How Far Should You Hop, Step & Jump?

THE TERM “PHASE RATIO” IS USED BY COACHES TO REFERENCE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HOP, STEP AND JUMP PARTS OF THE TRIPLE JUMP – AND HOW THEIR DISTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTES TO OVERALL DISTANCE

MANY young triple jumpers learning the event will usually have a very short step as they over-hop and then can’t transfer optimally into the jump.

Obviously proper conditioning and specific training over time will have a huge effect on distance and this may of course also influence the ability to travel further.

The triple is also one of the toughest of all athletic events, as huge forces have to be overcome on each phase – some research puts these at over 12 times bodyweight.

Ideally, for initial understanding and to set in context what follows, there should not actually be too much variation between the three phases of the event – each should be around 30%-35% of total distance. However, subtle variation of these “thirds” can, according to research, have a crucial influence on total distance achieved.

At the 2018 World Indoor Champs, Will Claye’s winning leap of 17.43m comprised of a 5.93m hop, a 5.65m step and a 5.94m jump (had he been up to the limit on the take-off board he would have achieved a distance of 17.51m).