It Gets Easier

To beginning jumpers, triple jump technique may at first feel awkward and different than other running or even jumping events. However, if they are going to excel at triple jumping and remain injury-free, proper triple jump technique is essential.

As a coach and an athlete, for the triple jump approach, keep in mind: posture should be similar to that of sprinting – neutral head and pelvis position with center of mass slightly behind ground contact of the foot, ankle should be stabilized and dorsiflexed prior to impact, do not “grab” or “claw” at the ground – think of “catching” and “pushing” off from the ground.

Even Better

Put Some Power Into It

After you leave the board there will be swinging movements in the air during the three jump phases. Triple jump technique points for athletes and coaches to keep in mind: the free leg should swing powerfully through a large range of motion with a somewhat straight leg so that heel recovery height is low – overemphasizing knee lift in the free leg swing is a mistake.

Single or double arm action may be used through the jump phases, but should be swung powerfully and through a large range of motion. The free leg swing is important for horizontal velocity, but much more important because it helps maintain the proper pelvic alignment so that the jumper may make contact in with the ground through each phase in the optimal position to move through the next phase. Forward or backward lean in any of the phases is a common error that should be avoided.

Connect

Drills are an extremely useful and productive tool in triple jump training as they are for any jump, throw, or hurdle event. Many triple jump drills are similar to long jump or sprinting drills. A triple jump drill is important and valuable for what you can teach while the athlete is learning and performing that drill. A triple jump drill by itself is not special when not connected to a training progression.

Horizontal jump drills include:

• acceleration run
• half approaches
• board-less approaches
• runway rehearsal with and without a take off
• repetitive takeoffs
• short run takeoffs/jumps
• remedial horizontal and vertical bounds
• intermediate horizontal and vertical bounds
• advanced short run jumps
• short run jumps

A Child's Game

It's just a hop, skip, and a jump to the pit! When beginning jumpers are starting to learn the triple jump, the hop, skip, and jump pattern is the easiest cue for them to remember and follow.

For beginning jumpers:

• hop = same foot to same foot
• skip = one foot to the other
• jump = one foot to two feet

Associate One With Another

It may surprise you to know that the triple jump take off is most like the pole vault than any other event. The track spikes for the triple jump are also built and angled the same as pole vault spikes. When preparing to take off in any jumping event, it is important to maintain maximal speed while setting up for the jump.

In the triple jump, there is no lowering of the jumpers' center of mass at the penultimate step as there is in the high jump and the long jump. Triple jumpers are not converting their speed at take off into vertical speed; they still need to move horizontally into the three jump phases.

Opposites Attract

So, you're a decent long jumper, you're pretty fast, but you'd like someone triple jump tips to follow to see how you'd do. Triple jump tip #1: your run should be the same number of steps and the same approach speed as your long jump run, but opposite.

If you take off the board in the long jump with your left leg, you run off the board in the triple jump on your right leg so that your last and most powerful jump at the end of the triple jump is off your most dominant leg.