Olympian Field Events

HANI1\1ER TIIRO TV IN G. is the thrower's body), whereas in the old method the handle was held as is a golf club, -v ith the left hand a near the end as possible, to attain the maximum swing; in this way a great d al of the handle was wasted. Very frequently I have heard it stat d that the finest hammer throwers in the whole world are the Americans, but this I reo-ard as hardly fair criticism without a qualifying statement. If it is said that the finest ex– ponents of the art are produ,ced in the United States, then one is bound to agree, bu_t, in spite of the fact that they are brought to p rfection on the other side of the Atlantic, the majority of them have b en born in lr land or Scotland, or ar of British par ntag . Take, for instance, l\1att J. McGrath, the hold r of the world' record, who was born in ounty Tipp rary in 1878; Cornelius Wal h, b rn in Cork in 1886; and J. J. Flanagan, who won this ev nt at th Olympic Games of London, 1908, with a thr w f 170ft. 4,~_in., wh n repres nting th Unit d tates. uri usly enough, hamm r throwing did not figure in the programme at the first of the m d rn Olympiads held at Athens in 1896. It was, how ver, introduced at the Game in Paris f ur years lat r, since when it has always b n in luded. Flanagan w n in 1900 (167ft. 4in.), 1904 (168ft. Iin.), and 1908 (17oft. 4!in.). In 1912 he did not omp t , but hi old opponent, M. J. l\1cGrath, maintain d th unbrok n s quence of Irish-Am ri an vict ri s with the w nd rful throw of 179ft. 7.1in. This is a new Olympi r ord, but do s n t appr a h l\!fcGrath 's wn world's record of 187ft. 4in., stab]i h d at C ltic Park, N w York, on 0 tob r 29th, 1911. IIj rtberg, th famou that hamm r thr wing i th m t s i ntifi athleti ev nt r As t this I am n t at all i c rtainly on which r quir a a t amount to acquire. B