Athletics of To-Day for Women

162 Athletics of To-day for Women the rear leg leave the track. Notice that the right arm goes forward with th left leg, or vice versa, that the body has fallen but little below the normal sprinting angle ref rred to in Chapter Nine, and that the head of the hurdler has risen to no greater height than it would reach if she were standing upright in a normal manner. It is a great point to remember that while the hurdle is being cleared the head should at no time fall below your normal tanding height, although it may in ome individual ea es ri e as much as two to three inches above that level. ictur 95, of Fraulein Von Bredow shows the conversion of th st p action t the full leg stretch for hurdle clearance, and th pronounced body dip which she favours. The long spr ad of the legs is admirable. In learning the foreleg action, make the movements slowly until th y arc w 11 work d in, and all th time try to imagine you are m rely st pping over an ob ta le you have suddenly encountered. The nece sity of preserving the sprint angle has been mentioned already. The woman's body from the hip up should hardly change its position in the course of clearing the hurdle. It is the part of the anatomy b low the hips which i responsible for g tting the whol body over the obstacl , th final clearance of the back leg, tog th r with the attainment of a proper po ition for the n ,rt tride, b ing mad po sibl by a rotary mo m nt of th r r hip. Picture g6 shows Fdiul in cker's perf ctly balanced cl arance action with arms and leg , on oppo ite sid s, ach compen ating for the action of the other; it r v al her p rf et body lean and the facts that th rear 1 g hould b allo\ d to hang until the front l g has almo t complet d its work, and that in no circumstance should th foot of the rear 1 g b allowed to kick up above th lev 1 of the r ar kn . Th wide 1 g spr ad and comp nsatory circular action f th rear hip with knee lift id w y hould also b noted. Th 1 ading leg, incidentally, i already straight ning out for th chop down which will land the foot close to the hurdle. Note in all three pictures of diulein B cker that the hands are loosely held.