Greg Louganis’ Springboard Takeoff: I: Temporal and Joint Position Analysis

Abstract

A temporal and joint position analysis was conducted on Greg Louganis' forward and reverse 3-m springboard takeoffs performed during National Sports Festival V in Colorado Springs. The most notable differences between Louganis' technique and those of eight women finalists in the 1982 Canadian Winter Nationals (Miller & Munro, 1984) were in his greater ranges of joint motion particularly at the knees, hips, and shoulders. He also employed a straighter arm-swing. The fact that Louganis' takeoff duration averaged 0.45 ± 0.01 s, compared with a mean of 0.38 s for the women, allowed him more time to complete joint flexion and extension. This raised questions of adapting technique to progressive changes in skill and strength and monitoring improvement in performance objectively on a longitudinal basis.