SIMILARITY OF COORDINATION PATTERNS IN A GROUP OF HIGHLY TRAINED SPRINTERS: A NOVEL APPROACH

Understanding coordination patterns aids technical understanding and potential grouping of athletes that exhibit similar movement patterns. This study assessed between-individual similarity in initial sprint acceleration coordination in highly trained to world class sprinters using a novel pairwise approach. Similarity between participants was higher for thigh-thigh coordination compared to shank-foot and trunk-shank coordination. Mean similarity increased from step 1 to step 4 in shank-foot (0.74 to 0.83) and trunk-shank (0.68 to 0.79) couplings but remained consistent in the thigh-thigh coupling (0.89 to 0.91). Researchers and practitioners should consider that coordination between sprinters converges over initial acceleration, but between any two individuals coordination similarity might increase or decrease across steps