The Device That Democratized the Foot Race

When sprinters take their marks, they place their hands on the ground and position their feet onto angled blocks. Before the start signal, the runners rest their knees on the ground, then transfer their weight squarely on the blocks. As soon as the sound waves of the signal reach their ears, their feet catapult off the blocks. If the sprinter pushes off too soon, it means disqualification from the race. But sprints last 400 meters or less, so every millisecond spent on the blocks after the race has begun is a millisecond wasted.

The start of competitive foot races like those of the Olympics have only recently evolved into the test of nerves and alertness they currently are. The race of 600 (locally determined “feet”) began the tradition of sprints at Olympia. It spread to the other Panhellenic games throughout the Mediterranean. As the Greeks designed and redesigned the games, they invented ways to make racers take the field in a uniform that released runners at the same time. When the modern Olympic sprints commenced in 1896, runners improvised their start, choosing to crouch or start in the ancient style as they wished. Then came the starting blocks.