Kinematic Analysis of Elite Athletes in Men's Shot-Put at World Championships, Daegu 2011

Abstract

This study had two purposes. The first was to analyze the period of the final record set by the male shot-putters in the IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011 from the point of view of kinematics. The other was to identify an efficient movement for shot putting based on the analysis. The research used the eight finalists of in the championship as subjects. We analyzed the seven most important kinematic factors in shot putting based on the type of technique: the execution time of the delivery phase, release velocity, release angle, release, center of mass (COM) velocity, and shot trajectories. The analytical results showed the following average figures for the record 12 meters: execution time of the delivery phase: (0.19 s), release height: (2.06 m), release angle: (34.68°), release velocity: (13.25 m/s), angular velocity of shoulder: (922.38°/s), and angular velocity of pelvis: (479.50°/s). Further, the results showed that the highest COM velocity was 2.25 m/s and the shot trajectories were close to a straight line in the release phase.