Athletics (British Sports Library)

THE LONG JUMP 189 yet was just about the equal of Irons in merit of performance. The all-important attributes of the long jumper are speed and thigh power. Style can be acquired by practice. It may here be stated that both the famous South African speed runners, R. E. Walker and B. G. D. Rudd, were capable of clearing 22 feet without any particular style, and could have been trained to do a great deal more. Speed, therefore, is the governing factor, and one that almost guaran– tees distance; but speed must be allied with the ability to hit the take-off board properly, to leave it in correct form and to get the body well up into the air. If a sprinter fails to make out as a long jumper, it is because either he lacks thigh power or has failed to pay proper attention to the sequence of body movements in mid-air which should succeed the take-off. The distance of the wn-up to the take-off varies with the build of the athlete and his practical experience of his own peculiar requirements. As a preliminary, most athletes place themselves just back of a 27-yard mark, feet together and shoulders square to the pit, rise on the toes and trot forward, increasing the speed until the foot from which the spring is to be made hits the 27-yard mark, by which time they are travelling at a little short of top speed.