Performance changes and relationship between vertical jump measures and actual sprint performance in elite sprinters with visual impairment throughout a Parapan American games training season.

Irineu Loturco,Ciro Winckler,Ronaldo Kobal,Fábio Y Nakamura,Cesar C Cal Abad,Lucas A Pereira,Amaury W Veríssimo,Katia Kitamura

doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00323

Irineu Loturco, Ciro Winckler + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2015.00323

Copy DOI

Journal: Frontiers in Physiology	Publication Date: Nov 6, 2015
Citations: 36	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Londrina

Abstract

The aims of this study were to estimate the magnitude of variability and progression in actual competitive and field vertical jump test performances in elite Paralympic sprinters with visual impairment in the year leading up to the 2015 Parapan American Games, and to investigate the relationships between loaded and unloaded vertical jumping test results and actual competitive sprinting performance. Fifteen Brazilian Paralympic sprinters with visual impairment attended seven official competitions (four national, two international and the Parapan American Games 2015) between April 2014 and August 2015, in the 100- and 200-m dash. In addition, they were tested in five different periods using loaded (mean propulsive power [MPP] in jump squat [JS] exercise) and unloaded (squat jump [SJ] height) vertical jumps within the 3 weeks immediately prior to the main competitions. The smallest important effect on performances was calculated as half of the within-athlete race-to-race (or test-to-test) variability and a multiple regression analysis was performed to predict the 100- and 200-m dash performances using the vertical jump test results. Competitive performance was enhanced during the Parapan American Games in comparison to the previous competition averages, overcoming the smallest worthwhile enhancement in both the 100- (0.9%) and 200-m dash (1.43%). In addition, The SJ and JS explained 66% of the performance variance in the competitive results. This study showed that vertical jump tests, in loaded and unloaded conditions, could be good predictors of the athletes' sprinting performance, and that during the Parapan American Games the Brazilian team reached its peak competitive performance.

Highlights

MATERIALS AND METHODSIn general, the public is astonished by the performance of Paralympic athletes, given their extreme physical and technical capacities in spite of the presence of mild to severe physical disabilities
Performance in Paralympic elite sprinting depends on a series of neuromuscular, physiological and technical factors
This study showed that vertical jump tests, in loaded and unloaded conditions, could be good predictors of athletes’ sprinting performance, mainly when combined in a multiple linear regression equation

Summary

Introduction

MATERIALS AND METHODSIn general, the public is astonished by the performance of Paralympic athletes, given their extreme physical and technical capacities in spite of the presence of mild to severe physical disabilities. It is known that sprinting performance in Paralympic Track and Field has improved at a higher rate than the Olympic results (Grobler et al, 2015), there has been no systematic analysis of the variability and progression in competitive performance of successful teams in the months of preparation leading up to a main competition (e.g., Parapan American Games). It has been suggested that the smallest important effect in performance at a target international event is one-half of the typical within-athlete random variability between events (Hopkins et al, 1999).

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion