Spatiotemporal Parameters of 100-m Sprint in Different Levels of Sprinters with Unilateral Transtibial Amputation.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate differences of the spatiotemporal parameters in a 100-m sprint among elite, sub-elite, and non-elite sprinters with a unilateral transtibial amputation. Using publicly available Internet broadcasts, we analyzed 125, 19, and 33 records from 30 elite, 12 sub-elite, and 22 non-elite sprinters, respectively. For each sprinter's run, the average velocity, step frequency, and step length were calculated using the number of steps in conjunction with the official race time. Average velocity was greatest in elite sprinters (8.71±0.32 m/s), followed by the sub-elite (8.09±0.06 m/s) and non-elite groups (7.72±0.27 m/s). Although there was a significant difference in average step frequency between the three groups, the effect size was small and the relative difference among the three groups was 3.1%. Statistical analysis also revealed that the average step length was longest in elite sprinters, followed by the sub-elite and non-elite groups. These results suggest that the differences in sprint performance between the three groups is mainly due to the average step length rather than step frequency.