Rowing and Track Athletics (extract)

The jumps and the Pole-Vault 371 pursuing dinosaurus. There is something appeal– ingly practical about these events. Whatever skill we acquire we feel is presently going to be of use. To-day it is a solid take-off block and a stretch of spaded loam; to-morrow it may be a ditch or a hedge with no take-off at all and a drop into a mud-hole if one misses. The run– ning broad jump is an event that depends rather more on speed and spring than it does on the finesse of a jumping style. Half the game is in getting a good run and a clear, strong take-off, and the man who is not in a condition to sprint, who cannot approach the take-off time after time at top speed easily, is in no shape to do strong and consistent jumping On the other hand, the broad jump does not consist, as it is often thought to consist, merely in a spring and a perfunctory lift– ing of the legs when the runner reaches the take– off joist. Almost any good sprinter can clear I 9 or 20 feet with a little practice, but really to do anything worth while, according to present-day standards, requires not only a great deal of "spring" but a great deal of skill in the manage– ment of the body as well. What with properly spacing one's strides, getting a clear, sure take-off, gathering the feet in mid-air and falling forward when one strikes the earth, there is plenty of opportunity for cleverness and developed skill. Loosely speaking, good broad jumpers start their