Effect of movement goal on countermovement jump performance in athletes across different sports

: This study explored the influence of different counter movement jump (CMJ) goals on performance, kinetics, and kinematics between 56 highly-trained and elite track and field (T&F), football, and futsal athletes. Within and between-sport difference were compared when aiming to: (a) "jump as high as possible" (CMJh) and (b) "jump as fast as possible" (CMJf), using a mixed MANOVA and follow-up univariate mixed ANOVAs. Movement goals had a significant main effect on all variables (p < 0.001). Comparatively, CMJf elicited higher mean propulsive power normalized to body mass (MPPbm, ηp2 = 0.794) and reactive strength index modified (RSIMOD, ηp2 = 0.755), alongside lower jump height (ηp2 = 0.782), contraction time (ConT, ηp2 = 0.857), propulsive displacement (ηp2 = 0.751), and countermovement velocity (CMvelocity, ηp2 = 0.600). Sport interaction analyses revealed that T&F athletes consistently outperformed the other sports in RSIMOD across both movement goals (d = 1.105 - 1.598). MPPbm and ConT differed significantly between T&F and football (d = 0.947 - 1.324). A Movement goal × Sport interaction for CMvelocity indicated that T&F and football athletes increased CMvelocity under CMJh (d = 1.242 - 1.635, p < 0.001) compared to CMJf, whereas futsal players maintained similar downward motion across goals (p = 0.938). In conclusion, movement goals significantly modify CMJ performance variables in such athletes, and these effects are further influenced by sport specialization. Clear and goal-specific verbal instructions should be standardized in CMJ testing to ensure reliable athlete monitoring and performance evaluation.