Biomechanical description of the clean and jerk style of an elite Albanian weightlifter

Abstract

Olympic Weightlifting is the number one sport in Albania considering the numerous medals won in international events, such as the European and World Championships; however, we do not have a biomechanical model of technique performance of our elite lifters. Thus, the objective of this study was biomechanical description of the clean and jerk style, during performance of the elite athlete (EQ), the champion of 77 kg (Body mass) in last European Weightlifting Championships (2014). He was observed during his performance in clean and jerk style, just one month before the event with 194 kg. Three digital cameras were used, and the recorded material was processed by the System for Biomechanical Analysis (Ariel Performance Analysis System - APAS). Among the others we found the trajectory of the barbell, the vertical velocity of the barbell and displacement of the barbell. These results showed that the vertical displacement of the barbell during the first phase (F1) was 103.63 cm, the maximal velocity, which was attained during the second pull was 1.61 m/s, the time from the starting position until the barbell on the chest in the squat position was 0.8 sec, the dip before the jerk (F6) was 14.6 cm, the velocity of the barbell – 0.53 m/s. The results revealed that in the category of 77 kg body mass for men, the Albanian weightlifters have the same biomechanical parameters as the best lifters in the world. These findings can help weightlifting coaches to use these data as a model for other lifters. This study is limited to the analysis of the biomechanical parameters only to 75 % of his best results (194 kg, gold medal in European Weightlifting Championship - 2014).