Kinematics of different vault techniques in elite male gymnasts

Vaulting requires the transformation of horizontal momentum into vertical displacement and angular momentum through the run-up, springboard contact, table support, second flight, and landing phases. This study aimed to compare key kinematic parameters among different vault technique types in elite male gymnasts and to explore phase-specific kinematic factors associated with landing angle. Landing angle was defined as a kinematic descriptor of body posture at initial mat contact, not as a direct measure of landing quality, landing stability, or E-score. Kinematic data from 16 vault trials performed by eight elite male gymnasts during the finals of the 2022 Chinese Gymnastics Championships were collected with a markerless motion capture system at 200 Hz. Seven core kinematic parameters were extracted: approach velocity, table contact angle, table contact time, table release angle, maximum height of the second flight, trajectory angle, and landing angle. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a theory-driven hierarchical linear regression model. The most robust kinematic difference between direct-entry and Yurchenko vaults was approach velocity, which was significantly greater in direct-entry vaults. Other variables, including table release angle, maximum height of the second flight, and landing angle, showed only trend-level effects and should be interpreted cautiously. When Tsukahara and handspring vaults were compared, table contact angle and maximum height of the second flight showed exploratory between-group differences, but these findings did not remain stable across all sensitivity analyses. Landing angle was not significantly correlated with E-score (Spearman's ρ = -0.303, p = 0.255). In the hierarchical regression model, maximum height of the second flight was positively associated with landing angle after controlling for D-score, approach velocity, and table contact time (β = 0.717, p = 0.029). Approach velocity and table contact time were not independently associated with landing angle in the main linear model. An exploratory quadratic analysis suggested a possible nonlinear relationship between table contact time and landing angle, but this result should be interpreted as preliminary. However, the overall model fit was not statistically significant; therefore, the regression findings should be interpreted as exploratory. Different vault technique types showed exploratory differences in kinematic profiles, and approach velocity was the most stable difference between direct-entry and Yurchenko vaults. Landing angle was not significantly associated with the official E-score and should therefore be interpreted only as a kinematic descriptor of landing posture, not as a proxy for landing quality or execution performance. Maximum height of the second flight was positively associated with landing angle, whereas the roles of approach velocity and table contact time appear to be more complex. Given the small and unbalanced sample and the competition-based observational design, all findings should be interpreted as exploratory associations rather than causal evidence.