling them to drive lower or create a particular shin angle doesn't necessarily address the underlying problem.
This is where strength and conditioning becomes particularly important. For a Masters sprinter, maintaining strength isn't just about being strong in the gym. We want to maintain the physical qualities that allow the athlete to generate high forces when sprinting — and to produce those forces quickly.
Relatively heavy strength work can therefore remain important. Squats and their variations, deadlift and hinge variations, split-stance exercises and other lower-body strength exercises can help maintain the force-producing qualities that underpin acceleration.
Maxximal strength, however, is only part of the equation. A heavy squat or deadlift demonstrates an ability to produce force under one set of conditions. Sprinting requires substantial force to be expressed in a very short period of time. That is why power training also matters. Jumps, bounds, Olympic-lifting derivatives and appropriately programmed loaded jumps can provide different ways of developing the athlete's ability to express force rapidly. For the Masters athlete, maintaining these qualities becomes increasingly important rather than increasingly optional.
Starts, short accelerations and appropriately used resisted sprinting expose the athlete to the specific positions, forces and timings of acceleration. Strength and power training help develop the physical qualities that make those actions possible.
Neither replaces the other.
There was another finding in the study that is worth noting. While the effectiveness of force application at the beginning of acceleration declined with age, the rate at which that effectiveness changed as the sprint progressed appeared to be relatively well preserved.
That matters because it reminds us that ageing does not affect every quality in the same way.
The better coaching question is therefore not simply, “How old is this athlete?” but:
What is actually limiting their acceleration? For one athlete it might be maximal strength. For another, explosive power. Another may be strong enough but struggle to project effectively from the start.
That is why Masters training should not just be a reduced version of a younger athlete’s program. The goal is still to develop strength, power and sprint speed, but the balance between them — and the amount of training the athlete can recover from — may be different.
For Masters sprinters, maintaining the ability to produce force, express it quickly and apply it effectively remains central to acceleration performance.
Ref: Pantoja, P. D., Saez de Villarreal, E., Brisswalter, J., Peyré-Tartaruga, L. A., & Morin, J. (2016). Sprint Acceleration Mechanics in Masters Athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(12), 2469–2476.
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