Changing Room Chat - Bolt hasn't taken 100m to limit

USAIN Bolt's world record in the Olympic 100 metres final is still a long way from how fast the human body can go, according to a study by an American professor.

Shortly after Bolt ran 9.69 seconds in Beijing, Stanford University biology professor Mark Denny set about estimating just how fast humans are really capable of running. He concluded that male sprinters could eventually get the 100m record down to 9.48 seconds and women could run the distance in 10.39.

"My results tell us that speed has limits, but not what accounts for these limits," writes Denny, whose conclusions are published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Denny used historical records dating back to the 19th century to track the progress of speed in humans, horses and dogs. He found that speeds in horses and dogs at the major races in the US and Britain peaked, mostly in 1970s but some earlier, while most of the human races had not. "In each case, an absolute speed limit is definable, and the current record approaches that predicted maximum," says Denny in his summary.

Pro baseball girl knuckles down

A 16-year-old Japanese girl has signed for a regional baseball team, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player.

Eri Yoshida, a pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April. The team selected her along with 31 males in the league draft.

"I still don't feel like I've really become a pro baseball player, but I want to do my best," Yoshida said. "My speciality is the knuckleball, so I really want to be able to get batters out using it effectively."

VAT cuts could boost SPL fans

SCOTTISH fans could be in line for a surprise Christmas bonus if clubs agree to pass on the 2.5 per cent VAT cuts recently announced by Chancellor Alastair Darling.

SPL chiefs have written to their member clubs this week to find out if they plan to drop ticket prices accordingly.

An SPL spokesman said: "Pricing is a matter for clubs to deal with in an individual basis. We have been in touch with clubs to establish what their position is."

Hibs have already announced they will cut admission prices by 50p.