Athletics of To-Day 1929

Throwing the Javelin 257 ever, the London firm of Lillywhite's have produced a bam– boo-shafted practice spear and a laminated javelin for com– petition. Both are practically unbreakable, and the latter does not warp, and is just about the last word in javelin construction. The production of the first wonderful Finnish spears no doubt had a beneficial effect upon the sport in Finland, for the Finns found themselves beating the world's best throwers, including the Swedes, and they really got down to their job, although Lemming, just after the Stockholm Olympiad, had raised the world's record again by throwing 204ft. 5~ ins. At the Baltic Sports, held at Malmo, Sweden, in July, rgr4, Jonni Myrra, eighth in the best hand throw at Stockholm, r68 ft. 4.86 ins., beat Lemming's performance with 207ft. 7 ins., and at Stockholm in August, rgrg, reached 2r6 ft. 9t ins. In rgr7 Sweden produced a really wonderful thrower in Y. Hackner, who made the present world's aggregate record of 374 ft. rrf ins. (right and left hand throws added together). He did not, however, stay long in competition, for a child ran on to the ground one day when he was throwing, and the spear went clean through it, after which Hackner never touched a javelin again, although the accident was due to no fault of his. Then came the rg2o Olympiad at Antw rp. I spotted four very lusty Finns and a likely-looking young Esthonian-A. Klumberg-at the parade of nations, for I had heard already something of their prowess. The wedes, "Gunnar" Lind– strom and E. lomqvist, I had thrown with in Stockholm the year before, and there were one or two well thought of Ameri– cans, but no British entries. Placings worked out pretty well according to form, but Jonni Myrra ( o. 3, late 38) introduced us to something new in the way of sty1 , and the manner in which the first half-dozen men performed was nothing short of amazing, as will be realised from the following figures, when it is remembered that the Olympic record stood at 200 ft. r ~ 1 ins.: s