One might imagine that a long-legged stride would propel its lucky owner more quickly in a sprint to the finish line.But according to science, it is the short-legged, long-toed variety of human that is outrunning their taller counterparts.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University studied the legs of athletes when an American footballer came to them for help increasing his speed.
They also recruited 10 sprinters from the university as well 10 ordinary folk of the same height and weight.
Bizarrely, the sprinters were found to have 12 per cent longer toes and six per cent shorter lower legs than their slower competition.
Dr Stephen Piazza, an expert in kinesiology, explained: "It is all about the start of the sprint. It is then that the race is usually won or lost. Very long toes allow the power from the legs to be transferred to the ground and so increasing acceleration.
"Not only could the sprinter generate more force while accelerating, but their longer toes allowed them to remain in contact with the ground longer during each stride, giving them longer to push against the surface and out perform slower sprinters."
The findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
As yet, there is no news on the toe-length of Usain Bolt.
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