Athletics of To-Day 1929

Throwing the Javelin at Rr. As the left foot came forward to L2 he would sway his whole body to the left and begin to bring the javelin to the rear with a backward uniler-arm swing. He then performed a high step-over action with the right leg to R2 as he got his throwing arm fully extended behind him and so bad his body well turned and bent back and his knees deeply flexed when the left foot was stamped down at L3. The half-dozen impressions of Myrra at work (Fig. 3r, page 267) may help the reader to understand his form if he will compare the sketches with that of the Scandinavian orthodox style and with the make-up of Fig. 29 (r), page 264. Eino Pentilla, the present world's record holder, and also a Finn, has adopted the Scandinavian style, plus Myrra's under– hand forward and backward swing and has added to the whole a special C( stunt" of his own. In the first place, he has the most furiously fast run-up I have ever seen a man hold and yet still throw in good shape. He keeps his javelin arm swinging backwards and forwards as he runs, thereby gaining a compen– satory shoulder swing and considerable traction. Half-way through his run he gets in one huge bounding stride and just as he comes to C( beck 2 '' (see Fig. 29, r) he gets in a second bound and at the same time puts Myrra's under-hand forwards and backwards swing into action. This brings him to his set throwing position at R2 and L3, and be throws with terrific speed and jerk, but needs a lot of space to break up in in his reverse. The two American styles supply a totally different form of javelin throwing except that the Americans have adopt d Myrra's under-hand swing in a modified form. Th ir methods derive, I fancy, from the circumstance of the shot putters being the first Ameri an athl tes to tak up javelin throwing. The late Ralph Ros , former hold r of the world's shot putting record, was, it may be remembered, the winner of the first national javelin throwing championship held in America in rgog, when he reached I4I ft. 7 ins. Naturally enough, the shot putters wanted to introduce into the new game as much of their own particular technique as was practicable, and, ven