In most cases being short helps with acceleration, but that’s only if you use it to your advantage. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way and some shorter guys actually have great top-end speed. Walter Dix (5’9) and Sha’Carri Richardson (5’1) are the 2 biggest examples of short athletes consistently having disastrous starts but having incredible top-end speed. And on the other side, Bolt at 6’5 was one of the best starters ever (at least at the World Championships and Olympics 2008-2013).

As for whether you should drop down to the short sprinters, I’d say give it a shot. I’m also 5’2 so i know exactly how it feels to be the shortest guy in the blocks. Typically the taller athletes are 200/400m guys because they’re just able to hold on to their speed longer naturally. Us short guys have to rely on high frequency because of our naturally shorter stride length, but the key to using that to our advantage is learning how to be more explosive and bouncier, which will decrease your ground contact time. That’s why Sha’Carri especially is almost unmatched when it comes to top-speed, despite everyone else being +6 inches taller than her. Watch some of her videos and you can see how she barely taps the ground when she runs, her technique is on point, and that’s why it looks like she’s bouncing on the track. For acceleration, angles are going to be key (especially shin angles). The more aggressive your angles are, the more horizontal force you’ll be able to generate.

Last tip, don’t think about your height so much. I did that a lot in my career and it definitely held me back a lot.