Techniques used by elite long jumpers in preparation for takeoff

It was hypothesized that some characteristics of the positions adopted by long jumpers during the final strides of the approach are significantly related to the distance of the jump, and that they are so related only by virtue of their relationships with the horizontal velocity at touchdown and/or the vertical velocity at takeoff. Trials by 20 male and 26 female long jumpers were recorded cinematographically and subsequently analyzed. The takeoff distance for the fourth-last stride, the landing distance for the last stride, and the height of the center of gravity (CG) at takeoff into the jump were significantly correlated with the distance of the jump. These three position variables were significantly related to the distance of the jump, through their relationships with the velocity of the approach and the vertical velocity of the CG at takeoff into the jump. Considered alone, they were not influential in determining the distance of the jump.