Why are some soccer players1 able to move more quickly than others, offering them an advantage? To answer, I analyse the prevailing dynamics both in the brief period before a player takes the first step to begin running, and in the ensuing period of acceleration. For two players of equal mass, the shorter player has an advantage over the taller player, and the advantage is determined by the square root of the ratio of their respective heights.

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1. 1 I declare this to be my own work, entirely. In particular, no AI was used in any research, analysis, synthesis, writing, nor typesetting of this work. In short, AI was not recruited at any time in this work. Errors and inaccuracies are therefore proudly my own.

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