Athletics of To-Day 1929

Athletics of To-day The new arm action is shown in the picture of G. C. Weight– man-Smith (South Africa and C.U.A.C.) (No. 2, Plate 20), who holds the World's and Olympic rro metres High Hurdles record of I4! secs. The right arm goes forward with the left leg, or vice versa, and is snapped downward and slightly to the side to enable the athlete to claw down more quickly with the leading leg. The arm and leg action are fully emphasized in the picture of W ightman-Smith. Back in the year rgrr, when the three big American hurdlers were gradually drawing nearer to the light, Earl Thomson, a Canadian born, was sent to the local high school at Long Beach, California, for a course of higher education. It was there that he saw his very first athletic hurdle- and liked the look of it. A week later he had bought a track suit and was trying his luck with the rest. For two years he hurdled when he could and meanwhile was taking a keen interest in the doings of the great hurdling stars. He really began his career on a few words of advice dropped by en \Vard, who was very nearly as good as Kelly, winner of the Olympic title, rgr2, in rs! secs. At the World's Fair, San Francisco, rgrs, Thomson represented the Los Angeles A.C. and had his first sight of Simpson. Then he went to the University of Southern California and got constant practice with Kelly, but never dreamed of beating the champion, and yet th first time they met in competition Thomson won and equalled the world's record of r4t secs. Thomson was terribly strict with hims If in his training, which he based on th late Michael Murphy's book. He would not even sl ep crooked in b d for fear of cramping his muscles. He may have been absurdly particular, but the point is that he was willing to make any sacrifice to ensure succ ss, and that is just what such a lot of'' just-short-of-champions" will not do. Honours came arly to Thomson, but that did not satisfy him; he was eh wing away at theories that might mean new world's record . He watched the b st stylists at work, and he studied every picture of hurdling he could g t hold of. He had alr ady perfected his own double arm fonvard lift (see Plates