Effect of simplifying the body model to compute the energy parameters in pole vaulting

This study compared changes in the energy-time profiles in pole vaulting using several body models. Two-dimensional kinematics were collected from 20 successful vaults (5.20-6.01 m) performed by 10 athletes during a national meet. The linear and angular kinetic, potential, and total mechanical energy-time profiles were obtained from three pole vaulter models composed of 12, 5, and 3 segments (M₁₂, M₅, and M₃, respectively), as well as calculated and approximated centre of mass models. One-dimensional statistical parametric mapping was used to compare these energy-time profiles from the models, while agreements of discrete energy parameters were assessed. For all the studied energy-time profiles, there was a main effect (0.05 < p < 0.001) of the models, but pairwise comparisons showed that M₅ presented the lowest differences with M₁₂ in comparison with the other models (M₃ and approximated centre of mass models). In addition, M₅ showed better agreement (lower bias and small effect size) with M₁₂ for the studied energy parameters compared to the other models. Therefore, M₅ may be a reliable option to simplify the body model and speed up the computation of the energy-time profiles of the pole vaulter.