Evaluating markerless biomechanical analysis in a real-world pole vault competition setting

This study evaluated a purpose-trained markerless motion capture system for biomechanical analysis in elite pole vault competition. The aim was to determine whether a markerless approach could produce results comparable to manual digitising-the current standard in live competition settings-when operating under the practical constraint of a fixed four-camera setup. Data were collected from eight world-class pole vaulters during the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. The final steps of the run-up through take-off were recorded at 100 Hz and analysed using both manual digitisation and the SIMI Nemo Markerless system to extract key biomechanical variables. Results showed strong overall agreement between methods for most spatial and centre of mass (CM) variables, with mean relative bias and random error of 0.3% and 3.8%, respectively. Step length differed by approximately 1 cm, and running step velocities showed root mean square error (RMSE) values between 0.02 and 0.05 m/s. CM height and horizontal velocity at pole plant showed RMSEs below 0.02 m and 0.1 m/s, respectively. At take-off, horizontal, vertical and absolute CM velocities all showed RMSE values of approximately 0.1 m/s. For these variables, intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.898-1.000. Continuous waveform agreement was also strong, with Coefficient of Multiple Determination values exceeding 0.98 for vertical CM displacement, and above 0.90 for both CM velocity and most joint angle trajectories. In contrast, joint angles at take-off showed less agreement (RMSE 5°-10°), reflecting challenges in joint landmark identification in field conditions, and indicating that further refinement may be needed for complex movements. These findings suggest that, when supported by anatomically-informed pose estimation algorithms, a four-camera markerless setup is capable of capturing essential performance indicators in elite pole vault. The approach shows strong potential for scientific and applied use in real-world sport environments.