Athletics of To-Day 1929

Throwing the Hammer 317 second shift back of the left foot prior to the third turn. In No. rs, he is withdrawing his left foot at the end of the third turn to gain the throwing stance shown in Fig. 43, page 314. The actual throw commences from the final stance, shown in Fig. 43· The final heave is an upward one and is largely governed by the straightness of the arms during the last turn. As the hammer is on its way up, the legs, all possible speed and force, while the left · body, and arms must be straightened with ~ foot presses hard against the ground to maintain a strong point of resistance. Let Fro. 45 the arms move with the hammer right through the throw, and turn the body with the throw in the final release, but do not shift the feet. This gives the follow through finish-up shown in Fig. 45· The way the reverse is made, and the thrower turns to face the direc– tion of the throw is shown in Picture No. r6, Plate 57, of Flax– man, finally turned from a back-to-hammer– flight to a front-to– hammer-flight position. Above almost everything else learn to keep the body moving ahead of the hammer all the time and let the speed in swinging, turning, and throwing be an ever-increasing effort culminating in the final delivery. This body-ahead-of-hammer turn is especially well shown in Fig. 46. Some hammer throwers do not favour the tl one foot always on the ground" turning style as described above, but prefer a