Track and Field - High Jump
In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, sprints and jumps were on stage. United States sprint dominance was as evidenced by world records and medal counts. Bob Beamon (US) long jumped past 28 and 29 feet. Dick Fosbury (US) also gathered attention for his medal performance. He took off in the high jump with his back to the bar and landed on his back. Although others claim to have been using this style as far back as the early 60’s, his name is forever linked with the Fosbury Flop. Next we will breakdown the key elements in the high jump and put together training plans for a couple different weeks.
The high jump has an Approach that contains a transition from linear to a curve. It has a Takeoff that is similar to the long jump, employing a penultimate and takeoff step. Lastly, it has Bar Clearance and Landing in the pit. Let’s begin by taking a closer look at the Approach.
THE APPROACH
To keep the approach simple we will discuss it as having 5 steps on the straight and 5 on the curve including the penultimate and takeoff steps. Most athletes will take their first step with the same leg they takeoff with. The drive phase will be two steps. Athletes should be moving into an upright running posture by the third step. The athlete will continue to accelerate in a straight line until they reach the fifth step. Watch for deviations to the outside, which slow the athlete down. Athletes will also tend to slow down as they approach the transition to the turn. The athlete should have two measurements for their approach, one parallel to the pit (between 8’-14’ depending on speed) from the inside standard and another directly back on the apron from that point.
The transition to the turn should be a blend from straight ahead running to single track running while continuing to accelerate. To run on a turn each successive step must be directly in front of the previous one. In addition, the takeoff and penultimate steps must also be on the turn. Initiation of the turn on the fifth step happens on toe off. Instead of continuing to push directly behind, the athlete will push to the outside. This action will begin turning the body towards the far standard. The next step will land on the turn directly in front of the previous...