This study was aimed at examining the role of the hands and feet at takeoff by measuring the forces applied to the starting block by the right/left hands and feet. A small, waterproof force plate and a three-axis force sensor (operating at 500 Hz) were placed at the front and back of a custom-made starting block with an inclination angle of 10° and on the right and left sides of the front of the starting block, respectively, to measure the force exerted on the starting block. Five male collegiate competitive swimmers were requested to perform kick starts from the starting block. The rear and front feet had the greatest contribution to the horizontal and vertical velocities, respectively, at kick start. In addition, the hand and foot exerted downward and upward forces, respectively, to the vertical velocity at kick start, revealing bilateral differences in the horizontal and vertical velocities of the hand.
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