Athletes in Action

THE P L • V ULT (6) TnE ea t-off action of the right hand with full-arm extensi n, is well portrayed in Fig. II ppo ite. The full extension of the right arm, before the hand releases its hold upon the pole, serves a number of useful purpose . It upplies the final lifting power to raise the body up and away fr m the bar, it serves to push back the p le, so that it may n t f llow through and spoil the jump by rem ving the bar and it erves, als , t turn the body furth r back fr m 1 ft to right . arc mu t be taken, however, t ut the 1 g d wn fr m the hips a h wn and n n account mu t the h ad be thrown back, n r the left arm be rai ed t o s n, otherwise the vaulter will lo hi balance in the air and corn awkwardly to ground. he c rrect meth d f making the d scent after clearance is shown in •ig. I 2 oppo itc. The body has now completed a three-quarter turn from its position at the time of taking-off, and the body i br ught to an almost vertical position by the arms b ing thrown up together ab ve the h ad; and, again, care must be taken that the h ad is k pt inclined slightly forward ; jf it i thr wn back a the arms go up, it i m re than likely that the athlet will land in the and-pit upon his shoulders, in which case h will get a severe shaking.