The main objective of this study is to analyse the effect that the segmental contribution and the previous run-up exert on the biomechanics of the double-leg vertical jump. 16 athletes took part in this study with experience in the vertical jump. A force platform synchronized to a high-speed camera were used to gather kinematics and kinetics data. Two types of jumps were made: the drop jump (DJ), where the subjects drop from a height, and the hop-style jump (HSJ), where the subjects run before jumping. The HSJ resulted in a 14% increase in the height reached by the centre of mass (CM). The height of the CM in the take-off contributes 24%, whereas the vertical velocity of the CM contributes 76% to the height of the jump. The HSJ allows a positive vertical velocity of the CM at the beginning of the impulse of acceleration.