Original paper
ASSESSMENT OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL LOADS IN THE TRIPLE JUMP VIA INVERSE DYNAMICS SIMULATION

The triple jump is a demanding athletics event that, after an approach run, consists of three

consecutive phases: the hop, the bound, and the jump. During the involved three take-off actions a jumper is

exposed to increased risk of injury due to the high impact forces from the ground and powerful muscle/tendon

efforts, which are further reflected in the internal loads of the lower limb joints. While external ground reactions

can possibly be measured using force platforms, in vivo measurements of the internal loads are practically not

feasible. The purpose of the paper is to present the development of an effective formulation for the inverse

dynamics simulation of the triple jump, based on the jumper dynamical model and non-invasive kinematic

recordings of the movement. The developed simulation model serves for the analysis of all the triple jump

phases, irrespective of whether the jumper is in flight or in contact with the ground with one of his feet, and

is focused on effective assessment of the external reactions on the supporting leg as well as the muscle forces

and joint reaction forces in the leg. Some numerical results of inverse dynamics simulation of the triple jump

are reported.