Athletics of To-Day 1929

J06 Athletics of To-day at 173 ft. si ins., and C. ]. Lindh was second at 158 ft. rot} ins., M. Svensson, also Sweden, being fourth, McGrath fifth, and Tom Nicholson sixth. This Lindh was a great thrower, short in stature and very heavy, but he could only reach his best results when trained under the eagle eye of old Ernie Hjertberg right up to the last minute before competition. In rgzr he carried off the English title at I6I ft. II! ins., with his third throw of six attempts. Meanwhile, since rgro, hammer throwing at the Oxford and Cambridge Sports had degenerated into something very like an annual walk-over for some American Rhodes Scholar. Immediately after the War, however, Bishop's Stortford School sent up to Oxford a big youth of extraordinary strength in M. C. Nokes (No. 2, Plate 54). He did not shape exceptionally well at first. In the Olympic Trials, rgzo, he had a walk over at ro6 ft. ro ins., and in the A.A.A. Championships was fifth at IOI ft. In rgzr he suddenly found his form, but luck did not come his way. In March he won the Inter-University event at 148 ft., and with an exhibition throw, not reckoned as a record, reached r6o ft. 5 ins., easily beating all previous bests, and at the championships in July he placed second to Lindh with a throw of 155 ft. II ins. That was the year that, by the irony of fate, Oxford and Cambridge decided to drop hammer throwing from the Inter-University Sports programme-just as they had found a world's champion, if ever there was one I Nokes's evil fortune still prevailed. In 1922 Lindh was again English champion with a new British record of 172 ft. 3! ins., Nokes, second, r6r ft. 7 ins., and Ville orhoHi, the Finnish shot putter, third, at r6o ft. 3 ins. In 1923 Nokes took his first Midland aunties title at 172 ft. o in., only 3! ins. short of British record; in July he won his first of four English titles in sequence at I6I ft. 4t ins., and in August at the British Games, organized by The News of the World, reached 172 ft. 7! ins., thus beating British record, but the record could not be accepted as he was the only competitor. One morning in the practice ground beside the Olympic stadium at Paris, I lt stepped" one of his throws, which I'll swear was over r8o ft.,