An Athletics Compendium

The Literatureof Athletics Hjertberg,recruitedfrom Americancollegiateathletics to prepareSweden for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Hjertberg's book was of similar quality to Murphy's, though stronger on field events. That same pre-war period saw the arrival of F. A. M. Webster's first book, OlympianYield Events (1913). Webster lacked at that point the practical experience of either Hjertberg or Murphy, but showed a remarkable early ability to apply scientific rationaleto athleticstechniques. A similar attempt to apply scientific discipline to athletics was made by Sam Mussabini,immortalisedin the Oscar-winningfilm ChariotsofFire. Mussabini had avidly studied slow-motionfilmand the photographic sequencesof EadweardMuybridge, in an attempt to analyseathletic movement. Alas, his studies produced only the 'cross arm' action, ludicrous sprinting body-angles and the advocacy of the 'dab' start, a method which had been superseded by Murphy's invention forty years before. Mussabini's advocacyof 'Blackjack', a laxativecalculatedto stir into violentaction the most sluggish of bowels,shows him to be firmlylocked in the nineteenth century.A fine coach, his great strength undoubtedlylayin his conditioningof runners and in their psychological preparation,at a timewhen both areaswere poorlydeveloped in the amateursport. 1913 produced a work quite out of its time: The Olympic Games and the Duke of Westminster'sAppeal for £100,000, a detailedaccountof the BritishOlympicAssociation's preparationsfor the 1916BerlinOlympics. Althoughonlyaround ten percent of the total sumrequired wasultimately raised,the BOA nevertheless went about the appointment of nationalcoaches in athletics,swimming and cycling. It is significant that the Amateur AthleticAssociation(AAA),in appointing the Scots-CanadianW. R. Knox (a Highland Games athlete), realised and accepted the sparseness of technical knowledgewithin its harrier-basedculture.It is alsosignificantthat another HighlandGames athlete. Sergeant W. Starkey,was laterappointed as one of the trainers to the 1924 ParisOlympic team. This is a remarkable work, showing that early in the development of the Olympic movement,British officialshad understoodand fullyaccepted its significance,and had realisedthat sports performancecouldnot in future be left to chance. The 1920s-40s period saw the rapid evolution of the technical manual, led by F. A. M. Webster. In the United Kingdom, most of these were written by coaches workingin universitiesand publicschools,men like AlecNelsonand Guy Butler,or by ex-athletessuch as Harold Abrahamsand DouglasLowe. In this period. The Achilles Club pioneered a more specialised kind of technical work, using athletesand coaches. There was, however,no equivalentof the marvellous AmericanSpaldingseries, which beganin the first decadeof the century,of whichHenrySchultes Pole I ault (1926)and Dink Templeton's Iriigh jump (1928)wereexceptional. The 1920s sawthe last flutter of the old trainer-coaches,with The Secret ofAthletic Training (1925) by Harry Andrews and W. S. P. Alexander, and SamMussabini's Running, Walking and Jumping (1926). Their time was now over, and the Abrahams brothers TrainingforAthletes (1928)showedthe wayforward.Alas,Englishinsularitycontinuedto prevailand the Abrahams' book resolutelyrefused to cover such events as triple jump, pole vault,discusand javelin. [ xvii ]