Phase ratios of American collegiate triple jumpers

Abstract

Published research on triple jumping technique is largely based on elite jumpers, potentially limiting its application to less developed athletes; therefore, further examination of the triple jump is warranted. The present study examined the phase ratios of collegiate triple jumpers to determine which technique was utilised by athletes and the relationship between phase lengths and actual distance jumped. Nine, collegiate triple jumpers were recorded during a regularly scheduled outdoor Track and Field competition. Trials were digitised to determine phase lengths for the longest and shortest triple jumps of each athlete. Pearson-r correlation and multiple regression analyses were completed to determine relationships of phase lengths to actual triple jump distance. Significant, positive correlations were found for the length of the hop (r = 0.68, p = 0.044) and step (r = 0.90, p < 0.001) phases to the longest actual triple jump length. The linear combination of the phase ratios was significantly related to the triple jump length; however, step length was found to be most heavily weighted, accounting for approximately 80% of the variance in triple jump length. Therefore, collegiate triple jumpers can maximise total triple jump length by minimising over-hopping and maximising the length of the step phase.