Fosbury Flop Research Articles

Apply an Inclined Track to Enhance the Performance of Fosbury Flop High Jump Athletes

Background and Aim: The high jump was a dominant sport in China, with three athletes breaking the world record five times. However, in the following period, the high jump performance of Chinese athletes showed a declining trend, and the gap with the world’s best high jump athletes was obvious. Many studies have shown that speed ability is the main influence factor of the high jump, to change the current situation of the Chinese Fosbury flop high jump sport, this study designed an inclined track to improve the speed ability of athletes, to achieve the purpose of improving performance. This paper aims to apply the inclined track to improve Fosbury flop high jumpers’ speed ability. Materials and Methods: 10 experts were selected for this study and interviewed to determine the test metrics. An inclined track was designed and made, and 5 experts conducted IOC tests on the inclined track. In addition, 5 Fosbury flop high jumpers from Xi'an Physical Education University were selected for the study to experiment. t-test independent was performed on the technical index data using a computer software package. Results: The research results show that: (1) Inclined track had a high validity (IOC=.97) and safety for training. And (2) Comparison within 5 high jumpers found that all of the variables (Velocity of center of gravity, Step lengths for the last 2 steps, Step lengths for the last 1 step) were significant (*P<.05). Conclusion: The research suggests that the inclined track is a valid and safe training method. Additionally, the study found significant differences in key variables among high jumpers, emphasizing the importance of these factors in high jump performance.

Particle dynamics in dusty plasma: Classical tunneling

A Hamiltonian formalism for studying the dynamics of a dust particle with variable electric charge in dusty plasma is proposed. The Hamiltonian and the equations of motion are presented, and the dynamics is shown to be conservative. The problem is cast in terms of the motion of a particle with a constant fictitious charge QA moving in a suitably defined potential, while the actual particle charge is spatially distributed. With this formalism, the problem of trapping of dust particles in potential wells and barriers is studied. The results show that because of the spatial “delocalization”/distribution of the particle charge, a particle with insufficient energy to cross the potential barrier can penetrate it to tunnel out, i.e., “classical tunneling,” similar to a high jumper clearing the bar by the Fosbury flop technique or the usual quantum tunneling. For energies greater than a critical value, the charged particle is shown to tunnel out of even an infinitely deep potential well. A modified criterion for trapping in potential wells is given.

Comparison of clinical outcome and repair integrity after arthroscopic suture-bridge and triple-row rotator cuff repairs of Fosbury flop tears

BackgroundThe Fosbury flop tear (FFT) has recently been described as a rotator cuff tear that has flipped upon itself and adhered medially. FFT is known to have a high retear rate after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. The cause of the high postoperative retear rate after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is believed to be due to the inability to achieve anatomical reduction because of difficulties in reducing the torn tendon stump. Arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs using the triple-row technique may allow better anatomical reduction of the cuff tear when compared with the suture-bridge technique. We compared the clinical outcomes and cuff integrity of the triple-row and suture-bridge techniques in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for FFT. MethodsPatients with small-to-medium sized cuff tears of the supraspinatus tendon alone who were diagnosed with FFT, underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, and had 2 or more years of follow-up were included. A total of 34 shoulders underwent the triple-row technique and 22 shoulders underwent the suture-bridge technique. The following were compared between the two techniques: patient background, operation time, number of anchors used during the operation, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, active range of motion, and retear rate. ResultsNo significant difference in patient background was found between the two techniques. Although active range of motion was significantly improved compared with preoperative scores, no significant difference was observed between techniques. The triple-row technique demonstrated a significantly higher 24-month postoperative JOA score, significantly shorter surgery time, significantly lower retear rate, and significantly larger number of anchors used during the operation. ConclusionsThe triple-row technique was an effective method compared with the suture-bridge technique in cases with FFT.

A Self-Powered Sport Sensor Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Fosbury Flop Training

Due to the high efficiency of low-frequency mechanical energy harvesting, wearable and flexible self-powered sport sensor based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have become the hot research topic. Thus, we report a flexible and wearable cotton fabric (CF) coated with carbon oil- (CO-) based TENG (CC-TENG) with low processing costs, good electrical properties, and long working life. Meanwhile, we use a piece of flexible, microfibre-woven CF as the substrate for the CO. Moreover, the fibre surface characteristics of the cotton fabric provide higher surface roughness, which can make the TENG device work better. In detail, the CO layer serves as the triboelectric material and conductive electrode. According to the results, the CC-TENG shows good reliability, and the electric energy generated by CC-TENG can drive low-power electronic devices. Significantly, CC-TENG device can be applied to fosbury flop training to obtain training data and motion information monitoring, which will promote the wearable intelligent sports device.

Morphological characteristics of the acromion in Fosbury flop tears and their clinical outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

BackgroundRotator cuff tears that have flipped upon itself and adhered medially have been recently described as Fosbury flop tears (FFT). However, there are no reports on the cause and clinical outcomes of FFT. We investigated the preoperative anatomical factors and clinical outcomes related to the occurrence of FFT. MethodsAmong patients with more than two years of follow-up, 33 patients with FFT who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) for a small-to-medium sized tear of the supraspinatus tendon alone (Group F: mean age, 63.4 ± 8.9 years) and 52 patients without FFT who underwent ARCR (Group C: mean age, 62.1 ± 7.0 years) were included. Presence of diabetes mellitus, critical shoulder angle (CSA), lateral acromial angle (LAA), acromiohumeral distance (AHD), sagittal and coronal morphologies of the acromion, JOA score, and rate of rotator cuff re-tear were evaluated. ResultsThere were significantly more males in Group F (P = 0.017). There were no significant differences in age or rate of diabetic complications. The mean CSA, LAA, and AHD in the Groups F and C were respectively as follows: CSA, 33.7 ± 4.0° and 34.5 ± 3.4°; LAA, 82.1 ± 9.9° and 82.1 ± 6.9°; AHD, 10.2 ± 1.4 mm and 9.8 ± 1.4 mm. There were no significant differences between groups. The acromial morphology showed no significant difference in the sagittal plane; however, significantly more double-floor type acromia were found in the coronal plane (P < 0.001). Although the JOA score significantly improved in both groups, there was no significant difference between groups. The re-rupture rate was significantly higher in Group F than Group C (15.2% versus 1.9%; P = 0.02). ConclusionsDouble-floor type acromia in the coronal plane was common in Group F. The location of osteophytes on the inferior surface of the acromion was believed to be associated with the occurrence of FFT. Furthermore, a high re-tear rate was observed in group F.

ALTERNATIVE PARADIGM FOR LOCOMOTION ON THE EXAMPLE OF A HIGH JUMP

The modern paradigm for human locomotion is interpreted from the position of changes in muscle length. The research revealed many facts that are difficult to explain exclusively from the point of view of muscle work due to the existence of an alternative locomotion mechanism, which manifests itself in conditions of rapid contact with the support surface. The necessary locomotion mechanism is designed by human evolution, and it operates in the framework of the anatomical structure. The purpose is to identify an alternative locomotion mechanism manifested in the conditions of rapid contact with the support surface in high jumps. Research methods and organization. We used the following research methods: analysis of scientific and instructional literature, testing, and correlation analysis. To assess explosive abilities, we recorded results of standing high jump test and high jump results in the competition season performed by members of the USSR national team. Research results. The analysis of scientific and instructional literature helped us to reveal contradictions in the modern interpretation of the repulsion mechanism in high jumps. Research conducted in the USSR national team (1987-1989) in the framework of comprehensive research team demonstrated absence of correlation between the indicators of explosive abilities and high jump results (r = -0.03). We revealed different locomotion mechanism suggesting the use of "reverse work of tendons". We substantiated an alternative paradigm for the Fosbury Flop high jump based on the support of cytoplasm deforming load, reverse work of tendons, and accumulation of action potential as a result of summation of stimuli by the type of lift reflex. Conclusion. Explosive muscle contraction for training jumping ability is a dead end. Since the cytoplasm acts as a force counteraction factor, there is no need for hypertrophy and anabolism of the muscles.

Innovating Innovation

In 1968 at the Summer Olympic Games, held in Mexico City, the world was introduced to a high jumper from the United States named Dick Fosbury. During the high jump finals, Fosbury cleared 7 ft, 4.25 in., on his third attempt to win gold and, at the same time, set an American record for the high jump. Fosbury unknowingly did much more than that—he changed the future of how high-jumpers would fly over the bar. Before Fosbury, the standard techniques high-jumpers used were to hurl themselves over the bar face-down or perform a scissor-type kick to clear each leg over the bar. After seeing Fosbury at the 1968 Olympics, high-jumpers began approaching the bar with a side-angle run and flying over it with their back facing the bar. The then- innovative technique was dubbed the Fosbury Flop. Interestingly, Fosbury ran into a great deal of resistance as he was inventing his innovative jumping style. He began developing the technique while in high school, where his coaches pressured him to conform to the traditional approaches; this pressure lasted until he started to win with his “flop.” Similarly, his college coaches pushed the traditional techniques and, despite the evidence, so did his Olympic coaches. We all know the end of the story—the Fosbury Flop became the most commonly used high jump technique. The important lesson for us is that innovation (even in sports) takes time to be accepted, and a key to acceptance is communicating the value to the masses. After several years of innovating, Fosbury was fortunate to communicate his unconventional technique over the course of a few days to the entire world as, at that moment, all eyes were fixed on the Olympics. If Fosbury was repeatedly able to win with his unconventional technique at the high school and college levels, why, then, didn't others adopt the winning technique before the Olympics? The process of adopting innovation is often explained by the law of diffusion. This theory describes how new ideas are sequentially adopted in phases by society and, if successful, eventually become mainstream. The first phase includes society's risk-takers—inventors and earlier adopters—who, like Fosbury, are the part of society willing to try new things. This group makes up about 16% of the population. An innovation, however, does not take off until it is adopted by the mainstream of society, which the theory refers to as the early and late majorities. These two critical groups make up 68% of society; without their acceptance, innovation fails. The final 16% are referred to as the laggards, and they may never adopt the innovation. According to the law of diffusion, the key to success for any innovation, especially those that are commercially based, is to successfully bridge the gap between the inventors/ early adopters (i.e., the first 16%) and the early and late majorities (i.e., the middle 68%). The two keys to bridging this gap, as Fosbury demonstrated, are (1) investing time to build confidence in the innovation and (2) successfully communicating the benefits of the innovation—the more compelling the communication, the shorter the time to bridging the gap. The water sector is commonly viewed as being part of the late majority, meaning we are slow and cautious to adopt innovation. In many ways, this slow-and-cautious culture can be traced to the water sector's significant mission of protecting public health by providing safe drinking water and safeguarding the environment when returning water to it. While this mission does not leave much room for risk-taking, it seems we are more open to innovative solutions today than ever before. Still, it would be great to shorten the time it takes for our industry to build confidence in an innovation, essentially reducing the time gap between the early adopters and majority users. While rapid adoption is hard—like it was for Fosbury in high school and college—strategies are emerging to help accelerate the acceptance of innovation, and the number of venues for communicating the value of innovation is growing. This should help. Journal AWWA is currently seeking feature article submissions. Find submission guidelines at www.awwa.org/submit.

Fosbury flop tear of the rotator cuff: diagnostic assessment with magnetic resonance arthrography.

The aim was to assess the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) of the shoulder for the detection of "Fosbury flop" tears. All patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were considered as potentially eligible for inclusion in this prospective case series. Preoperative MRAs were consecutively performed and compared with intraoperative findings being the gold standard control. Two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists, blinded to the arthroscopic findings, independently analysed all MRAs for the presence of typical signs of Fosbury flop tears. 423 patients were included. Among this group, 11 presented a Fosbury flop tear with a prevalence of 2.6%. Interobserver agreement was considered as excellent for thickened tendon, tendon stump, fluid accumulation, abnormal fibres orientationand adherences between tendon and bursa. The most sensitive and specific criterion was the tendon thickness[90.9% CI(62.3-98.4) and97.1% CI(95.0-98.3), respectively]. Conclusions: Fosbury flop tear is an uncommon condition that should be recognized to allow optimal anatomic repair. MRA is a valuable tool in making the diagnosing of this lesser recognized type of rotator cuff tear. An abnormally thickened supraspinatus tendon tear should especially raise suspicion for a Fosbury flop tear of the posterosuperior rotator cuff. Advances in knowledge: MRA is a valuable tool in making the diagnosing of Fosbury flop tears. An abnormally thickened supraspinatus tendon tear should especially raise suspicion for such lesion.

Classification of full-thickness rotator cuff lesions: a review.

Rotator cuff lesions (RCL) have considerable variability in location, tear pattern, functional impairment, and repairability.Historical classifications for differentiating these lesions have been based upon factors such as the size and shape of the tear, and the degree of atrophy and fatty infiltration. Additional recent descriptions include bipolar rotator cuff insufficiency, ‘Fosbury flop tears’, and musculotendinous lesions.Recommended treatment is based on the location of the lesion, patient factors and associated pathology, and often includes personal experience and data from case series. Development of a more comprehensive classification which integrates historical and newer descriptions of RCLs may help to guide treatment further.Cite this article: Lädermann A, Burkhart SS, Hoffmeyer P, et al. Classification of full thickness rotator cuff lesions: a review. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:420-430. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.160005.

Kinematic Analysis of Take off Technique on the Performance of the Fosbury Flop

The high jump is one of the most technical and complex event of the athletics. Top high jumper's in the world use one of the versions of Fosbury Flop technique , this proved the most efficient so far. This technique comprises the preparation for the touchdown, take off, the flight phase , bar clearance and landing. It is not easy to learn and perform, since it requires some special skills. Its mechanical and dynamic analysis reveals movements of an exceptional difficulty that cannot be so easily assimilated by most jumpers. Certain time of execution (particularly those made over the bar) requires a psycho motor control and an extreme sensibility that can't be easily reached by everyone. Thirteen male national high jumpers were selected for this study and get videotaped with three high speed video cameras during their competitive performance in the men's high jump final during the 52nd National open athletics championship in outdoor with the informed consent of the athletes. In this research we used three Panasonic-AG-DVX-102B, F11 sensitivity, high image quality, camcorders, Quintic Biomechanics v21 motion analysis software. I. Introduction To clear a high jump bar, it is necessary to drive the center of mass (COM) of the athlete as high as possible. It is also necessary to move the body in the air in a way that will allow the athlete to clear a bar set as close as possible to the peak height reached by the COM. For a given peak height reached by the COM lowering some parts of the body allows other parts to go higher. This was the mechanical principle that has improved the effectiveness of the bar clearance over the years. If a high jumper remains in a straight vertical position after taking off from the ground, the height of the bar that the feet will be able to clear will be far below the peak height of the COM. The simplest improvement over this was a technique in which the athlete flexes at the hips and knees to adopt a squatting position at the peak of the jump. We could call this the legs-up technique. Since the peak height of the COM can't be changed after the athlete leaves the ground, the lifting of the legs is accompanied by a lowering of the trunk. This technique greatly increases the height of the bar that has to be cleared. The major purpose of this study was to investigate the take-off motion at the end of the last stride and identify the characteristics for optimum performance executed by Fosbury-flop jumpers, using 2-dimensional videography. The best jumps of thirteen male high jumpers were filmed at an official track meet by two high- speed cameras. The results suggested that to lower the center of gravity during the touchdown, Fosbury flop jumpers' takeoff leg was planted ahead of the torso by leaning the body backward. II. Methodology Selection of Subjects: Thirteen male national high jumpers were selected for this study and get videotaped with three high speed video cameras during their competitive performance in the men's high jump final during the 52nd National open athletics championship in outdoor with the informed consent of the athletes. Tools and equipment's:

A new tear pattern of the rotator cuff and its treatment: Fosbury flop tears.

Purpose:The purpose of this report is to describe a new full-thickness tear pattern of the posterosuperior rotator cuff with reversal healing. We describe the specific radiologic signs associated with this tear pattern and the arthroscopic rotator cuff repair technique.Materials and Methods:A prospective radiologic and clinical study collected all patients with a magnetic resonance imaging arthrogram that underwent an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair over a 1 year period.Results:Among 97 patients, five demonstrated a tear of the posterosuperior rotator cuff with reversal healing. Characteristic radiographic findings included a thicker tendon than normal, the presence of a stump and accumulation of liquid in the superior-medial part of the subacromial bursa, and adhesions between the supraspinatus tendon and the wall of the subacromial bursa.Conclusion:Avulsion of the posterosuperior rotator cuff with reversal healing on its bursal-side is a less common condition. This type of lesion and distinct radiographic signs that can be recognized to facilitate anatomic repair of the rotator cuff.Level of evidence:Level IV.

Mechanics of Technical Performance for a Creative Method in High Jump

The study aimed at designing two instructional programs for performing high jump skill in athletics , the first is the creative method (chest method) and the second is fosbury flop and recognizing , after implementing both the programs , Kinematic variables ( displacement, velocity , angular change) for performing both methods, by following the experimental – descriptive methods by using cinematography on a purposive sample of (10) second graders at faculty of physical education – minia university They were divided into two equivalent groups, one is the experimental method for the creative method and the other is the control for the conventional method .Observation physical tests and experts surveys are the most important methods to collect data .The results revealed the in crease of Kinematic variables values ( under study) as well as record level for the experimental group learners than the control indicating the effectiveness of the creative method .

Education

Separation of variables... Fourier transforms... Green's functions... The Eastern cut-off... There are many techniques in the undergraduate canon for solving linear partial differential equations (PDEs) that have been popularized in excellent introductory texts. I confess that “The Eastern Cut-off” is not a mathematical technique, but rather, it was a well-regarded method for the high jump. By coincidence, the early 1800s saw both the first publication of Joseph Fourier's investigations into solutions to the heat equation using trigonometric series and the introduction of the high jump as an athletic event. For more than 150 years, the Eastern cut-off and a collection of other approaches were “known” to be the best high jump techniques until Richard Fosbury shocked the track and field community by turning away from the bar and leaping over it backwards with better results than other athletes could achieve. The lesson is clear: Success can discourage innovation by leading one to believe that the current workable solution is the best and only solution. This section of SIAM Review addresses this issue by injecting new ideas into traditional courses, and “The Method of Fokas for Solving Linear Partial Differential Equations,” by Bernard Deconinck, Thomas Trogdon, and Vishal Vasan, is ideally suited to this purpose. Fokas's method is a relatively new approach that should supplement the existing basket of methods and techniques, including separation of variables, Fourier transform, Laplace transforms, and so forth. In the context of this tutorial, a solution is an explicit expression that solves the PDE and satisfies the given boundary and initial conditions. The explicit expression typically takes the form of integrals or summations involving these boundary and initial conditions. (An explicit expression composed of information that is not provided in the statement of the problem, such as Dirichlet in place of Neumann boundary data, would not be considered a solution.) The new approach is to transform the linear PDE into a local relation of the form \[ \frac\partial \rho\partial t + \frac\partial j\partial x = 0, \rho(x,t,k) = e^-ikx + ømega(k)t q(x,t), \] where $q(x,t)$ is the dependent variable in the PDE, $\omega(k)$ is the dispersion relation, and $j(x,t,k)$ is deduced from the PDE. To solve the PDE, one applies Green's Theorem to the local relation over the $(x,t)$ domain with boundaries that fit the initial and boundary data. The majority of the effort involves mapping the resulting line integrals into the available information along the boundaries of the domain. In a broader sense, more traditional integral transform techniques are suited to certain types of boundary data, while the method of Fokas is a route to an appropriate integral transform by mathematical inspection and manipulation. As such, it can be a more general approach to a broad category of problems. There are advantages and disadvantages to covering this approach in the undergraduate curriculum. The method of Fokas requires students to have a solid background in complex analysis in order to know which manipulations and symmetries will map the existing integral expressions to the initial and boundary information posed in the problem. The traditional methods in a first course in PDEs require little background beyond a course in ODEs, but at the same time these methods are limited to a small set of problems. For an undergraduate PDEs course in which students have had some complex analysis beforehand, or for a graduate course, the method of Fokas is an outstanding supplement that provides a fresh perspective on integral transforms and where one transform might be more useful than another. This particular tutorial is limited to constant coefficient evolution equations with one spatial dimension, but there are many extensions and potential student projects available by digging into the literature. Similar to the “Fosbury Flop,” the method of Fokas approaches familiar problems from a new direction, providing students and instructors with new insights into linear PDEs.

Aren’t Athletes Cyborgs?: Technology, Bodies, and Sporting Competitions

Aren’t Athletes Cyborgs?: Technology, Bodies, and Sporting Competitions Rayvon Fouché (bio) In a special edition about the idea and the proliferation of the term “viral,” it is more than appropriate to consider the work of Donna Haraway. I, and I assume many others, first met Donna Haraway in class. For me it was as a graduate student in science and technology studies that I first encountered “A Manifesto for Cyborgs.” The conceptualization of cyborgs as a strange melding of human organic/biological material with any of a multitude of technoscientific artifacts was a new and refreshing intellectual taste that was familiar, but distinctly different from my everyday diet of social constructionist meditations on technological and scientific practice. Haraway’s cyborg theorization has spread like a virus (minus the sickness-inducing pathogens) through academic and nonacademic communities. It is viral in that it has relatively silently and efficiently spread across multiple disciplinary domains. It is also viral because it has been reproduced and replicated so often that its origin has been obfuscated. Thus, in the context of virality of Haraway’s cyborg, is there a place to say anything new? Doubtful. But there may still exist small windows to contemplate splicing cyborg ideas into new places and spaces. This essay will move in this more fruitful direction. That is, how can the concept of “cyborg” be used to intervene and reconceptualize commonly understood notions of gender, bodies, identity, and community? Of course, taken as a whole this is a monumental task. I will take a small slice of the pie and center my discussion on the world of sport and think about the ways the “cyborg myth is about transgressed boundaries, potent fusions, and dangerous possibilities which progressive people might explore as on part of needed political work” (Haraway 1991, 154). [End Page 281] My point of entry may seem a strange departure point, but sport is one locale where cyborg bodies have been not only accepted but also embraced. The rhetoric about freakish bodies producing unnatural performances has been a familiar refrain within commentaries about sport. Yet the popular mythology about sport is that competitions should be fair and in this fairness the best man, woman, or body should win (Magdalinski 2009). But even as the most casual grade school playground kickball participant knows, the world of sport is far from fair and equal. Sport is about creating, exploiting, and maintaining inequalities, or what is more commonly known as competitive advantages. Competitive advantages can be acquired in many ways, but the history of sport in the twentieth century has been about gaining a competitive edge through the use of technoscientific artifacts attached to the body or integrated into the body or a change in body mechanics. In the early 1960s, Dick Fosbury changed the body mechanics of high-jumping by developing a new body technique demanding that a competitor reorient his or her body to the bar. If one views the body as a machine, this new technique can be seen as a technological innovation (van Hilvoorde, Vos, and de Wert 2007). Initially there was concern that Fosbury’s new method of high-jumping undermined the integrity of the event. But the fact that this technique was in theory learnable by all and did not alter or add anything appreciable to the body quelled objections to the “Fosbury Flop.” However, discussions, debates, and legal battles about which artifactual technologies can and should be attached to or used by a body and those technologies that influence the internal dynamics of a body drive much of the popular discourse about technology and sport. The dominant internal technologies fall under the broad category of “doping” (Møller 2010). The sheer invisibility of these technologies is part of what makes them so effective for competitors and troubling for fans and sport governing bodies. External technologies like overly hydrodynamic swimming suits and seemingly erratic balls seen in the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Cup, respectively, received many complaints from fans and competitors alike. In general the same concern is raised about external and internal technologies. They are both perceived as unleveling the playing field by sublimating the natural human body to technology. By...

Comparative Analysis of Fosbury Flop and Straddle Style of the High Jump Technique in Distance Challenge Activity of Elementary School Students throughout Cinematography

Comparative Analysis of Fosbury Flop and Straddle Style of the High Jump Technique in Distance Challenge Activity of Elementary School Students throughout Cinematography

Fosbury Flop: Predicting Performance With a Three-Variable Model

The goal of this study is to (a) find the most predictive anthropometric factors, (b) check the predictability of a new jumping motor test, and (c) predict Fosbury-flop (FFP) performance by using a multiregression analysis. The participants of this study were 49 girls (age 13.6 ± 0.48 years; height = 1.61 ± 0.07 m) and 68 boys (age 13.6 ± 0.47 years; height = 1.64 ± 0.10 m). We measured the height, the sitting height), the highest position touched by the hand in a standing position (HEIGHTARM), the highest position touched by the hand during a running 1-leg vertical jump with a semirestricted curved run-up (HMAX), and the best performance in the FFP. We then calculated the leg length (LEGLENGTH), the skelic index (ratio of legs length to the abdomen length, SKEL), the vertical performance (VP, difference between HMAX and HEIGHTARM). The ability level was deducted from the difference between (LEGLENGTH + VP) and FFP. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated, and a multiple-regression analysis technique was applied to find the most predictive model (p < 0.05). The FFP was correlated with standing height (HEIGHT; r = 0.398; p < 0.05), HMAX (r = 0.707; p < 0.0005), ABILITY (r = 0.391; p < 0.005) but not with SKEL (r = 0.161; p = 0.01). The best multiple-regression model included HEIGHT, HMAX, and ABILITY with a high level of prediction (r2 = 0.94). In conclusion, the FFP performance can be predicted with equation: FFP = -0.618 HEIGHT + 0.898 HMAX + 0.669 ABILITY - 0.08. This equation is quite similar for both sexes, showing that 13-year-old girls and boys use the same method to jump high, which implies that the way to increase coordination or lower limb strength during training can be the same for junior boys and girls in high jump.

Evolution and revolution: Gauging the impact of technological and technical innovation on Olympic performance

A number of studies have pointed to a plateauing of athletic performance, with the suggestion that further improvements will need to be driven by revolutions in technology or technique. In the present study, we examine post-war men's Olympic performance in jumping events (pole vault, long jump, high jump, triple jump) to determine whether performance has indeed plateaued and to present techniques, derived from models of human growth, for assessing the impact of technological and technical innovation over time (logistic and double logistic models of growth). Significantly, two of the events involve well-documented changes in technology (pole material in pole vault) or technique (the Fosbury Flop in high jump), while the other two do not. We find that in all four cases, performance appears to have plateaued and that no further “general” improvement should be expected. In the case of high jump, the double logistic model provides a convenient method for modelling and quantifying a performance intervention (in this case the Fosbury Flop). However, some shortcomings are revealed for pole vault, where evolutionary post-war improvements and innovation (fibre glass poles) were concurrent, preventing their separate identification in the model. In all four events, it is argued that further general growth in performance will indeed need to rely predominantly on technological or technical innovation.

Reviews

Reviews

TSUKAHARA'S VAULT AND FOSBURY'S FLOP: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO GREAT INVENTIONS

Studies on innovation and creativity have been quite rare, thus far in the sport management literature. In this study, a comparative analysis was conducted between two great inventions — Tsukahara's Vault and Fosbury's Flop. Mitsuo Tsukahara and Dick Fosbury responded to open-ended questions designed to capture various dimensions in the development of their innovations. A content analysis was conducted on the data obtained through this semi-structured interview technique. The comparison between these two cases revealed an amazingly similar pattern in the structure of the innovative process. The major conclusion drawn from this analysis is that the principles of optimisation and creativity-enhancement should be conceived as being complimentary, in the promotion of innovative processes in various areas.

Flopping, Klapping and Gene Doping

The application of genetic technology seems to threaten what is considered natural in elite sport. This paper explores the role of genetic technology in elite sport and questions the significance of dichotomizing between the natural and artificial element. How do shifts in technology affect the attribution of the human element in athletic performance? To explore the attribution of human agency we compare the genetic enhancement of athletes with two other shifts of the ‘natural performance’ in sport: first, the introduction of a revolutionary high jump technique, the Fosbury flop, in 1968; and, second, the introduction of the klapskate in speed skating in 1997. The three cases show that artificiality as such can hardly be a criterion for evaluating processes of innovation. The context of elite sport is itself highly artificial. Boundaries between the natural body and the enhanced body are the outcome of institutional processes of boundary work. When discussing new technologies in sport it is better to ask if athletes are still playing the same game and whether or not there are equal opportunities and an equal distribution of means for playing the game. The introduction of gene technology may result in inequalities, with great impact on the outcome of the game. This outcome may be considered irrelevant for the inequalities that the game is supposed to produce and measure. Genetic enhancement may also threaten the public view of athletes as moral agents and possibly change the appreciation for human performance.