Athletics of To-Day 1929

Throwing the Javelin (Fig. 33). The actual delivery is made in the Scandinavian method. In the other American method (Fig. 29, Ill), "right leg behind left, cross step," the right foot is placed in behind the body just as the body is bent back to commence the throw. This step was first used by Eric Lemming. S. Lay, New Zealand, who holds both Australasian and British records, uses the American method, numbered (II) in Fig. 29, but places the left foot down at L3. The six pictures in Plates 41 and 42 show Lay's sequence throwing action. In Plate 41, No. r shows the correct "walk " atti– tude of the legs at the moment of delivery and a properly perpendicular right arm release. The thrower's body form, how– ever, is very poor. There is too much forward lean, the left shoulder has been dropped and the head bent to the left, thus dragging the body away from its work, while the F1o 33 . wavy line of the javelin indicates a faulty release in which the fingers have been allowed to put downward pressure upon the javelin instead of the palm giving the weapon its proper final release lift. No. 2 portrays an almost perfect delivery, with the javelin wonderfully steady in flight and following the path of its own point. It is, however, tracking out to the right instead of sailing straight ahead, because the thrower has broken slightly to the left and away from his work, and the throw has not been made complet ly over the right shoulder. Observe the position of the right hand, which proves that a good final twist and finger flick has been employed to polish off the delivery, which has given the weapon a rifling flight.