How does the ‘clap’ speed skate generate faster speeds than the regular style?
In: 13
When skating you are pushing out with your feet. The clap skates allow you to get all the way up on your toes for some extra power. Regular skates will just dig into the ice if you try that.
The clap skate lets the full blade stay in contact with the ice longer. That transfers more energy from each push.
With normal skates, you cannot fully extend your ankle at he end of a stride. That would just dig the toe of the skate blade into the ice.
With a clap skate, the blade can pivot under the ball of the foot, allowing the skater to extend the ankle (therefore pushing with calves as well) while the blade stays on the surface of the ice. This allows a longer pushoff stroke/stride, fully extending the whole leg and ankle before the skate blade has to leave the ice.
[Here’s a diagram](https://futurism.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp-assets.futurism.com%2F2014%2F02%2FPlaatjeteststijn.jpg&w=750&q=75). On the left with no pivot note how you can’t extend the ankle because that puts the toe of the blade down. With a pivot on the right, this shows the skate during the final stage of leg extension during a stride.
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