Sports Biomechanics: A Literature Review

This literature review on sports biomechanics discusses the factors that contribute to the success of an athlete in sprint running. It covers topics such as bio-mechanic factors, training methods, clothing and shoes selection, and external factors. The review also includes a table of studies on sprint running and their findings.

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Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Literature review table:
Author,
Year
Participants Method Biochemical
Parameters
Findings
Haugen, T.,
& Buchheit,
M. (2016)
6 non-amputee sprinters
and 11 sprinters with
transtibial amputation
Randomised
selection
High speed video
Inside leg Sprinters with unilateral amputation are found to have
asymmetric legs. The non-amputees and sprinters with the
amputation run slower on the curve compared to straight running
but in a different kinematics.
Di Prampero,
P. E., Botter,
A., &
Osgnach, C.
(2015)
4 athletes on a plain
terrain
Set up of sprint
runners and
video
Leg and thigh
muscles
In medium-level sprint runners, the metabolic requirement is
much higher than compared to the one running at a constant
speed.
Yu, J., Sun,
Y., Yang, C.,
Wang, D.,
Yin, K.,
Herzog, W.,
& Liu, Y.
(2016)
20 male sprinters Kinematics data
Ground reaction
forces were
measured
Hip and knee
joint
Muscle torque and other passive torque were recorded. It has
been found that the peak horizontal breaking force was
comparatively lower than for the maximal velocity. The lower
horizontal braking is the main cause for increasing running
velocity.
Čoh, M.
(2019)
World’s fastest sprinter,
Usain Bolt
2D Kinematics
analysis
Leg, knee and
hip
The maximum speed attained by Usain Bolt is a result of the
combination of optimal anthropomertric characteristics clubbed
with his athletics ability and his extremely rational techniques.
Haugen, T.,
& Buchheit,
M. (2016)
Multiple observation
from different videos
Video and GPS
technology
Whole body
including leg
and hand
movement
Sprint performance can be highly affected by factors like clothing
of the athlete and the environmental factors including
temperature, altitude, humidity and bio-metric pressure.
Rabita, G.,
Dorel, S.,
Slawinski, J.,
Sàez‐de‐
Four elite and 5 sub-
elite sprinters
Virtual sprinter
was constructed
and was observed
Each step of
the leg
It has been found that the Anteroposterior force, the power and
the ratio of the horizontal force component to the resultant (total)
force are the factors required to compute the velocity of a
sprinter.

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Villarreal, E.,
Couturier,
A.,
Samozino,
P., & Morin,
J. B. (2015)
Cetin, E.,
Hindistan, I.
E., &
Ozkaya, Y.
G. (2018)
20 students who were
recreationally active
2D Kinematics
and high speed
video
Legs, hips The training groups were given uphill and downhill training.
After rigorous training the time was shortened and the velocity of
the participants increased by 100 m for the uphill participants.
Higashihara,
A., Ono, T.,
Tokutake,
G.,
Kuramochi,
R., Kunita,
Y., Nagano,
Y., & Hirose,
N. (2018).
10 male college
sprinters
Observation
through 3D
kinematics data
and video
Biceps and
thigh muscles
Strain injuries among athletes are very common and are an
indicator of future injury. An athlete with a pre-injury is
displayed increased hip flexion and peak knee flexion as
compared to one with no strains or injury.
Sado, N.,
Yoshioka, S.,
& Fukashiro,
S. (2019)
10 male sprinter during
steady sate running
3D kinematics
data and video
Leg, biceps Faster running of an athlete requires larger lumbosacral axial
rotation of torque and is relatively invariant to the running
posture. Faster running increase the bio-chemical load resulting in
the pelvic drop and posterior tilt. This could result in potential
injury.
Pavei, G.,
Zamparo, P.,
Fujii, N., Otsu,
T., Numazu, N.,
Minetti, A. E.,
& Monte, A.
(2019)
1 male athlete 35 Camera
motion set up
Ankle, legs The mechanical power of an athlete increases linearly with the
increase in the mean sprint velocity. The inertia of the limbs
decreases due to the function of the distance within the sprint.

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Discussion:
Sprint running is an important factor when it comes to the athlete to run in major
sports events like Olympics. The observation drawn from the 3D kinematics where a 22 year
highly energetic athlete was observed through video capture shows certain specific outcome.
It has been found that at the state of on the mark, or the starting position, the athlete begins
with a distance of 0.65m between the legs and with the angle of 105 degree at the keen. This
shows that at the time of starting the race, an athlete has a greater angle and aims at covering
the maximum possible distance within the short time. In the article, Coh (2019) examined the
running pattern of the fastest running athlete, Usain Bolt and pointed out that it is a result of
the combination of optimal anthropomertric characteristics that helps a person to be a
successful athlete. At the same time, Cetin, Hindistan and Ozkaya, (2018) commented that
training of the athlete is as important as any other factor. There is a difference in the running
ability of a person on a plain land and that in a higher altitude. Therefore, a sprinter is often
given the training to be able to perform at different levels of ground and alongside, the other
factors that helps to make him a perfect athlete.
Name Age Height Weight
Novice athlete 22 176 cm 90 kg
Table: Data of the athlete under observation
Next, as per the observation, as soon as the athlete covers a distance of 1.50 m within
the time of 840 milisec, it has been noticed that the angle between the thigh and the lower leg
decreases to 92 degree. Thus, there is a difference of 13 degree as soon as the person starts
running. It can be highlighted here that as the run begins, the athlete aims at covering the
maximum distance within the shortest possible time. This is easily visible in the movement of
the athlete where he constantly changes the angle of his various body parts like the leg or the

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hands in order to best fit the environment where he is running and achieves the best possible
result in terms of lesser time and more distance. In this respect, the findings of Haugen and
Buchheit, (2016) can be taken into consideration where they clearly mentioned that there are
several external factors as well that equally contributes in the success or the failure of an
athlete. This is the reason that the athletes are found to wear body fitting clothes so that the
resistance of the air can be reduced to the maximum level. Moreover, they are also opined to
use sports shoes with high grip that would provide high grip to the surface area and these
external factors can be easily avoided. Similarly, it has been observed that as the observant
started running and when his other leg (here, right) came forward, the angle of the leg again
increased to 100 degree with his upper body tilted towards front to cover the maximum
distance possible with one attempt. As opined by Pavei et al., (2019) that the mechanical
power of an athlete increases linearly with the increase in the mean sprint velocity. The
inertia of the limbs decreases due to the function of the distance within the sprint and this is
the reason that the angle increases and decreases as per the changes in the movement.
Conclusion:
The above discussion based on sprint running or sprinting as a fundamental skill that
creates the basic for an athlete to run and perform the best as per their ability. However, it has
been clearly observed that there are various factors that increase the ability of an athlete to
perform better. With the help of the observation based on the set up and the information
gained from the literature review, it has been clearly established that the success of an athlete
depends on the bio mechanism as adopted by the athlete. The aim of an athlete is always to
cover the maximum distance in the minimum possible time and in order to get this these
athletes are found to adapt various methods. It can be said that rigorous training under the
supervision of a coach who shall be recording the movement of the athlete is important. The

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correct selection of clothing and shoes depending on the running surface are other important
factors other than the bio--mechanic factors.

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References:
Cetin, E., Hindistan, I. E., & Ozkaya, Y. G. (2018). Effect of Different Training Methods on
Stride Parameters in Speed Maintenance Phase of 100-m Sprint Running. The Journal
of Strength & Conditioning Research, 32(5), 1263-1272. doi:
10.1519/JSC.0000000000001977
Čoh, M. (2019). Usain Bold–biomechanical model of sprint technique. Facta Universitatis,
Series: Physical Education and Sport, 001-013. doi: 10.22190/FUPES190304003C
Di Prampero, P. E., Botter, A., & Osgnach, C. (2015). The energy cost of sprint running and
the role of metabolic power in setting top performances. European journal of applied
physiology, 115(3), 451-469. doi: 10.1007/s00421-014-3086-4
Haugen, T., & Buchheit, M. (2016). Sprint running performance monitoring: methodological
and practical considerations. Sports Medicine, 46(5), 641-656. doi: 10.1007/s40279-
015-0446-0
Higashihara, A., Ono, T., Tokutake, G., Kuramochi, R., Kunita, Y., Nagano, Y., & Hirose, N.
(2018). The kinematics of overground sprinting in track and field athletes with
previous hamstring injuries. ISBS Proceedings Archive, 36(1), 138. doi:
/isbs/vol36/iss1/18/
Pavei, G., Zamparo, P., Fujii, N., Otsu, T., Numazu, N., Minetti, A. E., & Monte, A. (2019).
Comprehensive mechanical power analysis in sprint running
acceleration. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports.
doi.org/10.1111/sms.13520
Rabita, G., Dorel, S., Slawinski, J., Sàez‐de‐Villarreal, E., Couturier, A., Samozino, P., &
Morin, J. B. (2015). Sprint mechanics in world‐class athletes: a new insight into the

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limits of human locomotion. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in
sports, 25(5), 583-594. doi: 10.1111/sms.12389
Sado, N., Yoshioka, S., & Fukashiro, S. (2019). A biomechanical study of the relationship
between running velocity and three-dimensional lumbosacral kinetics. Journal of
biomechanics. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.07.038
Taboga, P., Kram, R., & Grabowski, A. M. (2016). Maximum-speed curve-running
biomechanics of sprinters with and without unilateral leg amputations. Journal of
Experimental Biology, 219(6), 851-858. Retrieved from: doi: 10.1242/jeb.133488
Yu, J., Sun, Y., Yang, C., Wang, D., Yin, K., Herzog, W., & Liu, Y. (2016). Biomechanical
insights into differences between the mid-acceleration and maximum velocity phases
of sprinting. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 30(7), 1906-1916. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001278