Power and Speed Differences Between Brazilian Paralympic Sprinters With Visual Impairment and Their Guides

This study compared the physical performance of Paralympic sprinters with visual impairments (PSVI) and their guides in jump and sprint tests. Ten PSVI and guides executed squat jumps (SJ), countermovement jumps (CMJ), horizontal quintuple right/left-leg jumps (QR/QL), decuple jumps (DEC), and 50-m-sprint tests. The guides were superior to the PSVI in SJ (35.9 +/- 6.3 vs 45.6 +/- 3.2 cm), CMJ (38.5 +/- 6.2 vs 46.7 +/- 4.0 cm), QR (9.2 +/- 1.9 vs 12.7 +/- 1.0 m), QL (9.4 +/- 1.9 vs 13.1 +/- 0.8 m), DEC (21.0 +/- 3.3 vs. 27.2 +/- 1.7 m), and 50-m sprints (8.4 +/- 0.4 vs 7.6 +/- 0.5 m/s). The average differences between the PSVI and guides in the sprint tests was 10%, range 1-24%. Therefore, substantial differences in sprinting speed (in favor of the guides) between the peers were observed. Coaches should develop strategies to train the guides to improve their muscle-power performance.