The 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin presented German sport scientists with a rare opportunity to study the world`s best athletes in a top-level competition at a venue close to home. A team of 18 researchers from six institutions around the country planned, organised and carried out a major biomechanics research project at the championships with the support of the German athletic federation (DLV) and the IAAF. The project`s objectives included making detailed analysis of the finals of all the horizontal jumping events for both men and women. The approach velocity for each attempt was measured using a laser measurement device and 2D video analysis based on video recordings made with a high-speed video camera and was carried out on the best attempt by the top eight placers in each event. This report, prepared specially for NSA, provides analysis and commentary on the data obtained by the project team, with sections on each of the events. The authors conclude with seven points that generally confirm the current technique models. It can be concluded that the horizontal jumps at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics were characterised by a very good performance level. With the exception of the women's triple jump, the performances at the previous two major events, the 2008 Olympic in Beijing and the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, were matched. However, the performances of the female triple jumpers were almost 4% lower than in Beijing. In both the long jump and the triple jump, very good approach and take-off accuracy was observed in the attempts analysed. In the landings, only small distance losses were observed. Therefore, the differences between the official and effective jump distances were mostly only small and had no effect on the final placing. From a biomechanical point of view, the data collected confirmed the current technique models in most cases: 1. In the long jump, the approach velocity proved to be a determining performance factor. In the triple jump, too, the fastest athletes were the winners, but here velocity deficits during the approach could more often be compensated for by technical skill or other physical abilities. 2. The classic organisation of the take-off preparation with an extension of the penultimate stride and a significant lowering of the CM in the long jump or with an acceleration up to the last stride in the triple jump was observed in almost all the finalists in Berlin. 3. The influence of the vertical velocity generated during the take-off and its relation to the loss of velocity at the take-off board or with the force of the bracing phase was clear. The long jumpers all strove to achieve a high vertical velocity. This was mostly achieved by a stronger bracing action (through a greater inclination angle), which leads to a more marked deceleration at the take-off board. The triple jumpers, on the other hand, tried to take off from the board as fast as possible through a less marked bracing action, which was associated with a correspondingly lower vertical velocity in the hop. 4. In the female long jumpers as well as all the triple jumpers, the bracing action was not controlled by a more marked backward lean of the trunk but by a forward movement of the take-off foot. This seems to be especially important in the triple jump, where a largely upright body posture and body rotations as small as possible (for better balance maintenance) are striven for in the individual jumps. 5. In the triple jump, ten of the studied finalists demonstrated a hop-dominated technique, while the remaining six demonstrated a balanced technique. No jumper demonstrated an emphasis on the jump. However, the correlations between the total distance and the distance of the step (in the men) and the distance of the jump (in men and women) were closer than the correlation between the total distance and the hop distance, which emphasises the importance of the hop and step. 6. In the men's triple jump, there was in some cases a significant relationship between the translation of the velocity in the partial jumps and the swing-leg movement: in most cases a higher lead of the swing leg causes a greater vertical velocity at take-off, but also a greater loss of horizontal velocity. Thus, the angle of projection can be controlled relatively well by the swing-leg lead. 7. In all disciplines, the landing distance proved to be of little significance for the overall performance. However, this can lead to an underestimation of the importance of the landing phase, particularly as the influence of the landing height on the jumping distance was not examined.
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