Speed Reference at 3°, 6° and 9° step

Explanation of the 3 indices referred to an ideal athlete

In the Sprint and Gait Test parameters the speed of an 'ideal' athlete (the so-called 'super athlete') during the 3rd, 6th, and 9th step can be indicated. These are in fact the three most interesting moments of a sprint; important studies have proven that:

  • the speed of the 3rd stride is strongly related with the use of burst power
  • the 6th-stride speed depends on the phase of transition between the burst power and elastic recovery
  • the 9th-stride speed depends more on pure elasticity

Therefore the following indexes have been created and calculated as follows:

Esplosivity rate: real speed at 3rd step / ideal reference speed at 3rd step * 100
Transition rate: real speed at 6th step / ideal reference speed at 6th step * 100
Elasticity Rate: real speed at 9th step / ideal reference speed at 9th step * 100

Example: supposing that the three speeds of reference have been set at 6, 8, and 9 m/s, the athlete's sprint is taken into consideration and his indexes are shown:

Of course it is possible to change the three speeds of reference - as for any other secondary parameter - in any single test of a certain type or in general.