How is Mbappé so fast? It isn't just talent, it's physics. He pushes off from a bent knee into a long first step, lands his second step right under his body, and keeps a stiff ankle so none of his force leaks away. On top of that, his front leg acts like a lever that whips the back leg through faster.
Watch: the video this post comes from
His first three steps can actually look slow on video. They're not. Let's break down what's going on.
The first step: long, low, and on the ball of the foot
Mbappé's burst starts with how he takes his first step. Two things happen at once.
- ✓Aggressive knee lift on the front leg.
- ✓The back leg pushes into the ground from a knee-bent position.
Together they create a long stride on his very first step, while his weight stays on the ball of his foot. That puts his weight forward, so his second step lands directly under his centre of mass, the balance point of his body.
Less efficient attackers overstride. They reach out with the foot when they chase the ball, the foot lands in front of the body and acts like a brake. Mbappé's torso angle sends him forward instead, and his hips stay steady so there's no wasted bouncing up and down.
Why Mbappé's first three steps look slow
Here's the thing people get wrong. Watch his first three steps and they look almost lazy. But two things are happening that the eye misses.
First, his force output is still massive, squeezed into a tiny contact window. Ground contact time is how long your foot stays on the ground each stride, and his is short. To push that hard in that little time, the ankle has to be stiff. If the ankle bends and gives, the force soaks away and you lose everything. See?
Second, the direction of that force. Watch his front leg. It drives forward, and that acts as a lever that pulls the back leg through and whips it around faster. The knee bends slightly to send him more horizontally rather than straight up.
Horizontal needs vertical too
A lot of coaching tells you to "push horizontal" in acceleration. It's not that simple.
To go more horizontal, he actually needs vertical force too. Enough push down into the ground to stay up and give the leg time to come through, and enough push back to go forward. It's not horizontal or vertical. Both work hand in hand. Does that make sense?
That's why his strides look bigger than his size should allow. Powerful back leg extension, a solid knee lift, and elastic recoil: his tendons store energy as he lands and give it back like springs.
How he cuts without losing speed
Mbappé's quad strength and the strength down the front of his body let him slow down hard while still being able to move sideways. That's what makes him so hard to defend. A defender can't tell if he's about to stop, cut or keep going.
When he changes direction, look at it in three parts:
- ✓The approach: his shoulders and hands stay relaxed.
- ✓The plant: he doesn't brace.
- ✓The exit: the first three strides are long and low, and the back leg drives him forward.
That relaxation is the nervous system at work. It fires the right muscles fast and switches the rest off, so there's no friction between his limbs while he's in the air.
What you can take from it
You won't become Mbappé by copying his stride. But you can check the same things in your own running.
- ✓Film your first three steps side on, in slow motion. Is your first step long, or short and choppy? Does your second foot land under your hips or out in front?
- ✓Watch your ankle at contact. If it collapses and your heel sinks on the first steps, force is leaking away. That's a stiffness and strength problem, not a technique cue.
- ✓Watch your upper body. If your shoulders are up and tight, your legs lose rhythm.
Each of those is a different cause with a different fix. That's why we time and film every session and look for the thing costing the most first. For the start specifically, read first stride: where strength pays off.