wow, ex400 what are you on????
Mike also stated that the optimal take off angle does depend on the speed of the jumper…
Sorry you are taking this so personally, Nick. I am only interested in the science here. Mike may have said what you attribute to him sometime or somewhere, but he did not do so in this thread. Not unless you think that the arithmetical truth that to jump as far as a faster runner you have to stay in the air longer is useful in the real world of biomechanics and the trade-off between horizontal and vertical velocity. Why don’t you just post one of your 200+ references?
As I recall, you are 7.5 M jumper. You seem to believe that the key to becoming an 8.0 jumper is to jump steeper than the 8-meter jumpers. I was a 7-meter jumper, so I suppose you think I should jump even steeper than you. I am pretty confident that, given my speed, power, etc. I found the optimal take-off angle for myself. I sincerely doubt that trying to exceed your take-off angle would have done me any good. I have certainly seen plenty of jumpers who I think would benefit from a steeper take-off, but that is not because they are slow.
Again, just give me some science (physics and biomechanics), not just assertions or math based on the premise that two vectors (horizontal and vertical) are independent when they are not. If you are right, I will apply it gladly, but I am unable to simply take your word for it. Sorry.