A KINEMATIC AND DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF ELITE ALPINE SKIERS

Abstract

The knowledge of the internal forces and torques acting on a joint during a physical activity as well as a clear description of the motion performed by an elite athlete is of top most interest for rehabilitation, teaching or training purposes. Nevertheless, the motion of the athletes can be strongly affected by the evolution of the equipment design. For example, great changes in terms of angular motion and ground reaction have been revealed in alpine skiing when comparing conventional and carving turns (Yoneyama, 2000). More recently, MCJller and Schwameder (2003) have carried out a comparative study between conventional and carving ski turn based upon kinematics, plantar pressure and EMG records. Coupling 3D video analysis and forceplate acquisition, the present work aims at recording the displacements of whole body segments as well as ground reaction in order to analyze the turning motion of elite alpine skiers.