Athletes in Action

203 HOP, STEP A D JUl\IP. TH' JU tiP (r5) TuE shoot-finish, which immediately pr ced s the landing from the Jump, is shown in Fig. rs n the opposite page. It will be een that the forward-lean of the body and the correct poise of the head have b en well maintained that the arms, already, are beginning to w p fon ard so that th y may h lp to carry the weight f th athlete f rward ver the fulcrum f his l1eels as so n as they hit th sand. \Vith- out this forward arm-swing the athlct would, almost inevitably, it down backwards upon landing. The 1 g- hoot, it should b n ted, is characteri ed by an alm t full xtcn ion of both 1· g . The light knee fl xion of both 1 gs i , firstly, an in uranc' again t the b dy receiving too great a sh ck n landing; sec ndly, if th kn ·c were not bent a little, the athlete w uld be thr 'An flat upon hi bacJ....; , nd, thirdly, this light pr ·p.uat ry fl xion is maintained t enable the athl t · to gi\'C qui kly at the knc s a his he 1 hit the and. t that the t cs arc not trctched ut because the landing must be made n the heel , if the f et are t serve ad quat ·ly th ir purpose of the landing ful rum f th body. A further point that i worthy £ r ·mark is that th • feet and legs ar · k pt close togeth r, b au c the jump r knmv that an ill-bal n e , sprawling landing usually m an a t rn thigh mu cle at th w rst, or the loss f inches in distance at the best.