Is there a benefit of super spikes in long jump performance?

Sammanfattning: Background and aim The pace of development of distance running shoes has been fast-forward since 2016 when Nike introduced their model Nike Zoom Vaporfly, with an imbedded carbon fiber plate and an advanced newly developed Pebax®-foam. The shoe-development has continued to track events, with the introduction of carbon fiber plate in several shoe-models for running and sprint- events. The research area for track events has not reached the level as for distance running shoes, therefore the aim of this study was to examine the effects on long jump performance when using long jump spikes with (AFT) compared to without (non-AFT) a carbon fiber plate.  Method Nine experienced male (n=6, age 22 ± 4.8 years, body mass 76.4 ± 3.5 kg, height 182 ± 4.9 cm), and female (n=3, age 20.3 ± 3.5 years, body mass 64.8 ± 6.0 kg, height 172 ± 2.0 cm) Swedish long jumpers performed three maximal effort long jumps in AFT and non-AFT long jump shoes. Three-dimensional kinematic data was captured with eight markerless motion capture cameras, and the take-off was performed from a force plate. Run-up velocity was measured using a lidar laser and step characteristics using an optical contact grid. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated for jump distance and maximal run-up velocity and paired samples t-tests and a Wilcoxon rank sum test were conducted to examine differences between the shoes.  Results Peak run-up velocity correlated with jump distance both for AFT (Pearson’s r=0.919, p<0.001) and non-AFT shoes (Pearson’s r=0.910, p<0.001). At a group-level no statistical differences were found between the shoes for the run-up variables. The AFT shoes showed significantly greater horizontal velocity at touchdown (p=0.046) and vertical velocity difference from touchdown to toe-off (p=0.029) compared to the non-AFT shoes. No other significant difference was found on group level for the take-off variables. Conclusion The results in this study did not show a longer jump distance in long jump specific AFT shoes compared to non-AFT on a group level, but individual differences were seen. To further understand the effect of AFT shoes on long jump performance, more studies on different individual characteristics and their relation to long jump performance is needed. Keywords Long jump, super spikes, AFT-shoes, carbon fiber plate, biomechanics.