PoleVaultPower.com

http://engineering.union.edu/~rapoffa/B ... 0vault.pdf

Does the effective height indicate his max height? If so, it lists Bubka at 6.50m!!

Sorry, but they have a very poor understanding of pole vault.

Barto, the article that appeared when I checked was by "Falk Schade, Adamantios Arampatzis, Gert-Peter Brüggemann,
Deutsche Sporthochschule, Köln, Germany. I think you have gravely misjudged the work of these scientists. They are without question the current World's leading biomechanical analysts of the pole vault. They have studied the best vaulters in the world at a number of IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games using three dimensional pole vault analysis techniques and measured the reaction forces under the pole tip at the Helsinki World Championships (including Isinbayeva's World Record vault).

6.50m by Bubka? I would give credence to the scientific validity of it's measurement. Effective height was defined by these investigators as ..."the maximum height attained by the vaulter's centre of mass at the highest point in the free flight trajectory over the bar."

I am not eager to dismiss their attempt to objectively measure the path of the vaulter's CofM and the peak height achieved as indicating that they

Barto wrote:Sorry, but they have a very poor understanding of pole vault.

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You should read their paper. It is enlightening and reflects some considerable knowledge of the pole vault on the part of the investigators. It contains data of inestimable value to coaches of elite vaulters in particular. They have also been keynote presenters and consultants for the worlds leading coaches attending the International Pole Vault Symposiums.

Whilst you are entitled to your opinion I do not accept it.

The foremost biomechanists in the world have been describing to the nth detail since the 1950's. There have been very very few who understood what it was they were describing. Based upon the abstract of this paper, I don't believe these biomechanists have any significant degree of understanding either.

Barto wrote:The foremost biomechanists in the world have been describing to the nth detail since the 1950's. There have been very very few who understood what it was they were describing. Based upon the abstract of this paper, I don't believe these biomechanists have any significant degree of understanding either.

Clearly other coaches like myself will continue to learn from the inputs of reputable scientist and their investigations. This is especially the case when the scientists in question have been studying and publishing their findings on the pole vault event for just over 2 decades. Like Peter McGinnis, who has made a very positive contribution to pole vault coach education, this dedicated group has produced very useful data for practitioner coaches, especially at elite levels.

Obviously we will have to agree to differ as to the "significance" we attach to their efforts. I am disappointed that you could only manage to read the abstract.

In MHO, the body of the paper contains information that a critical and discerning coach would find to be useful in monitoring pole vaulter technical development. The capacity of the different vaulters and the different techniques they employed for doing work during the pole support phase of the vault certainly provoked my interest.