Athletics of To-Day 1929

Athletics of To-day after twenty years, American javelin throwing still smacks of the shot putter's art. Some few of the Americans use the over– shoulder-carry, shown in Fig. 28, but the majority prefer an under-shoulder position for the arm during the approach run. Fig. 32 shows the manner in which the javelin is held under and along the line of the throwing arm, with the back of the hand uppermost and the head of the weapon level with the athlete's chin. About 20 ft. behind the scratch line the javelin point is dropped so that the shaft comes parallel to the ground and as the left foot strikes the athlete's throwing line in (I) Fig. 29, and "Check Mark'' in (II) and (Ill), Fig. 29, the body is leaning well forward and the weapon is back at the full stretch of the throwing arm. See Picture No. 3, Plate 44, which shows Lord Burghley in a role that will be un– familiar to many of his admirers. From this point the two American styles vary. In the FIG. 3 2 • one shown in Fig. 29 (II), tt Hop and cross in front with left leg," the right foot is put down at RI, the right arm is rotated backwards, so that the palm comes uppermost and the shaft of the javelin lies along and above the arm and the point comes level with the chin. Simply turn the hand palm uppermost to reverse the arm position shown in Fig. 32. At the same time the left arm is thrown across the body and the head bent back. The athlete then hops on the right foot to R2 and the left leg is swung either to L3, or L3a, which is an alternative position, shown by a dotted line. The transition swing of the left leg while the right leg completes its hop from RI to R2 (Fig. 29, II) is shown in the accompanying sketch