Abstract
The present study examined factors related to variations in approach time, focusing on step frequency, ground contact time, and flight time for each step in the approach. The participant, a university male 110-m hurdler, performed 22 hurdle runs with three hurdles set at the competitive standard for 110-m hurdles. Trials were held once a week, three times. They were conducted in July, which corresponds to the match season. The number of runs per occasion ranged from 6 to 12. Changes in the step frequency, ground contact time, and flight time for each step in the approach were measured. The correlations between approach time and step frequency, ground contact time, and flight time in each step were also analyzed. The main results were as follows: (a) A significant negative correlation (r=-0.638, p=0.008) was found between approach time and step frequency for each step, but only for the frequency of the fifth step. (b) A significant negative correlation (r=-0.718, p=0.002) was found between step frequency and the flight time of the fifth step. (c) A significant negative correlation (r=-0.607, p=0.013) was found between approach time and foot-to-hurdle distance on the take-off side. These results suggest that increasing step frequency by shortening the flight time of the third step before the takeoff may be related to increasing the foot-to-hurdle distance on the take-off side; this may, in turn, lead to a reduction in approach time.
