Athletics of To-Day 1929

----------=--- 212 Athletics of To-day The diagram in Fig. 16 gives a suggestion, first for framing a run-up, and, secondly, it shows the type of diagrammatical chart every athlete should keep. He will of course fill in the distances at which he finds his check marks and starting-point fall, should fill in his known striding capacity, and check the imprints of his spiked shoes on the cinder path by measurement and compare his actual run-up with the ideal of striding shown on his personal chart. In this way any irregularity in length of strides can be very quickly detected and adjusted. Regular– ity and evenness in striding are essential. The question of take-off is the next matter to be considered. The reader is referred back to Chapter II on The Sprints, and Fig. 3, page 52. From this he will see that the true sprinting 1 - --- - Reduced ltan9' - - - - - - ~ 1 1 I I I I ~-- -- - - - - - -Full Rant]~ - - - - _ - - - __ ~ Fto. 17. angle is one of seventy-five degrees. This is the proper body angle (a different thing from the angle of take-off or :flight) at the moment the spring is made. The jumper has no means of checking his own body angle and must therefore get a friend to watch him. Two posts can be set up beside the take-off board, one vertical and the other inclined towards the pit at an angle of seventy-five degrees. If the observer places himself at right angles to the vertical post he can then easily judge the angle of the body's inclination. In addition photographs should be taken frequently and be compared with a chart, such as is shown in Fig. 3, pag 52. That the true sprinting angle can be preserved at the moment of take-off is shown by Picture I, Plate z8, of the long jump illustrations. Notice