Landing characteristics in men\u27s floor exercise on European championships 2004

In our research we focus on certain characteristics of salto landings that were performed on European Championships 2004. Our goal is to determine characteristics which have influence on the magnitude of the landing mistake. We analyzed saltos which were performed by senior gymnasts (N=97) who were competing in the qualifications of the European Championships 2004 in Ljubljana. We defined the variables according to a theoretical model for the evaluation of salto landings in the floor exercise. The results show that axis of rotation, number of turns around longitudinal axis, and initial landing height have a significant impact on the magnitude of the landing mistake. The results also show that soft landing is most effective, landing after saltos without twists is optimal with feet together (unless gymnasts\u27 abilities of left and right leg are different) and arms positions at touch down should be upward