Now that there is a new current fastest human in the world, thanks to the recent Olympic performance in the 100m by Lamont Marcell Jacobs, the question comes up: How fast could a person possibly be, in theory, running on his or her own two feet?
The world record set by Usain Bolt in 2009, running the 100m in 9.58 seconds, still stands. So Bolt still keeps the record as the fastest human in recorded history.
I wonder whether there is some way of working out, from fundamental physics and biomechanics, what is the theoretical upper limit on human running speed. Somebody somewhere must have worked on this.