2020 Volume 41 Pages 312-319
Athletes with unilateral transfemoral amputation use mechanical prosthetic knee joint and running-specific prosthesis for their affected leg. Previous studies reported that athletes with unilateral transfemoral amputation adopt the specific sprint techniques to obtain the speed due to their asymmetric legs. Adaptation of champion’s techniques is known as one of the useful strategies for improvement of performance. The present study, therefore, aimed to examine the Paralympic champion specific technique for obtaining the great sprint speed by using the deterministic model. A Paralympic champion with unilateral transfemoral amputation and corresponding six Japanese athletes were asked to run on runway with their maximal speed. Each mechanical parameter in the deterministic model of the sprint speed was compared between a Paralympic champion and Japanese athletes. As the results, a Paralympic champion exerted the small vertical component of the ground reaction force per body mass, and this induced the short flight time of the intact leg. This resulted in the great sprint speed of a Paralympic champion.
