When to get down in the ready position at the start?

[MAX]

I get down very early when the take to your blocks whistle is blown….some 6 to 7 seconds before the “take your marks” call. Ben Proud stands vertically upright until the take your marks and will be no more than 1 to 1.5s in that position before the gun.

My dad reckons that being down too early not only causes one’s muscles to get ‘set’ but also compresses the amount of air in one’s lungs if one is bent over for that long, restricting the amount of air that one can breathe in, doubled up in the ready position.

So Gary, which is best?

Discussion

[Gary]

So Max, your dad is right. You don’t want to be in the ‘set’ position, after taking your mark, for any longer than possible. Ben’s position standing is too risky. With a trigger happy starter, he won’t have time to get into the set position and in fact, this has happened to Ben (and Gary Jr in 2004 Olympic Trials).

We like to compromise, like Brad Tandy does, with the hands just below the knees in the ready position. That way, you are not holding too long in the set position, but not taking the risk of being left on the blocks. It seems to work best.