Athletes in Action

1 45 THE POLE V ULT. THE CAST-OFF ExTRA PICTURE B BEFORE completing the sequence series of illustrations I would like the reader to study carefully the extra picture B opposite, of Hoff effecting clearance at an extreme height of just under I4 ft. The perpendicu- larity of the pole, the ea y balance of the body and the well-controlled acti n f the arms and legs are all v ry notable features f this picture. It must be observed, moreover, that the carrying on £ the full rotation of the b dy back towards its original f rward facing position at the take-off rem ves the danger of the athlete falling back n t the cross-bar and nsures the making of a safe and compact landing in the sand- pit. he pictur , in point f fact, p rtrays the action a haction of a econd later than the phase shown in Fig. 9 of the sequence series up n the ne t page. It should b observed here, h wever, that there was nothing c mplicated ab ut ff's cl arance action. It was all a matter of spe d, wing timing and courag . here w re no difficult f atur s, such as charact rise the Jack-knife clearance-acti n, which Hoff s far more imple method is rapidly superseding. H ff, incidentally, was Worlds Record H ld r, I 3 ft. I 1 ~ ins., in I923, and would undoubtedly hav w n the lympic hampi nship in I924 but that he had the mi fortun to break his ankle shortly befor th am s, in hich, however, he ran finely in the 400 and oo m tres races. F