Pole bending mechanism in pole vaulting

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the pole bending mechanism in pole vaulting. Pole was modeled as a series of ten rigid segments connecting its adjacent segment via joint with rotational spring component. The stiffeness of the spring was identified from the measured deflection under loaded condition of pole. A male pole vaulter participated in the experiment. A motion capture system was used to measure the 3-D coordinate data of 47 and 20 reflective markers attached to the whole-body and the pole, respectively. Force and moment exerted on grip center were calculated with a force/moment equilibrium equation, and then kinetics were decomposed into the kinetics of each hand by assuming a force-distribution ratio along the longtudinal direction of the pole. The joint torques of the vaulter were calculated via inverse dynamics with use of the estimated kinetics of the hand. The result obtained in this study show that the right shoulder flextion torque and the left sholder extension torque exerted in the first half of pole bending phase.