Athletics of To-Day for Women

2.04 Athletics of To-day for Women fingers are held together, while the other fingers are separated a trifle, and the thumb slants slightly forwards. The middle joints of the fingers are bent, the outer joints are turned under the discus rim, and the discus must lie fiat against the wrist and the palm of the hand. When you are swinging the discus, or turning with it, the missile is retained below the hand by centrifugal force, which is contributed by the swing or the speed of the turn. It is as well to begin practising in a circle, and certainly yo'lt should never throw without one. The footwork of the throw is shown in the accompanying diagram, Fig. 25. The dotted line is not marked upon the ground when the circle is to be used for competition, but should always be marked in for training purposes. This line is drawn frmn back to front of the circle, and indicates the direc- tion in which the throw Fm. 2 5 is to b made. Take up your position with the right foot placed acros this line at the rear edge of the circle (Rr, Fig. zs) ; the left foot with the heel clear of the ground is placed beyond the line at the position indicated as Lr. Some throwers, however, pref r to have the left foot across the line at the spot marked Lz. In any case, the feet will be placed approximately eighte n inches apart. In this position the athl te' left side is turned to the direction in which she is going to throw. The way in which the preliminary swing is carried out is a matter of personal preference. ome girls use a cro s-body swing which brings the discus and the back of the right hand opposite to th left knee, as shown in Picture rz6 by Milly Reuter, who holds the German record of rzs ft. 9 ~ ins. ;