04/08/2018
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PERFECT TECHNIQUE. barshim is my absolute favorite jumper. This jump looks so effortless, and his rotation and positioning above the bar are a result of his curve and takeoff. This angle is great, as it shows how much inward lean Mutaz has, how he grounds the penultimate step, his butt kicking/lowering strategy, and his pelvic position in flight. The takeoff leg appears to “shovel” the ground, as the outside of the foot makes contact with the track first. Although many coaches tell athletes not to ground the takeoff leg on the side of the foot, almost all of the best jumpers will contact with the inside edge of the foot/heel, in a shovel like manner. This push is somewhat backwards, inwards, and downwards, and results in the insane amount of somersault that is observed here. Mutaz also does something very interesting during the last three steps; he breaks a natural rhythm and appears to gallop into the takeoff. This occurs because Mutaz pushes aggressively off the right foot, and then attempts to ground the penultimate step relatively straight and behind the hips. This allows him to maintain his velocity, as grounding the penultimate in front of the hips results in more lowering, but also increases braking. How Mutaz lowers is a function of his penultimate step moving behind his body as his center of mass moves forward. This causes the femur to move farther from parallel, resulting in a decrease in the height of his COM into the takeoff. His takeoff foot is then kept low and, as I said earlier, stabs or shovels the ground. This is likely reflexive.