The Fastest Animal Sprint

8. The Fastest Animal Sprint

Sarah the Cheetah · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA · 2012

Sarah's 100m sprint5.95 secondstwo deep, slow breaths6 seconds≈ 1× two deep, slow breaths
Sarah ran a full 100 meters in the exact time it takes to take two slow breaths.

Usain Bolt might be the fastest human, but he would be left completely in the dust by an eleven-year-old cheetah named Sarah. To get her to run her absolute fastest, the zoo team didn't use a starter pistol—they used her favorite fluffy dog toy attached to a fast-moving wire.

As she chased the zooming toy down a custom track, Sarah hit a mind-boggling top speed of 61 miles per hour. She was literally flying! In fact, she moved with such explosive power that her paws were completely off the dirt for more than half of the race.

How Is That Even Possible?

Sarah's body was a biological racing machine. Her sharp, cleat-like claws dug into the dirt to provide the ultimate grip. Because of her explosive speed and stride, she spent more than half of the race completely airborne, minimizing friction with the ground.

Wow-o-Meter
No. 8
A joyful, action-packed cartoon of a smiling cheetah mid-sprint, her body fully stretched out and completely airborne above a dirt track. She is eagerly reaching a paw out toward a fluffy stuffed dog toy zipping ahead of her on a wire. In the background, cheering zookeepers and official judges in referee shirts throw their arms up in sheer amazement. Colorful confetti rains down over a torn finish-line ribbon. There are absolutely no words, numbers, stopwatches, or letters anywhere in the drawing.

The Fastest Animal Sprint — Sarah the Cheetah