Effect of simplifying the body model to compute the energy parameters in pole vaulting

This study compared changes in the energy-time profiles in pole vaulting using several body models. Two-dimensional kinematics were collected from 20 successful vaults (5.20-6.01 m) performed by 10 athletes during a national meet. The linear and angular kinetic, potential, and total mechanical energy-time profiles were obtained from three pole vaulter models composed of 12, 5, and 3 segments (M-12, M-5, and M-3, respectively), as well as calculated and approximated centre of mass models. One-dimensional statistical parametric mapping was used to compare these energy-time profiles from the models, while agreements of discrete energy parameters were assessed. For all the studied energy-time profiles, there was a main effect (0.05 p < 0.001) of the models, but pairwise comparisons showed that M-5 presented the lowest differences with M-12 in comparison with the other models (M-3 and approximated centre of mass models). In addition, M-5 showed better agreement (lower bias and small effect size) with M-12 for the studied energy parameters compared to the other models. Therefore, M-5 may be a reliable option to simplify the body model and speed up the computation of the energy-time profiles of the pole vaulter.