European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 10 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2022.004

Step regulation in Paralympic long jumpers with intellectual impairment

Adrián García-Fresneda1,, Apostolos S. Theodorou2*,, Vassilios Panoutsakopoulos3,, Miguel Angel Torralba Jordán4,, Josep-Maria Padullés5, Xavier Padullés6, Mariana C. Kotzamanidou7
1 TecnoCampus, College of Health Sciences, University of Pompeu Fabra, Mataró Maresme, Barcelona, Spain
2 School of Physical Education and Sport Science – SEFAA, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
3 Biomechanics Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
4 Department of Applied Didactics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
5 National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
6 Chrononojump Boscosystem, Barcelona, Spain
7 Faculty of Health Sciences, Metropolitan College of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Long jump has been extensively used in the investigation of perception-action coupling. The restraints imposed by the tasks nested at the take-off board compel skilled long jumpers to adjust the length of the final 4-5 steps of the run-up based on visual input informing about time-to-arrival. This exploratory study examined the visual regulation parameters in athletes with intellectual impairment (II) during the approach of the long jump. The approach run of 10 elite level T20  Class long jumpers (IIJ) and 10 international level long jumpers without II (NIJ) was recorded during competition. An initial ascending variability of foot placement was observed for both groups, followed by a descending one in the late phase of the approach. The parameters associated with the onset of visual control for IIJ were found to be not statistically significantly different to those of NIJ. The mean maximum toe-board distance variability was 0.38 m and 0.27 m for IIJ and NIJ, respectively. The onset of regulation commenced at the fifth- and third-to-last step for IIJ and NIJ, respectively. The finding that IIJ adjust the last steps of the run-up with sufficient accuracy suggests the presence of visual control. This information can be used to optimize long jump approach run training for athletes with II.

Keywords: visual perception; motor skills; perception-action coupling; visual control; kinematical analysis; spatio-temporal parameters; intellectual disability

Received: April 2, 2021; Revised: May 3, 2022; Accepted: May 31, 2022; Prepublished online: June 8, 2022; Published online: November 14, 2022  Show citation

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García-Fresneda, A., Theodorou, A.S., Panoutsakopoulos, V., Torralba Jordán, M.A., Padullés, J., Padullés, X., & Kotzamanidou, M.C. (2022). Step regulation in Paralympic long jumpers with intellectual impairment. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity, 15, Article 10. https://doi.org/10.5507/euj.2022.004
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