The effect of foot setting on kinematic and kinetic skiing parameters during giant slalom: A single subject study on a Paralympic gold medalist sit skier

Objectives: Aim was to study the effect of monoski foot adjustment on kinematic and kinetic skiingparameters expressing sit skier’s technique.Design: Independent variable was skier position with respect to bindings, acting on position of monoskifoot sole clamp. Front (F), Mid (M) and Rear (R) settings changed with intervals of 20 mm. Course time,skiing speed, Ground Reaction Forces (GRFs) magnitude and point of application and damper stroke weredependent variables.Method: A Paralympic monoski was equipped with a dynamometric binding plate measuring GRFs, rolland pitch moments. A Paralympic gold medalist (LW10-1) was involved. Skier trajectory and gates loca-tion were measured by a differential global navigation satellite system (GNSS) in steep and medium steepslope portions. The athlete performed two giant slalom runs for each foot setting the same day.Results: GRFs, center of pressure (COP) and variations with foot settings were measured. Peaks valuesup to 3.36 times the total weight and damper speed of 675 mm/s in compression were found. Fastestruns, highest peak loads and best subjective ratings were recorded with F setting. COP mean values wereinfluenced by foot adjustments. GRFs in left turns were 54% larger than in the right turns with F settingon steep slope.Conclusions: The monoski foot adjustment influenced kinematic and kinetic skiing, with F setting showingbest results. A skier asymmetric behavior between right and left turning was discovered. Findings cansupport the design of monoskis for a wider dissemination of Paralympic alpine sit skiing.