Athletics of To-Day 1929

---- Athletics of To-day sprinting speed. He is taught to keep out of the first struggle for position, and to save his strength for the fight at the finish. In this he has the advantage of meeting fewer contenders in the second struggle than usually take part in the initial rush for position. The sprinter type gains three or four yards by winning the pole position. The other type of man, providing he can pull the race all the way after reaching the back straight, has every hope of making up for his lack of initial sprinting speed. This has been proved by the running and records of such men as Meredith, Rudd, Lowe, and Stallard. From time to time Great Britain has produced some remark– able schoolboy quarter-milers. J. H. Ridley, while still at Eton, won the first English Championship, r866, in 55 secs., while T. C. Eastley, Haileybury, took the first Public Schools title in exactly the same time in r8go. In r8gr, however, B. C. Whitaker, Charterhouse, set the Public Schools Cham– pionship record at 52-f secs. Since then the "C. H. Mason Challenge Cup " has been \! on in 52! secs. by L. Cornish, Merchant Taylors, r8g8, W. Morris, Bury, rgr4, F. W. Tchit– cherine, Brighton, rgz6, and J. Simpson, Oundle, rgz8. But the old r cord was never surpassed until in 1927 D. Barrington– Hudson, Imp rial Service Colleg , ran the distance in 52 secs. fiat. Picture No. 2, Plate 8, shows him finishing out his record– breaking efiort. In South Africa, of course, the climate is more favourable to short distance running than in England, but ev n so the per– formances of L. B. B. B tts, of the J eppe High School, J ohannes– burg, who at eight en y ars of age record d roo yards in gt secs., 440 yards in 48! secs., and half a mile in 2 mins. oi sec., repeating his roo and 440 yards times upon several occasions, are marv llous. In 1924 h came to England for the A.A.A. Champion hips and went on to Paris for the Olympic Games, but he did not acclimatise well in Europe and failed to repro– duce his home form. To whichever of the two typ s of quarter-miler the aspirant to honours belongs he must become proficient in the art of starting, and for that purpose, and to increase his speed, he