Comparison of shot-put release parameters and consistency in performance between elite throwers with and without intellectual impairment:

Background:Shot-put is one of the events in which athletes with intellectual impairment compete at the Paralympic Games, since their re-inclusion in 2012. The purpose of this study was to compare the competition performance and investigate differences in release parameters and consistency of performance between high level shot-put throwers with and without intellectual impairment.Methods:Data collection took place at the 2014 European Championships athletics for athletes with intellectual impairment (n = 20; 11 men, 9 women, MIQ = 60.2 ± 7.3, Mage = 28.1 ± 6.7 years), and the 2015 national championships for athletes without intellectual impairment (n = 26, 12 men, 14 women, Mage = 24.9 ± 5.6 years). A video camera operating at 100 Hz was utilized to capture the throws and 2D images were analyzed with motion analysis software to calculate release parameters and check consistency of the throw.Results:Independent t tests revealed that the average (11.87 m) and best (14.81 m) performance of male world-class i...