A kick in a running race is the ability of some athletes to

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

at the end of an endurance-oriented race. For those who possess the ability to kick, it is a strategic weapon. For those with the liability not to possess a kick, they must seek different strategies to anticipate and diminish their opponent's kicking power, usually by a long extended surge to break away or exhaust their opponent well ahead of the finish of the race. Similar to a Sprinter in cycling, a kicker has a finite distance they know they are able to sprint, making their strategy to be in the ideal position at that distance to be able to utilize that speed. Sprinting too early could lead an athlete to tie up, a form of muscle cramp that debilitates a racer from continuing to kick. Thus team tactics might also intentionally or not, box a kicker, meaning to position other competitors to their outside, to disrupt their positioning and timing. Of course, as the finish is nearing and all athletes are straining, this becomes more difficult to accomplish deliberately. In the 800 metres, some athletes develop the reputation for being a kicker because of their apparent speed at the end of the race, when in reality they ran even splits. Most of that speed is relative to the exhaustion as their opponents slow. Dave Wottle, James Robinson, Yuriy Borzakovskiy,

Nick Symmonds Nicholas Boone Symmonds (born December 30, 1983) is an American YouTube personality and retired middle-distance track athlete, from Boise, Idaho, who specialized in the 800 meters and 1500 meters distances. Symmonds signed with Brooks Running in ...

and Amel Tuka would take the beginning of the race out slowly, regaining contact with the rest of the field near the last 200 metres. At the elite men's level, that even pace would be about 26 seconds per 200 metres; a 52-second first lap, as compared with the leaders close to or under 50 seconds. World record holder David Rudisha burned off the kickers during his world record during the 2012 Olympic 800m finals. When he won the 2015 World Championships, he blew away even-paced kickers like Tuka with a remarkably fast final 24.34 200 metre true kick of his own. Generally, most long kickers or extended kickers would accelerate in the penultimate lap or shortly after the bell indicating the last lap has begun. A speed kicker would behave more like an anchor runner in a 4x400 relay, positioning themselves on the shoulder of their opponent and using their burst of speed as late as the final straightaway. Mo Farah developed a reputation as a strategic runner. His finishing kick was not so much a burst of speed, but his extended ability to repeatedly accelerate just enough to discourage anybody from passing him during an intense final lap or so of his races. His Nike Oregon Project teammate

Matthew Centrowitz Jr. Matthew Centrowitz Jr. (born October 18, 1989) is an American middle-distance runner who is the 2016 Olympic Games, Olympic champion in the 1500 meters. He became a prominent figure in U.S. running when he won a bronze medal at the 2011 World C ...

employed a similar form of holding the lead to win his 2016 gold medal in the 1500. Because of the advantage of having the tool of a kick in a competitor's arsenal, the techniques to train to kick are a common discussion among runners and coaches.

Notable kickers

* Fermín Cacho *

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...

* Eamonn Coghlan * Alberto Cova * Haile Gebrselassie *

Shelby Houlihan Shelby Houlihan (born February 8, 1993) is an American middle distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500m relay who is currently serving a ban. Houlihan competed in the 5000m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, finishing ...

Ezekiel Kemboi Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 W ...

Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born December 12, 1974) is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner. Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his change of domicile to the US, Lagat had an extensive competitive career representing his ...

* Douglas Lowe * Billy Mills *

Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and set 5 world records for 1500 metres and the ...

* Jim Ryun *

Peter Snell Sir Peter George Snell (17 December 1938 – 12 December 2019) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. Snell ...

* Miruts Yifter *

* Cole Hocker

Extended kickers

* Kenenisa Bekele *

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...

* Hicham El Guerrouj * Mo Farah *

Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paa ...

References

{{Reflist Sport of athletics terminology Track and field strategy