Athletics of To-Day for Women

-------- ~ r 5o Athletics of To-day for Women permit yourself to be boxed in. If you are running second and other competitors challenge you, you must go traight into the lead, but let the girl you have passed come through again in the course of a few yards, if she will do so. If she will not resume the lead, try to shift it on to one of the challengers and drop into second place yourself, as the other girl con1es through. If you do get shut in, look out for and take quickly the very first opportunity of breaking through. The commencing sprint should not be maintained for more than thirty or forty yards ; otherwise the muscle t n ion will upset the breathing, but you must learn to change quickly from the sprint action to a long striding float (Picture 3). This stride is not so long as that of the quarter miler, and it is more relaxed. The running is done on the back half of the ball of the foot (Picture 8r), and it is even permissible for the middle di tanc girl to run quite flat-footed for short periods during the rac as a means of r sting herself. ( ee Mi Trickey running second in Picture 78.) In middle distance action the leg is swung well out in front (see Picture 7 , Kruhmin who i leading, and lorence MacDonald, Picture 3), and there must be no sugg stion of chopping the action. The heel of the r ar– most leg must not be allowed to fly up b hind (Picture 3). Two points to remember-the arm carriag should b fairly low and the diaphragm should b lower d to allow of easy, r gular breathing. The arms should b b nt at the lbow, the hands held loos ly and on a 1 vel with the hip . Th head should be carried naturally to all w f natural br thing, re piration should be in through the no and out through th mouth. Do not check the arm swing as the lbow r a h s th sid , but r member that the arm is S\ ung fon ard as it corresponding leg is straight ned in the drive f£ for th next stride. This, and the other actions m ntion d, ar all well shown in the accompanying illustrations. The acme of p rfection is seen in Picture 83, of Florence MacDonald, U. . A., who was 6th in the Olympic 8oo metr s in 1928. In Pictur s 78, 79, and o, for xampl , mma Yruhmin, Latvia, who is leading, well earned her nickname of