KINEMATIC ADJUSTMENTS DURING SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL WOLF JUMPS ON THE BALANCE BEAM

Abstract

The current study examined differences in the kinematics between successful and failed landings of a wolf jump on the balance beam. Subjects were 35 elite level gymnasts performing in competition. Discrete point analysis and Analysis of Characterizing Phases found that failed landings involved higher initial longitudinal component of the inertia tensor, body angle in the anterior-posterior direction at takeoff and landing, and the medial-lateral component of angular velocity during the descent of the jump (p < 0.05). While initial higher longitudinal inertial tensor values may have been adjusted during the descent, it is possible that focusing on this factor may have prevented the gymnasts from dealing with other errors in body position; specifically the angle of the body in the anterior-posterior direction.