Athletics (British Sports Library)

216 ATHLETICS upon the starting mark, and the coach, or a fellow athlete, should stand by the slide-way to see if the jumping foot reaches the take-off mark, and he should also observe the body angle, which should be slightly forward. The value of the approach run must by no means be under-estimated, for it is an important factor of success. It will need a lot of practice, since it is not easy to run at top speed while carrying the pole. There is a distinct tendency to stiffen the arms and shoulders and to tip up the point of the pole, in– stead of keeping it parallel to the track with the point directed str~ight to the front. The athlete has to learn to compensate for the lack of freedom to use the sprinter's style, caused through the pole carriage, and does this by a twist of the rear fore– arm and hand, and by holding the pole loosely so that it is swung slightly forwards and backwards. This movement, in its turn, allows of shoulder and rear arm swing to approximate moderately closely to sprint arm action. The .athlete must hold a forward body angle during the run, and he must keep his shoulders square to the front so that he does not run in the least bit sideways. The reason the pole is carried almost parallel to the track, is in order that the thrust of the point into the slide-way may be perfectly smooth.