STRIDE REGULATION AT THE APPROACH PHASE OF LONG JUMP IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED (F13) ATHLETES

The present work studied whether visually impaired (VI) class F13 long jumpers showed at the approach run the same pattern of variability in footfall placement across trials as their non-VI counterparts. The long jump finalists (men and women), of the IBSA 2009 European Athletics Championship were recorded. VI long jumpers demonstrated an initial ascending variability followed by a descending one suggesting some type of regulation. This control emerged on the 5th and 4th stride prior to take-off and at a mean distance of 8.8±1.9m and 8.3±2.6m from the take-off board for men and women respectively. TBD variability reached a maximum value of 30.0±18.9cm and 25.2± 14.4cm and was finally reduced to 7.73cm (± 6.65cm) and 8.2± 2.6cm for males and females respectively. The striding pattern observed was similar to that reported in the literature for non-VI athletes

STRIDE LENGTH REGULATION AT THE APPROACH PHASE OF LONG JUMP IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED (F12 CLASS) ATHLETES

The present study examined whether long jumpers with visual impairment (class F12) demonstrate at the approach run the same pattern of footfall variability across trials as athletes without visual impairment. Five male and five female elite F12 class long jumpers were recorded during a competition. The athletes demonstrated an initial ascending footfall variability followed by a descending one, suggesting the existence of stride length regulation. This regulation emerged on the fourth and the third stride prior to take-off area and at a mean distance of 9.09 ± 0.26 m and 6.28 ± 0.26 m for the males and the females respectively from the take-off line. Results indicated that the stride pattern of F12 class long jumpers was similar to that reported in the literature for athletes without visual impairment, with stride regulation commencing one stride closer to the take-off board