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Sarah the cheetah becomes the fastest animal on land
Bo Wilson10 Sep 2009
An eight-year-old cheetah called Sarah has broken the world speed record for land animals.
Covering 100 metres in 6.13 seconds, Sarah set a new speed record for all land mammals in Cincinnati yesterday.
The middle-aged cheetah shaved more than 3 seconds off the fastest human time, 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt this year.
Running on a specially designed course at Cincinnati Zoo's Cheetah Breeding Facility, Sarah pipped the record of 6.19 seconds set by a cheetah in South Africa in 2001. Chasing a lure similar to those used in greyhound racing, she hit speeds of up to 60mph.
"We are so thrilled that Sarah has smashed this record," said Cathryn Hilker, 78, the organiser of the attempt.
"She undertook three attempts to break the record and smashed it on the second time of asking. Each time she ran she rested for 15 minutes to make sure the heat did not get to her."
The run was put together by the Cat Ambassador Programme at Cincinnati Zoo.
Ms Hilker said: "These events are designed to highlight conservation of these wonderful creatures and to make people realise what they could lose."
Reader views (6)
damn this thing is fast go Sarah the Cheetah
- Zach, Naptown, Indiana, 11/09/2009 15:17
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Here in South Africa they reach speeds of around 114km/h and if you calculate that your 100 metres in 6.13 seconds doesn't make sense at all. Can it be possible that according to your calculations she only reach 58.7275km/h?
- Jan De Ridder, Pretoria, South Africa, 11/09/2009 14:49
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Go Sarah !! It's time middleaged women were appreciated! You Go Girl!!
- Lori, usa, tx, 11/09/2009 06:45
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Good for you Sarah!! Hope you got a nice big treat for your effort!! And thanks to everyone who put this together,Thse beautiful cats are terribly endangered and everyone needs to band together to save them. I have seen them several times in Kenya and they are truly magnificent!!!
- Pat, Denver,Colorado, USA, 11/09/2009 04:32
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Sarah is beautiful. I watch abpout cheetahs on animal planet and I love to watch them.
- Karol, Hagerstown/USA, 11/09/2009 02:21
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I love cheetahs!!!Congrats for sarah!!!She might be my fav cheetah now!!Im thinking of making a cheetah concervation funrazer!im starting at my school! if you can help me E-mail me back!! I LOOOOOOOVE CHEETAHS!!!!!!!1
- Maggie, bluffton,SC, 11/09/2009 01:28
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