CHANGES IN THE MECHANICAL ENERGY OF THE SUPPORT LEG FOR SKILLED RACE WALKERS:

Koji Hoga¹, Michiyoshi Ae², Yasushi Enomoto² and Norihisa Fujii².

¹Graduate school of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. ² Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in mechanical energy of the legs of skilled race walkers during the support phase and to identify technical factors that produce high walking speed. Eleven skilled male race walkers walked on a 50 m walkway at the speed which was decided from the 10,000 m race record for each subject. Ground reaction forces and motion data were collected with force platforms (500 Hz) and a high-speed VTR camera (250 Hz). Inverse dynamics was applied to compute the segmental mechanical energy and the joint kinetics of the support leg. Changes in mechanical energy of the support leg were dependent upon the joint force power at the support hip. The increase in mechanical energy of the support leg should help the whole body drive forward and produce high walking speed.