vault3rb0y wrote: ... in my opinion this is where the bottom arm came in for Isakkson. Because he has not jumped up enough as bubka has, his pole speed begins to slow prematurely (compared to bubkas), and the angle of his top hand is much lower than bubkas. Out of necessity, it appears to me that Isakkson artificially bends the pole much more than bubka. It's the only way to keep the pole speed moving at such a low COM angle off the ground, to press more with the top hand.
This would also explain why he used a wider grip- to give him the benefit of pushing more forcefully to artificially bend the pole. ... there is no reason for Bubka to apply artificial bending pressure with his bottom hand, because he is already moving the pole well and travelling at the appropriate angle toward the bar. I am not saying bubka does not use his bottom arm in the vault, but he does not use it to artificially bend the pole, rather to stabilize the energy of his run into and through his top hand, and guide his takeoff angle upward. The PRESS of the bottom arm shown by Isakkson is a crutch to his take off being less than ideal, and can be traced back to his plant being late (not fully extended) during his Penultimate.
... i think that if Isakkson had gotten his plant up a step earlier, he would have had the opportunity to jump up more into the vault, and would not need to press his bottom hand to continue pole movement. Then, he could shorten his grip width and vaulter higher. ...
Honestly, 3P0, I don't know where you get your info about Isaksson's allegedly "pressing his bottom hand to continue pole movement" from. I have deja vu of the entire debate re Bubka a couple years ago on this very same point. The only possible reason that I can think that you've concluded this is becuz you're analyzing a series of still vids ... one by one ... and you don't have a very good sense of the overall timing of his vault.
I can tell you from first hand observations that his entire vault was VERY fast ... barely time to drive the chest thru or let the pole bend ... let alone slow his swing down to BEND the pole. That was definitely not in his repetoire! Really, I think this might come down to your concluding that since his pole bent, then he must have BENT it ... with the bottom arm.
This was EXACTLY the same misunderstanding of a couple years ago re whether Bubka bent the pole with his bottom arm ... or whether his bottom arm straightened becuz he was hanging onto the pole with it! For Bubka at least, I think the conclusion ... after several pages of debate ... was that he was not forcefully trying to bend the pole with his bottom arm.
Until you can prove otherwise, I assert that the same holds true for Isaksson. Take a look at still frame #6 - his bottom elbow is still quite bent ... yet the pole is quite well bent. If he WAS pressing with his bottom arm, don't you think it would be straighter? He did NOT try to slow down his swing "to stay behind the pole" ... rather, he began swing even before a full C ... more like the 640 Model than the Petrov Model.
But you shouldn't exclude the possibility that the bend came ... almost ENTIRELY ... from the force of his top hand on the pole when it hit the box. You gotta gimme something more to go on ... becuz I'm really at a loss as to why you think he's "forcing the bend" with his bottom arm.
Kirk