| Summary: | The crucial criteria when assessing technical performance in artistic gymnastics is the higher elevation of the gymnast’s body and a stable landing (i.e., stick-landing). The purpose of this study was to compare kinetic and kinematic parameters during the landing phase of standing back somersaults (SBS) following three technical arm-swing performed during the preparatory phase in high-level male gymnasts. The three different arm-swing pertain to three “gymnastics schools”, i.e., Russian, Chinese, and Romanian. Six high-level male gymnasts participated in this study. Three arm-swing with different angles (i.e., SBS<sub>270°</sub>, SBS<sub>180°</sub>, and SBS<sub>90°</sub>) were randomly performed. A 3D kinetic and kinematic analysis was conducted. Results showed significant variation in the landing angle (<i>p</i> = 0.009) across the three arm-swing techniques. The SBS<sub>90°</sub> arm-swing resulted in the closest angle to the vertical. Additionally, the SBS<sub>90°</sub> arm-swing technique induced the lowest horizontal and vertical force values upon landing compared to the other arm-swing techniques (SBS<sub>270°</sub>: <i>p</i> = 0.023 and 0.009, respectively; SBS<sub>180°</sub>: <i>p</i> = 0.004 and 0.080, respectively). The same was noted for the horizontal velocity (<i>p</i> = 0.021) with the lowest values noted for the SBS<sub>90°</sub> arm-swing technique. However, the best opening angle was observed during the SBS<sub>270°</sub> technique, since it presented the best vertical displacement. In conclusion, the SBS with a SBS<sub>90°</sub> arm-swing seems to favor a better absorption of the ground reaction force upon landing by reducing the intensity of the impact with the ground and by affording a landing angle closer to the vertical in high-level male gymnasts.
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