Coaching and Care of Athletes

THE POLE VAULT With the acceptance of the slideway in America a new vault– ing technique was evolved-I believe by A. C. Gilbert, of Yale. Using the new style, first Sabin Carr and then Fred Sturdy cleared 14ft., to be followed by Keith Brown, also of Yale, who took the world's record to 14 ft. 5-§- ins. According to the then new tradition, pole-planting should take place during the last three strides of the approach run preceding the take-off. Thus (for a right-handed vaulter taking off from his left foot) the pole would be carried on the right side of the body, with the right arm almost fully extended and the left arm just in front of .and below hip-level. In this style the pole-point is raised very little above the horizontal plane (see Plate XXXIII, Fig. 95). The approach run is very fast, but the striding is even and the cadence perfectly balanced. • As the right foot strikes the track to commence .the third but last stride the right hand begins to thrust the point of the pole forward and downward; as the left foot strikes the track on the completion of the third but last stride the forward movement of the pole continues. As the right foot completes the penultimate stride the point of the pole enters the open end of the slideway, and immediately the right hand thrusts the pole-shaft up and forward, so that the right hand takes a position just above the front of the head. The left hand slides up the pole until it makes contact with the right (upper hand) just as the left foot hits the track in com– pletion of the final, take-off stride. The take-off in this style is made with a vigorous stamp, flat-footed, and with the knee slightly bent. The action in this style needs perfect timing on account of the difficulty of planting the pole-point accurately during the space of three strides. The advantage claimed by those who use the style is that a man pushing the shaft up and forward in the manner just described has less chance of breaking the rhythm of his vault by bearing down on the pole-that, in fact, he goes up with the pole. In my opinion, however, most of the men using this style defeat their own object by going into a 'hang' at full arm extension the moment the take-off foot leaves the ground. It is claimed by those who advocate the style that this action increases the arc of the pendulum swing, but, again, I think that rhythm is interrupted when a man drops from a position in which the arms are partly flexed to a full arm extension. Furthermore, the question of leverage is involved, since it must 323