KINEMATIC PARAMETERS OF HURDLE CLEARANCE MOTION IN YOUNG, NOVICE ATHLETES

The purpose of the present study was to assess hurdle kinematics of young athletes when clearing the first two hurdles (0.76 m height) of a simulated hurdle race. Participants run the distance from the starting line to the 2nd hurdle. All trials were video recorded in order to evaluate specific kinematic variables related to hurdle clearance motion. Results revealed that young athletes negotiate the hurdles with lower values of horizontal velocity and hurdle clearance distance parameters, and tend to adopt “a jumping action” over the hurdle compared to the motor pattern of more skilled hurdlers. Horizontal velocity variation affected the technical model of hurdle clearance at the 2nd hurdle, compared to the 1st hurdle, forcing young participants to clear the 2nd hurdle with higher vertical displacement