We aimed to examine whether the lower limb joint kinematics related to the vertical stiffness differ between the early and the late phases of the 400-m sprint. An inertial measurement unit was used to collect the step-to-step whole-body kinematics during a 400-m sprint from twenty male collegiate track and field athletes. This study showed that larger knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion angles were associated with larger vertical stiffness during the late phase, whereas there are no relationships between the vertical stiffness and lower limb joint kinematics during the early phase of the 400-m sprint. The magnitude of vertical stiffness during both the early and the late phases was negatively related to the 400-m sprint time. The current findings indicate that the 400-m sprint mechanics regulating the vertical stiffness differ between the early and the late phases.
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