EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE SPRINT STARTS: A LONGITUDINAL CASE STUDY

Abstract

Sprint starts are increasingly important as race distance declines from 400 meters. In this study, three sprint start techniques, a crouch start, a crouch-to-upright start, and a standing start, were examined to determine their relative effectiveness. Effectiveness was defined as time to reach a series of timing gates. A single subject performed all trials in two sessions separated by four years. The mean times for each interval were calculated for each technique and each session. Each trial was videotaped, and representative trials were digitized in order to track the movement of the subject’s center of mass. The results showed that the standing start was clearly faster than the other two techniques at every interval and that the center of mass exhibited full running stride characteristics at an earlier stage.