Speed thrills

As documented elsewhere, we all know who the fastest human in the world is. But even Usain Bolt's exploits pale in significance to the speed attained by the fastest animal in the world - the endangered cheetah.

Sarah, an 8-year-old Cincinnati Zoo cheetah, succeeded Wednesday in setting the world speed record for land mammals. Sarah covered 100 meters in 6.13 seconds at the zoo’s Regional Cheetah Breeding Facility, also known as the Mast Farm, in Clermont County. It was her second run of the day. In her first try, she ran 100 meters in 6.16 seconds. The record had been 6.19 seconds.

(...) In comparison, humans are a rather plodding species, at least when it comes to sprints. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt holds the 100-meter record with a time of 9.58 seconds, which he set last month at the world championships.