Athletic Training

CHAPTER IV SPRINTING ONE often hears it said nowadays that "sprinters, like poets, are born, not made." In a measure this is a true statement, be– cause it is just as natural for some men to outstrip their fellows in a foot-race as it is for others to pass their mates in any mental or physical task. It would be a hopeless un– dertaking to develop a cart-horse into a trot– ter, because they are built for totally differ– ent purposes. So it is almost as hard to make sprinters out of some athletes. It requires a peculiar combination of strength, agility, and nervous energy to make one a successful sprinter, and if nature has not blessed · the athlete with these attributes no amount of hard work or coaching can make him a world champion. At the same time, any man, no matter how 30