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Sprint starts and the minimum auditory reaction time.

Matthew T G Pain1, Angela Hibbs

  • 1School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK. m.t.g.pain@lboro.ac.uk

Journal of Sports Sciences
|November 28, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Athletes can react faster than the 100 ms rule for sprint starts. This study found simple auditory reaction times under 100 ms, challenging current athletics regulations.

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Area of Science:

  • Sports Science
  • Human Physiology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • The 100 ms auditory reaction time is the standard for sprint false start detection.
  • Evidence suggests simple auditory reaction times can be less than 100 ms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if athletes' simple auditory reaction times are consistently above 100 ms during sprint starts.
  • To measure reaction times and electromyography (EMG) latencies in elite athletes.

Main Methods:

  • Nine athletes performed sprint starts with instrumented starting blocks measuring force.
  • Surface electromyography (EMG) measured muscle activity in two athletes.
  • Data synchronized with the auditory starting signal.

Main Results:

  • Five athletes achieved mean reaction times under 100 ms in at least one condition.
  • 20% of all starts in the initial conditions showed reaction times below 100 ms.
  • Neuromuscular-physiological reaction times were under 85 ms, with EMG latencies under 60 ms.

Conclusions:

  • Simple auditory reaction times below 100 ms are achievable for athletes in sprint starts.
  • Current false start criteria may need re-evaluation based on these findings.
  • Physiological limits for reaction time are faster than previously assumed in this context.

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