Measurement of specific movement power for estimation of athletic performance

In the final of the long jump at the third World Championships in 1991, a new world record, 8. 95m, was set by Mike Powell. Carl Lewis also exceeded the previous world record with a leap of 8.91m. The jumps of finalists were filmed by three high-speed cameras (100-200 f/s). The films were analyzed by using the DLT method. The purpose of this study was to ccmpare the kinematical characteristics of take-off motion of Powell and Lewis. Although the run-up velocity (l l.OOm/s) of Powell was same as that (ll.O6m/s) of Lewis, the projectron angles were different. The jumps of Powell (23.2deg) and Lewis (18.3deg) may be described as ‘high’ and ‘low’ jumps respectively in elite male long jumpers . The projection angle could depend upon the following take-off motions: (1)Powell’s the center of gravity in the vertical position was lower than that of Lewis at touch-down: (2)Powell leant further backwards than Lewis at touch-down; (3)Powell’s knee extension of the supporting leg during take-off was greater than Lewis’s: (4)Although the rotations of the trunk during take-off were almost the same, Powell’s trunk rotation was mainly supported by hip rotation, while in Lewis’s case it was mainly supported by shoulder rotation. It could be inferred that Powell achieves a greater vertical velocity and higher angle of take-off by using the trunk inclination, the extended supporting leg and the hip rotation: Lewis on the other hand relies on the flexed supporting leg, the shoulder rotation and the lower angle of take-off, whrch facilitates a relatively high horizontal velocity. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This study was supported by the JMFIIAAF Biomechanlcs Research Project Team.