Athletics of To-Day for Women

r 58 Athletics of To-day for Women the Czech girl Sychrova won, and equalled the world's record of 14! secs. he had not, however, reached the limit of her extraordinary hurdling powers. At the p riod of the second World's Game , oth r countries, too, had really great exponents of the hurdler's art, especially the English girl , White and Hatt, and the French girl, Laloz. At the Fourth Congress of the F. .F.I. in rgz6, the question of standardising a hurdling event was put forward on urgent grounds by several nations, and in rgz8 Great Britain came forward with a definite plan, which the Fifth Congress r ferred to the Technical ommission, who decided to reduce the disbnce of 83 metres, which had become partly standardised by practice, to 8o metres. Th weight of the hurdle was confirmed at 5 kilos. (rrlb. ioz.), and it was also decided not to allow a movable top rail. In that year ychrova, at Prague, reduced the world's r cord to rz 1 s cs., a time which has not since been beaten, although Hilda Hatt has gone very close to it, and the American girl, Hel n Filk y (Picture g8), has made a new American 6o yards Hurdles record of 8 3 secs. An examination of th national r cor , which vary from the world's and zecho- lovakian r cord of rz secs. to the r6! s c . returned in Japan, shows that the world's standard is at pr s nt 13~ s cs. In th stablished 8o metres event there are flights of z ft. 6 in. hurdl , set up at a distance of 8 m tr s ( yds. oft. 9 ins.) apart, and this allows for a run up to the fir t hurdle and a fini hing print from the last hurdle to the winning post of rz m tre (r yds. oft. 4~ ins.) in ach case. As thing are at the mom nt, it is difficult to ay who is really th worl 's champion in thi ev nt, and, although I should plac uth ck r ( ictur 4, 9 , an 7) fir t, as a stylist, irr p ctive of h r new rman record, which is only s c. outsid th world's r cord, it must not be forgotten that in th international match b tween ermany and England, rgzg, Hilda Iatt, r at ritain, wh won, return d rz it s c ., •diul in Haux, Germany, rz~ s., Mrs. Corn ll, r at ritain, rz 7 s . ., whil uth k r fini h d 4th (Pi tur 17). I am f th pinion that, • lth ugh y hr v. still l 1 ih