Run-up speed and jumping ground reaction force of male elite gymnasts on vault in China

BACKGROUND: A high run-up speed and a big jumping ground reaction force are crucial to perform difficult movements and improving the quality of movement performance in the competition vault. However, the relationship between performance in the competition vault and run-up speeds, as well as jumping ground reaction force, still needs to be discovered in detail. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the interrelations between different run-up speeds and jumping ground reaction force, and to explore the different requirements of performing different vault styles as well as difficult movements on run-up speed and jumping ground reaction force. METHODS: The data, including vaulting run-up speed and jumping ground reaction force of 30 Chinese male elite gymnasts of performance testing, were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and Binary logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the pedaling run-up speed between the Front handspring types and Cartwheel types (p > 0.05). The comparison between interval run-up speeds revealed that the last 5 m run-up speeds were faster during the 25 m run-up distance, and 30 m sprint speed was strongly associated with the 25 m vaulting run-up speed of Handspring and Cartwheel (r = 0.81, p < 0.01). There are significant differences in the jumping ground reaction force of different types and difficult movements (p < 0.01). When the D-score is greater than 4.6, the jumping ground reaction force will increase significantly. Jumping ground reaction force was strongly correlated with 25 m run-up speed (r = 0.715, p < 0.01), last 5 m run-up speed (r = 0.718, p < 0.01), and 30 m sprint speed (r = 0.704, p < 0.01) respectively, but not significantly associated with last 10-5 m run-up speed as well as before the last 10 m run-up speed (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The special requirement for run-up speed and jumping ground reaction force may vary as the difficult vault. Moreover, the optimization of interval run-up speeds and improvement of the 25 m run-up speed may contribute to the bigger jumping ground reaction force and increase the potential to perform more difficult Handspring/Cartwheel vaults. The topic may merit an interventional study to optimize run-up rhythm and improve lower limb strength for achieving higher run-up speeds and bigger jumping ground reaction force within the limited run-up distance to perform more difficult vaults for male elite gymnasts in China.