Colin Ensminger

Sprinters Block Start

In many of the short distance races in track and field a racer will use a set of

blocks to give him/her an advantage at the beginning of the race. For most levels of

competition, blocks are almost a mandatory piece of equipment to use. Blocks give

sprinters a big biomechanical advantage at the start of a race compared to the

racers who decide to forgo the equipment (Thomas). Technique for the most

efficient start off of the blocks has changed throughout the years as track and field

has developed and changed. However, one thing has remained the same

throughout the years of application: the phases. The phases are the drive phase,

the flight phase, and the support phase(Fletcher). Each of these phases have

distinct beginning and end phases. The first phase, or the drive phase, begins the

instant the sprinter begins his/her takeoff from the blocks and ends once he/she

leaves the blocks completely; shown in Figure 1.

(Figure

1) The second phase, the flight phase, begins when the first phase ends, and is

carried through the whole time the sprinter is in the air; shown in Figure 2.
 (Figure 2).

The sprinter is also considered a projectile at this point. The flight phase ends when

the sprinters foot makes contact with the ground. When the flight phase ends the

support phase begins. The support phase can be defined as the point in the stride

when the toe of the foot is in front of the sprinters center of gravity and this phase

supports the most weight during the stride. This phase is very short and is shown in

figure 3. At the end of the support phase, the sprinter returns to the drive phase

(Fletcher).

(Figure 3)

There are also a couple different ways to analyze the block start from a

biomechanical and physics view. A block start has components of linear kinematics

and kinetics, and angular kinematics and kinetics which can be broken down and

analyzed.

Linear kinematics and kinetics

Figure 4
can be used to analyze the overall
Figure 5
motion of the sprinter along the track

and the forces that the sprinter puts

on the blocks in order to get a better start. The sprinter uses blocks at the

beginning of the race to get better acceleration so to reach their maximum velocity

as efficiently as possible. The angle of the blocks allows for more force to be put in

a forward motion instead of down against the ground. A free body diagram (Figure

4) shows how the sprinter puts more force into the blocks to go forward instead of

putting force downward into the ground. Due to ground reaction forces, there is an

equal amount of forces being put on the sprinter from the blocks as the sprinter is

putting on the blocks themselves. This allows for greater acceleration forward

(v/t), which is the rate of change of the velocity (d/t), or the overall change in

distance over time. This allows for the sprinter to put more force into pushing off

into a forward motion instead of having to put force into the ground. When putting

force into the ground, one is applying force at a different angle, one that is more

toward the ground and not in an angle better suited to propel the body forward but

to propel the body upwards. Blocks help the sprinter to be faster throughout his/her

entire race by the equation: v2=v1+at. At the beginning of the motion, a sprinters

initial velocity, or v1, should be zero. By increasing the acceleration (a) over the

period of time of the first stride (t), a sprinter is able to reach a higher final velocity

(v2). This can be applied to each individual stride of the race as well. Since the

sprinters velocity is now higher at the end of the first stride, that will reciprocate

into the next stride by giving it a higher starting point, or initial velocity.

Angular kinematics fits a little better into the biomechanics of sprinting due

the nature of the movement at the hips, knees, and ankles. While running, the hips,

knees, and ankles all move in flexion and extension. Proper form when setting into

the blocks can help to get the most output out of the sprinters start. When getting

set, the angle of the front knee should be somewhere between 90 and 110 degrees
of flexion; the angle of the back knee should be anywhere from 110 to 135 flexion

(oh). The hips should be around a 44 degree angle from the body in the front leg,

and around a 25 degree angle in the rear leg. The ankles should be angled at about

a 95 to 100 degree angle in each ankle (oh). This allows for sprinters to get the

most force production from their range of motion as many athletes are not strong

enough to benefit from higher/lower angles.

Figure 6
The heels should also be pushed all the way

back into the blocks (Cronin).

Many athletes have some discrepancies

in their form when starting out of blocks. With the sprinter in figure 6, his rear leg is

just about at the same angle as his front leg. One improvement of his form would

be to move the rear block further back in order to increase the angle of his rear

knee. Also, his rear foot isnt back all the way against the rear block. This requires

the athlete to use extra motion to push his heel into the block and then pull his leg

into the stride pattern. If the sprinter would put his heel against the block, the

angle of his rear knee will increase slightly.

 References

oh, Milan; Tomain, Katja; tuhec, Stanko. (2006). The Biomechanical Model of the

Sprint Start and Block Acceleration. Physical Education and Sport. 4. 103-114.

oh, Milan; Jot, Bojan; kof, Branko; Tomain, Katja; Dolenec, Ale. (1998).

Kinematic and Kinetic Parameters of the Sprint Start and Start Acceleration

Model of Top Sprinters. University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 28. 33-42.

Cronin, John; Hansen, Keir, T. (2006). Resisted Sprint Training for the Acceleration

Phase of Sprinting. National Strength and Conditioning Association. 28. 42-51.

Fletcher, Iain. (2009). Biomechanical Aspects of Sprint Running. UK Strength and

Conditioning Association. 16. 20-23.