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How to Long Jump
Photo sequence of Kelly Sotherton jumping in Glasgow
Words by: Aston Moore
1) The long jumper is first a sprinter and from a standing start we can see Kelly accelerating down the runway to build momentum for a successful take off. A feature of this is staying low with good body alignment and driving hard with both arms and legs.2) Mid point down the runway we can see Kelly more upright and showing good sprinting form as she approaches optimum speed in preparation for take off.3) On the stride before take off we can see a slight adjustment in the running patter as Kelly starts to prepare for the take off itself. This is achieved by a slight lowering of the athletes centre of mass on the penultimate stride which puts the athlete in an advantageous position to apply vertical lift – the take off.4) Kelly then continues to drive forward on to the take off board. maintaining an upright body posture as she does so.5) From the previous frame the intention of the athlete is to step down onto the take off board. Note also the difference in the height of Kelly’s hips in this frame when compared to the previous frame. We can clearly see that her centre of mass is rising as she places her foot onto the take off board – again an advantageous technical point.6) To aid vertical lift, the free limbs (arms and non take off leg) swing upwards and as a consequence, provide downward thrust into the ground thus aiding vertical lift at the take off. This can only be effective if the athlete is still on the ground when the free limbs have done their work. We can see that Kelly is achieving this position well.7) Kelly extends the take off leg dynamically to launch her into the air. Here we can see good hip and knee extension coupled with a powerful and sudden drive of the free thigh. Note also the upright position of the upper body.8) Kelly uses the hang technique to maintain balance during the flight phase of the jump. This is performed after the initial take off, by allowing the free thigh to drop (extend) and join the take off leg below the trunk (cont)9) At the same instance her arms are rotating around and back and are fixed momentarily above her head – this is called the long or tall position. These movements will aid balance in flight and better prepare the athlete for an efficient landing.10) From the long position Kelly prepares for the landing by first flexing at the knee and then the hip as her upper body is coming forward (cont)11) The arms are brought from high above her head finishing in a position in front of the body as the trunk flexes toward the thigh. Achieving this side on V is called a jack knife. The knees are also extended in preparation for the landing itself.12) The landing is performed as the legs hit the sand by extending the legs as the arms are brought forward and down to a position behind the body. Kelly gives at her knee to allow her body to pass over the mark made by her feet in the sand.
