How to optimise your athlete’s block start.

In sprint events, the block start performance can be fundamental to the outcome of a race. This systematic review aimed to identify biomechanical factors of critical importance to the block start and subsequent first two steps performance.

Several biomechanical determinants of success for sprinters were identified, including:

1. In the “Set” position, an anthropometry-driven block setting facilitating the hip extension and a rear leg contribution should be encouraged.

2. At the push-off, a rapid extension of both hips and greater force production seems to be important.

3. After block exiting, shorter flight times and greater propulsive forces are the main features of best sprinters.

This systematic review explored important findings and recommendations that may be relevant for researchers and coaches.

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).