Coaching and Care of Athletes

COACHING AND CARE OF ATHLETES averaged IO secs. per 100 metres, and a new 4 X 100 metres world's record of 40 secs. was established. At Berlin in 1936 the American policy was reversed, partly, no doubt, on account of the cost of transportation from America to Germany, making it necessary to limit where possible the size of the entire team. Apart from this, J. Owens, R. Metcalfe, and F. Wykoff, who figured in both the individual sprints and the sprint relay, were men of outstanding and hardened ability. The addi– tion of Foy Draper to their number made up a relay team which returned 39·8 secs. for yet another new world's relay record. The point to remember is that the short sprint relay calls for speed and perfect baton-changing, when both incoming andr out– going runners are moving at optimum speed, as the main essentials. There.is no time in the distance of 100 yds. or 100 metres for a man to make up any great amount of leeway. It follows, therefore, that if a coach's best sprinters have speed and also the stamina to go through the eliminating trials and finals of both individual and relay contests upon the same day there is no reason why he should not use them in his relay team, provided always that he perfects them in baton-passing during training. The I6oo metres, or mile, relay introduces some further con– siderations. In this case each runner has plenty of opportunity to make up ground lost by a preceding runner in the 437i or 440 yds. which he must cover. Special training, not only in baton– changing, is necessary. It is essential that all four men should be trained to race as a team, with each man's leg of the relay planned to suit the running of his successor and the balance of the whole team- for just distribution of both individual and combined team effort. Training such as I have suggested might well affect the form of an athlete preparing for an individual contest. Thus we find that in the individual 400 metres at the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in I932 the three American representatives finished as follows: first, W. A. Carr, 46·2 secs., which was a new world's record; second, B. Eastman, 46·4 secs.; and fifth, J. A. Gordon, 48·2 secs. The 4 X 400 metres relay te;:tm, however, comprised I. Fuqua, 47· I secs., E. Ablowich, 47·6 secs., K. Warner, 47·3 secs., and W. A. Carr, 46·2 secs. The total time of3 mins. 8·2 secs. constituted a newworld's record. Carr was included as 'anchor' man because he was at that time both the fastest and the strongest quarter-miler in the world. At Berlin, on the other hand, Great Britain ran her best three 2 74