Topspeed for humans? Fast!!

Last summer every body watched Usain Bolt set two amazing worldrecords. His 9.58 on the 100 meters and his record on the 200 a few days later. His topspeed is around 28 miles per hour. But according to research this is not the limit!

The research from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and the University of Wyoming shows that the limiting factor for the top speed in running is the speed of contraction.
The research found that the limbs are capable of applying much greater ground forces than those present during top-speed forward running.
So the amount of force that can be applied during the short contact between foot and ground is limited by the speed of contraction of a muscle.
From these finding teh researchers conclude that the theoratical topspeed for humans is 35 to 40 miles per hour en possibly even faster.

Published in:
Bundle, M.W., (2009). Mechanical limits to human running speed. Paper to be presented at Symposium on Training Running Speed: A Critical Consideration of Contemporary Practice, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
and on dailycalaxy