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The human ankle plantar-flexors, the soleus and gastrocnemius, utilize tendon elastic strain energy to reduce muscle fiber work and optimize contractile conditions during running. However, studies to date have considered only slow to moderate running speeds up to 5 m s⁻¹. Little is known about how the human ankle plantar-flexors utilize tendon elastic strain energy as running speed is advanced towards maximum sprinting. We used data obtained from gait experiments in conjunction with musculoskeletal modeling and optimization techniques to calculate muscle–tendon unit (MTU) work, tendon elastic strain energy and muscle fiber work for the ankle plantar-flexors as participants ran at five discrete steady-state speeds ranging from jogging (~2 m s⁻¹) to sprinting (≥8 m s⁻¹). As running speed progressed from jogging to sprinting, the contribution of tendon elastic strain energy to the positive work generated by …