Athletes in Action

1 55 THE L G }Ui\1P (1) TnERE are still two schools of thought r garding Long Jumping technique-at lea t there arc in England. The fact remains, h w ver, that no man yet has ucceded in reaching 25 ft. by the body-bunched-sail-throu h- the-air " style, till een at our univer ities and public school , whereas numerous men u in()' th ' hitch- kick, ' or 'mid-air-running ' style, have beaten 2 5 ft., and ne has gone further than 26 ft. It is the continuou running action, by which w rld s record have been broken, therefore, that has be n select d for our illu trati n . The athlete en is r. R. t. J. II nner u tralasian r ord hold r and former Engli h hampion. The fir t thing the Long J umpcr mu t do i to tablish an approach-run' hich will allow him to hit the take-off board at the grca tc t pccd \. hi eh is c n- si t nt with steadine and a uracy. It may tal... year to 'Stabli h such a run, but no man an bee me a super-jumper without perfection in this phase f hi w rk. The length of th run-up hould be the shortest which will ensure ma. imum speed at the take- off. The tarting-point should be f und somewhere between 35 and 45 yds. back from the take-off. he actual take-off style i shown in •ig . I and 2 opposite. The athlete run right through, so that the ball of the jumping-foot hits the take-off board, with the heel, first, hitting the ground hard ju t hort of the b ard. he arms presen e th ir running action, the b dy d cs n t lean back ( < ig. 1). The 1 ft (leadin ) J...nee is then picked well up· a the weight goes forward there is an ankling acti n from heel to toes and the right (r ar) leg is fully straight ncd in a pm crful drive ( 1 ig. 2 pp site). ote that the athlete is running, rather than pringing, off the board and that the running attitude of the body is not lost.