Differences in Ground Reaction Forces between Take-Offs that are Out, On, or Under in the Pole Vault

Abstract

Aim. The take-off is regarded as the most important phase of the pole vault yet there is an insufficient amount of research on the ground reaction forces of the pole vault takeoff. At this time there is not any scientific research comparing force and time between takeoffs that are out, on and under. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in ground reaction forces between pole vault take-offs that are out, on or under. Methods. Over five days, 15 male and female college pole vaulters completed 226 vaults on a (AMTI Accupower) force plate. The jumps were put into categories of out, on and under and analyzed by Accupower, and Dartfish software. Separate mixed modal ANOVAs (SAS 9.3) were applied (P≤.05) for comparison between jump types. Conclusions. There is no significant difference between ground reaction forces of the three jump types.