Journal
SPORTS BIOMECHANICS
Volume 12, Issue 2, Pages 175-185Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/14763141.2012.726638
Keywords
Biomechanics; kinematics; sprint; sport surfaces; synthetic track; grass pitch
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This study investigated the effect of the coefficient of friction of a running surface on an athlete's sprint time in a sled-towing exercise. The coefficients of friction of four common sports surfaces (a synthetic athletics track, a natural grass rugby pitch, a 3G football pitch, and an artificial grass hockey pitch) were determined from the force required to tow a weighted sled across the surface. Timing gates were then used to measure the 30-m sprint time for six rugby players when towing a sled of varied weight across the surfaces. There were substantial differences between the coefficients of friction for the four surfaces (=0.210.58), and in the sled-towing exercise the athlete's 30-m sprint time increased linearly with increasing sled weight. The hockey pitch (which had the lowest coefficient of friction) produced a substantially lower rate of increase in 30-m sprint time, but there were no significant differences between the other surfaces. The results indicate that although an athlete's sprint time in a sled-towing exercise is affected by the coefficient of friction of the surface, the relationship relationship between the athlete's rate of increase in 30-m sprint time and the coefficient of friction is more complex than expected.
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