The “sprint start” is seldom clearly defined. There is therefore a clear need to review the current understanding of the biomechanics of the track and field sprint start to provide current recommendations for both researchers and practitioners. Many of these have used advanced technologies and methods to identify and understand several new important features of technique for sprint start performance. Although a previous comprehensive review of sprint start biomechanics was published in this journal by Harland and Steele in 1997, a wide range of descriptive, experimental and theoretical studies have since been undertaken. World-class 100 m sprinters can achieve around one-third of their maximum velocity in around only 5% of total race time by the instant they leave the blocks, and sprint start performance is strongly correlated with overall 100 m time (e.g., Baumann, Mero, Bezodis et al. At the start of any sprint event, sprinters commence from starting blocks, against which they must produce considerable acceleration. The 100 m Olympic final is broadcast worldwide to a potential audience of billions, and athletes from 83 different nations competed in the 100 m event (across both sexes) at the 2016 Olympic Games. Sprinting is a pure athletic endeavor of global appeal, with the 100 m race considered one of the blue-ribbon events at the Olympic Games. Other aspects such as the sex, age and performance level of the studied sprinters, as well as issues with measurement and comparisons with athletes with amputations, are also briefly considered.

However, the role of the sprinter’s body configuration at touchdown remains unclear, and the roles of strength and anatomy in these associations between technique and performance also remain largely unexplored. During the first stance phase, the ankle and knee both appear to play an important role in energy generation, and higher levels of performance may be associated with a stiffer ankle joint and the ability to extend the knee throughout stance. Immediately after exiting the blocks, shorter first flight durations and longer first stance durations (allowing more time to generate propulsive force) are found in sprinters of a higher performance level. Greater average force production during the push against the blocks, especially from the rear leg and particularly the hip, appears to be important for performance. In the “set” position, a relatively wide range of body configurations are adopted by sprinters irrespective of their ability level, and between-sprinter differences in these general positions do not appear to be directly associated with block phase performance. The need to appropriately quantify performance is discussed first external power has recently become more frequently adopted because it provides a single measure that appropriately accounts for the requirement to increase horizontal velocity as much as possible in as little time as possible.

We discuss specific features of technique and how they may be important for a high level of performance during the start. This narrative review focusses on biomechanical aspects of the block phase and the subsequent first flight and stance phases. The start from blocks is a fundamental component of all track and field sprint events (≤ 400 m).

Track starting blocks force plate