Athletics and Football (extract)

158 ATHLETICS 16 lb. ; but the rules as to length of handle, the length of run allowed,and measurement still vary. The original rules, fol­ lowed both at the championship meetingand the Oxford and Cambridge sports, allowed the hammer-thrower to use a hammer of any length, to take as much run as he liked, and throw fromany place he liked, the judge marking the place where the thrower had his front foot at the moment when the hammer left his hands. The measurement was then taken in a straight line from the thrower's foot to the pitch of the hammer. At the championshipmeetingafter 1875 a 3-ft-6-in. hammer and a 7-foot run without followalone were allowed, although at the Oxford and Cambridge sports the old rules went on until 1881,and even nowthe Oxfordand Cambridge rule is different to that used at the championship meeting. In America, and at some Scottish meetings, the hammer is thrown standing, without a run at all. The rule of the Ath­ letic Association, however, which was used at the champion­ ships until 1886, and followed at nearly all the places in England where the sport is practised at all, ran as follows: 'The hammer shall be thrown fromwithin a circle of 7 feet in diameter. The head of the hammer shall be of iron, and spherical, and the handle shall be of wood. The head and handle shall weigh together 16 lb. The total length of the hammer shall not be more than 4 feet.' In 1887 the circle wasenlarged from7 feet to 10 feet. Wemust confess to thinking that the limited run, short hammer, and no followmake hammer- throwinga fairer,prettier, and more skilfulsport than the original form of the competition. The main point to learn in throwing the hammer is to get as much impetus as is possibleupon the body by rapidly spin­ ning round, the arms being held perfectly rigid with the hammer grasped in the hands. At the moment when the greatest impetus is obtained, the hammer is let go, an extra push being given at the last moment by a jerk of the whole body. No actual arm-work is used at all, the strain falling mainly upon the backand loins ; indeed, one or two famous