Professor Liu Yu and his Shanghai-based team of colleagues and students are undertaking research into pole vaulting and performance by top athletes. Assisting the researchers: force plate technology from Kistler, including a new development for the planting box to supply critical biomechanical data about the complex sequence of movements in this sport.
The pole vault occupies a unique position among track and field events. In less than a minute, athletes have to complete a technically challenging routine that comprises several different movement sequences: the run-up with the pole, planting, take-off, turn and bar clearance – and finally, a safe landing. This is an event that sets demanding requirements for the athletes – but not only in terms of purely physical performance. They, and especially their coaches, must also fully understand every dynamic detail of the sequence of movements in the vault.
Since 2018, the Sport Performance Research Center (SPRC) at the Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) has completed several projects involving high-level Chinese and foreign athletes, aimed at analyzing and processing the full range of motions involved in pole vaulting. Biomechanical force plates from Kistler deliver outstandingly accurate measurements of dynamic processes, and are also easy to install: due to these advantages, they have played a crucial part in helping the researchers to understand the instantaneous force changes that occur during a pole vault.