How To...Stick The Landing

Not only does a gymnast need to be limber and extremely flexible, the sport also requires an athlete to have a great deal of balance. From bars to floor exercise to the balance beam to vault, if you can't maintain your body's balance, you aren't going to score very many points with the judges.

Perhaps the most difficult of body balances to maintain is when you're twisting and turning through the air after taking flight off of the vault.

Here's what you need to know in order to stick the landing and maintain not only your balance, but your score:

(1) No lingering. The final phase of the vault, the after-flight, begins as soon as your hands leave the vault - which in turn should be as soon as possible. Judges tend to chop off a large amount of points if your hands stay on the vault too long, so don't let them linger there. As soon as your hands hit the horse, you should already be popping out of your shoulders.
(2) Stay tight. When you pop into the air off the horse, you do so by lifting your chest into a tight, hollow-like position. Your arms should be tucked in tight by your ears, while your head should be tucked ever-so-slightly forward (but don't over do it, or you'll pike.)
(3) Rotation rocks. As long as you remain tight, the lift of your chest will give you the rotation you need to flip your feet without arching.
(4) Bend the knees. Just like most sports, bending your knees will do wonders for your form (and help maintain balance). If you land with your legs locked and straight, you can hurt your knees - or worse - throw out your back; might want to avoid that, both are known to be painful.

The after-flight is probably one of the coolest things about the vault - with the right power and control, it'll feel like flying. Remember that high-scoring vaults are those that have both height and distance away from the horse. To accomplish both, have a fast approach run, a low hurdle, a tight pre-flight, a quick, pop off the horse and bent knees to maintain balance on the landing.

Do that, and we guarantee you "stick the landing."