Kinematic Stride Characteristics of Maximal Sprint Running of Elite Sprinters – Verification of the “Swing-Pull Technique”

Abstract

Maximum sprinting speed constitutes an optimum relation between the stride length and the step rate in addition to an appropriate sprinting technique. The kinematics of the sprint step at maximum sprinting speed have already been examined in numerous studies, without reaching a consensus. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between maximum sprinting speed and the stride kinematics based on the “Swing-Pull Technique”. German elite sprinters (N = 26, body height = 182 ± 6 cm, leg length 93.8 ± 4.1 cm) were tested while performing a 30-meter flying sprint at maximum sprinting speed. The relationship between sprinting speed and kinematic variables was determined via Pearson correlation. Sprinting speed (10.1 – 11.3 m/s) correlated with stride length (r = 0.53), ground contact time (r = -0.53) and variables from the technique model: the knee angle at the end of the knee lift swing (r = 0.40), the maximum knee angle prior to backswing (r = 0.40), the hip extension angle velocity (r = 0.63), and vertical foot velocity (r = 0.77) during pre-support, the ankle angle at the take-on (r = -0.43), knee flexion (r = -0.54), and knee extension (r = -0.47) during support. The results indicate that greater stride length, smaller contact time, and the mentioned kinematic step characteristics are relevant for the production of maximum sprinting speed in athletes at an intermediate to advanced performance level. The association of sprinting speed and these features should primarily be taken into account in conditioning and technical training.

Effects of 8-Week Exhausting Deep Knee Flexion Flywheel Training on Persistent Quadriceps Weakness in Well-Trained Athletes Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

“…Differences in measuring methods notwithstanding, our end-values appear close to those of healthy participants, suggesting that our intervention helped restore early force production. These gains are all the more important because RFD is crucial to athletes; many sports movements are rapid, requiring 50 to 200 ms, but the time required to reach maximal muscle force is estimated to be 300 ms [ 34 ] For example, ground contact time in sprinting has been clocked at less than 100 ms [ 35 ].…”

A need for speed: Objectively identifying full-body kinematic and neuromuscular features associated with faster sprint velocities

“…These features have been reported to be influenced by a variety of different factors. For instance, stride length appears to be positively influenced by explosive strength, muscle mass, lower extremity length, biological sex, ground reaction force, ground contact duration, and dynamic flexibility of the hips (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Comparatively, stride rate appears to be influenced by rate of force development which can be affected by motor neuron excitability, inter-and intramuscular coordination, fatigue, horizontal velocity of the COM during stance, leg angle touch down, leg angle at take-off, and leg length (7,8).…”

Assessment of Sprint Parameters in Top Speed Interval in 100 m Sprint—A Pilot Study Under Field Conditions

“…Assessing sprint parameters in the maximum velocity phase in field settings either lack the necessary spatial or temporal resolution like timing gates, laser measurements, or manual video annotation (Brüggemann et al, 1999;Ferro et al, 2001;Graubner and Nixdorf, 2011;Krzysztof and Mero, 2013) or require an extensive instrumental setup such as motion capture systems or force plates applied at competitive and training tracks (Hunter et al, 2004;Park, 2011;Walker et al, 2019;Nagahara et al, 2020;Mattes et al, 2021). Hence, there are no satisfactory solutions for assessing sprint parameters in maximum velocity phase on a routine basis in competition and training.…”

“…Research has mostly investigated the first acceleration phase of the run (Nagahara et al, 2018a ; Bezodis et al, 2019 ) typically trying to understand the step-to-step relations during acceleration based on ground reaction forces (Hunter et al, 2005 ; Rabita et al, 2015 ; Colyer et al, 2018 ; Nagahara et al, 2018a ) and characteristic body angles by high-precision 3D kinematics (Manzer et al, 2016 ; Mattes et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The reason for the focus on this phase in sprint research may be found in the demanding methods of assessment employed (Mero, 1988 ; Nagahara et al, 2014a , 2019 , 2020 ; Willwacher et al, 2016 ; Bezodis et al, 2019 ), which are typically, with only few exceptions (Nagahara et al, 2018a ; Mattes et al, 2021 ), available only in laboratory settings. As it is a well-established fact that top speed is reached in 100 m-sprint only after around 40 m of maximum acceleration effort (Krzysztof and Mero, 2013 ; Healy et al, 2019 ), it is comprehensible that comparatively fewer studies exist which examined the maximum velocity phase or the final part of the acceleration phase.…”