An Athletics Compendium

British Isles ~ General 'His arms were straight out, his features setb,oth feet never off thgeround atthe samseecond. Thiws as hammer-throwing perfection. One-two-three-four! Only one man in the worldhad I ever seen make four turns at suscpheed, only old Alfred Flaxman at his very best. The spikes Dofr Pat's lefbtoot drovehard into the cinders, his left leg stiffened to formthe immovable fulcrum fotrhe throwh,is armsswept round from low right to higlheft andthe hammer departed, flying up and out over his left shoulder peinrafect arc. Even the veriest noviacme ong the spectators high up in the back row of the packed stands knew at once that this must be the winning effort.' This compilation also includes the poem 'A. E. Flaxman - Hammer ThrowerKilled in the WorldWar on July 1, 1916', by W. E. B. Henderson, a rare exampleof one athlete-poet inspirbeydanother. 4 Fifty years of AAA championships/ Harold M. Abrahams; forewords by J. A. Williamson and the Marquess of Exeter. London: Carborundum, 1961. 48p Personal memoriesof the Championships from 1911 to 1960. There are also tables of best championship performances tinhis period,winners ofchampionship medals, leading winners and Olympic gold medallists who also wonAAA Championships. 5 History of British athletic/s Mel Watman; forewordby Lynn Davies. London: Hale, 1968. 256p; illus ISBN: 0-7091-0255-0 Melvyn Watman here produced the successor of Get to Your Marks! as achronicle of British athletics (although the latter work covered world and Commonwealth athletics, tooa)nd thus became the latest historian in the line that began with H. F. Wilkinson exactly a century before. Ibtyisfar the most detailed boofk its kind, and extends the story of British athleticsback in time as wealls bringingit up to dateA. llof the standard events, including walks and relays, are surveyed. This is not, strictly speaking, a history of British athletics, rather a history of British amateur athleticpserformance, foWr atman does notdiscuss sucmh atters as athletics politics, or competitive and coaching developments. Neither does hedeal with the 'professional'roots ofamateur athletics and their quality of performance in the pre-World War 1 period. 86 Athledcs sportsgraph / HaroAldbrahams; edited by Alan Blackwood. Cheam: Young World Productions for the British OlympicAssociation, 1972. 92p; illus ISBN: 0-7238-0878-3 Abrahams was the doyenof athletics statisticians from 1925 untihlis death i1n978>. In this work (aimed primarily at a youthful readership), he presented clearly, ina large format, a potted history of track and field for men's and women's events. The graphic design and choice of illustrationsare of pioneering importance. A 84 - 9 0 87 Sport in Britain: its origins and developme/ntH. A. Harris. London: Stanley Paul, 1975. 224p; illus; index ISBN; 0-09-124960-0 BL: X.629/10250 One of Professor Harris's earliest memories was watching A. N. S. Jackson, the 1912Olympic 1500m champion, and thliesd to 'an enthusiasm of sopvoerrt a wide field'. Athletics in Britain is traced to the seventh centurSyaint CuthberOt.ther chapterscover sport and literature, sport and broadcasting, and the Olympic Games. 88 Athletics in focus/ Wilf Paish and Tony Duffy. London: Lepus, 1976. 163p; illus ISBN: 0-860190-10-2 BL: X.622/5485 An experimental and largely successful collaboration between a BAAB national coach and one of the world's leading athletics photographeArsb.rief comparison of physical characteristics for the various events, based on 1972 Olympic Games data, is followed by s ctions on competition andthe event structureE.ach of the events is then discussed in more detail, illustrated by some excellent (mainlyb)lack and white photography. Concluding sections deal with such widely diverse topics as junior athletics, landmarks, political intervention, success and tragedy, nature versus nurture, athleteisn training, officialdom, technology in sport, and the competition arena. 89 The official centenary history of the Amateur Athletic Association / PeteLrovesey. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives, 1979. 222p; illus; index Bibliography:p207 ISBN: 0-900424-95-8 BL: X.622/7126 Published to markthe foundationof the AAAon 24 April 1g>6>0. and dedicated to thememory of Harold Abrahams (1599-1978'). twhoisrk is an exemplar for future historians otfhe sport. Startinwgith unique historical background, tahuethortraces the growth in the influenceof the AAA,and covers suchtopics as rules, facilities, administration and coaching, sponsorship and major personalities. Winners of all AAA Championships (senior, juniors anydouths) are given and the book islavishly illustrated. 90 Athletics: the golden decade / Tony Ward. London: Queen Anne, 1991. x, 246p; ilius; index ISBN: 0-356-19679-8 BL;YK.1991.b.3595 Written from the perspective of an administrator. Ward characterises the ^SOs as 'the golden yearosf British athletics, unprecedented in the century-long history of the sport'. [ 9 ]