Athletes in Action

F1g. -\· tll:.\...,1.~~1.:'-u I.Jk' LAY-I.J\J 1.' THE HIGH JU:\IP. \VESTERN ROLL (+) JusT before the roll commences the jumper, as shown by H. 1\1. Osborn in Fig. 4- on the opposite page, drops his right arm to hip-level, although it is still slightly bent at wrist and elbow, to exercise a certain measure of body control, while the trunk drops further back as the hips come up. Simultaneously, the left arm is swept back almost to shoulder-level, but this arm must not, on any account, go beyond the level of the shoulders on its backwards swing, otherwise the left hip will be dra\vn straight into the bar and the jump will be lost. The arm movements just described tend to raise the left shoulder above the bar, as will be seen by a comparison of Figs. 3 and 4; they also bring the left hip up to bar-le,·el, begin the roll and serve to tip the trunk back, preparatory to a perfectly "parallel-to-crossbar-and-ground" lay-out. At this stage the right foot, slightly extended from the ankle, has the toes pointing upwards and this same foot, it will be noticed, is directing the path of the body across the bar. The left foot retains .a perfectly normal position in relation to the lower part of the left leg. This is an im- portant point to remember, because the subsequent flicking action of both ankles plays .an important part in the actual clearance evolution. It is at this stage of the jump that the novice usually finds it so difficult to let his body go back, but less difficulty will be experienced if he bends his head fon\·ard, as Osborn is doing, as he allows his shoulders to sink backwards, when the legs are rising. ...... N '-l