SPEED AND STROKE CYCLE CHARACTERISTICS DURING THE 100-M RACE FOR PARAPLEGIC ATHLETES

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The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate the speed changes and selected stroke cycle characteristics during the 100-m wheelchair race for paraplegic athletes. Four male and two female T4 and one male and 3 female T3 wheelchair racers served as the subjects. Two S-VHS camcorders (60 fields/s) were panned horizontally to cover the first and second 50 m of the 100-m race, respectively. The maximum speeds recorded ranged from 5.53 m/s to 7.66 m/s. The distance and time needed to reach the maximum speed ranged from 43.9 m and 11.2 s (a T4 female) to 82.2 m and 18.9 s (a T3 female), respectively. The subjects in this study have lower maximum speeds than able-bodied runners and they need longer distance and time to reach their maximum speeds when compared their able-bodied counterparts.