Long Jump: Speed, Takeoff and Landing
A 16-year-old long jumper has a personal best of 5.10 m. She is 1.68 m tall and weighs 55 kg. Video shows her 30 m approach slowing in the last three strides, her penultimate stride being longer than the takeoff stride, and her foot landing 20 cm behind the board. At takeoff her knee angle is almost straight (about 170°), her takeoff angle is about 55°, and she reaches a high peak height but only 3.9 m measured from the board. She lands with her feet close together and falls backward, leaving a mark behind her heels. She complains of 'no pop' and wants to add a longer run-up. Her coach says she should just jump higher. She trains twice a week and has no pain.
1. Analyse the main biomechanical reasons for the 3.9 m distance and explain why adding a longer run-up is unlikely to help on its own.
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The jump is limited mainly by horizontal velocity at takeoff, not by peak height. The video shows her slowing in the last three strides and taking a long penultimate stride, which creates a braking action. Braking reduces horizontal momentum just when she needs to convert speed into distance. A 55° takeoff angle is too steep for a fast long jump: it directs more velocity upward and less forward, so she gains height but loses distance. The almost straight knee at contact also reduces the leg's ability to absorb and redirect force smoothly.
A longer run-up will not help if she decelerates into the board. She first needs to sprint through the approach and take off with a lower, more forward-directed angle. The landing also costs distance because falling backward puts the mark behind her heels.
2. Suggest three technical changes and two drills, explaining how each affects impulse or the flight path.
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Technical changes
- Accelerate through the last three strides instead of slowing. This preserves horizontal velocity and increases the impulse available at takeoff.
- Shorten the penultimate stride and make the takeoff stride quick and tall. This reduces braking and helps the takeoff leg apply force in the right direction.
- Lower the takeoff angle towards roughly 20–25° by running through the board rather than jumping up. This keeps more velocity horizontal and improves flight distance.
Drills
- 3-stride pop-ups: short approach, fast takeoff, emphasise forward travel rather than height.
- Approach runs with a cone at the board: check that the last three strides are faster, not longer, and that the foot lands on the board.
These work because they change impulse direction and reduce braking, which is more important than simply jumping higher.
3. Explain how her landing technique costs distance and give a correction.
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She lands with her feet close together and falls backward, so the nearest mark is behind her heels. In long jump the measurement is taken from the mark closest to the board, so falling backward loses distance even if the flight was good.
Correction: on landing, extend both legs forward, bring both arms forward and drive the hips up and through so she lands with her heels ahead of her hips and then moves forward. Practise landing from a short approach into sand, focusing on 'heels forward, hips through'. This does not change the flight, but it protects the distance she has already achieved.