Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Flight time during sprints, drop jumps, and vertical jumps is commonly used to evaluate athletic performance and neuromuscular function. While all three metrics reflect rapid force production, their relationships across different athletic movements remain unclear. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the correlations between sprint step flight time, bilateral drop jump flight time, and bilateral vertical jump flight time in male and female Division I collegiate track athletes. METHODS: A group of 33 collegiate track athletes (males = 14, females = 19) who compete in sprinting, hurdles, or jumping events performed three drop jumps, three vertical jumps, three 30m fly sprints. During the drop and vertical jumps, force plates were used to measure jump performance, including flight time. Sprint kinematics, including step flight time, were measured using photoelectric cells. The average flight times from the three trials of each test were calculated. Flight time during jumps was defined as the duration from the moment that the vertical ground reaction force reached zero to the moment that vertical force deviated from zero upon landing. Spearman rank correlations were conducted to examine the relationships between sprint step flight time and drop jump flight time, as well as sprint step flight time and vertical jump flight time. RESULTS: There were no significant correlation between sprint step flight time and drop jump flight time (Spearman r = -0.092, p = 0.611), or sprint step flight time and vertical jump flight time (Spearman r = -0.047, p = 0.797). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that drop jump flight time, vertical jump flight time, and sprinting flight time are not related in this sample of athletes. While drop jump and vertical jump performance has been associated with sprint performance, it appears that these associations are not specific to flight time parameters. Although flight time is an important factor sprinting and jumping, the flight times of these movements do not appear to be associated with one another.
Recommended Citation
Aldana, Michelle
(2025)
"Examining the Relationship Between Sprinting, Drop Jump, and Vertical Jump Flight Times in Collegiate Track Athletes,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
17, Article 195.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/195
