Top hand drives overhead
In the last 2 strides, the top hand drives from waist height up overhead, the pole rotates forward, and the tip strikes the back of the box. Most plant errors are a delayed top hand (pole tip drops before reaching the box).
The plant in pole vault is the moment the pole tip strikes the back of the box and the vaulter drives the top hand overhead to begin takeoff. It happens in roughly 200 milliseconds at the end of the approach. A clean plant places the takeoff foot directly under the top hand (the "plumb takeoff") and transfers approach velocity into the pole.
In the last 2 strides, the top hand drives from waist height up overhead, the pole rotates forward, and the tip strikes the back of the box. Most plant errors are a delayed top hand (pole tip drops before reaching the box).
The Petrov method calls this the "plumb takeoff." At the moment of pole tip strike, the takeoff foot should land directly beneath the top hand. Off-plumb takeoffs leak energy and stall the bend.
From the moment the pole tip first contacts the box to the moment the vaulter leaves the ground is roughly 0.2 seconds. This is too fast to consciously coach by eye; video analysis is required.
The plant is the highest-leverage moment in the vault. AI form check pulls the exact frame of pole-tip contact and measures top-hand position, takeoff foot alignment, and approach angle. Compare to the Petrov-Bubka standard.
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