Abstract
The purpose of the study was to compare the biomechanical parameters of the hurdle clearance technique of the fifth hurdle in the 110 m hurdle race of Colin Jackson of Great Britain (12.91 s world record was set in 1994) and Dayron Robles of Cuba (12.87 s world record was set in 2008), two world record holders. Despite the athletes having performed at different times, we used comparable biomechanical diagnostic technology for both hurdlers. Biomechanical measurements for both were performed by the Laboratory for Movement Control of the Institute of Sport, Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana. A three-dimensional video analysis of the fifth hurdle clearance technique was used. High standards of biomechanical measurements were taken into account, thus ensuring the high objectivity of the obtained results. The following program was used: the ARIEL kinematic program (Ariel Dynamics Inc., Trabuco Canyon, CA, USA). The results of the comparative analysis found minimal differences between the two athletes, which was expected given their excellence. Dayron Robles’s hurdle clearance was more effective, as it was characterized by a smaller loss of horizontal center of mass (COM) velocity. Robles’s hurdle clearance took 0.50 s: 0.10 s for the take-off, 0.33 s for the flight phase, and 0.07 s for the landing phase. Colin Jackson completed the hurdle clearance slightly slower, as it took him 0.54 s. Jackson’s take-off phase also lasted 0.10 s, his flight phase 0.36 s, and his landing 0.08 s. The two athletes are quite different in their morphological constitution. Dayron Robles is 10 cm taller than Colin Jackson, resulting in a lower flight parabola of CM during hurdle clearance of the Cuban athlete. Dayron Robles has a more effective hurdle clearance technique compared to Jackson’s achievement. It can be considered that their individual techniques of overcoming the hurdle, reached their individual highest efficiency at this time.
Highlights
The high hurdle race is one of the most technically demanding athletic events, and from a biomechanical standpoint, the hurdle race is a combination of a cyclic sprint and an acyclic clearance of ten 1.067 m high hurdles
We analyzed the rationality of the 110 m hurdle clearance technique of Colin
The two hurdlers are quite different in morphological constitution, with Dayron Robles being 10 cm taller than Colin Jackson
Summary
The high hurdle race is one of the most technically demanding athletic events, and from a biomechanical standpoint, the hurdle race is a combination of a cyclic sprint and an acyclic clearance of ten 1.067 m high hurdles. According to Bruggemman [1], the high hurdle event can be divided into the following phases: approach run to the first hurdle, clearance of the hurdles and the rhythm between hurdles, and run-out from the last hurdle to the finishing line. A proper hurdling technique is a complicated combination of various running and jumping kinematics [2]. The hurdler must show a high level of sprinting skill, excellent flexibility in the hip joint, coordination, balance, dynamic perception, elastic power, and a high level of technical knowledge [3,4].
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