Success in Athletics and how to obtain it

ro2 SUCCESS IN ATHLETICS does not see the athlete out and throwing, but for two or three ' days before a competition he should slack off altogether or only do very light practice– throwing. On the morning of competition he should, if possible, keep off his legs altogether, and he should never, when going to the ground, carry his bag in the hand of his throwing arm. In studying the discus and the various movements which take place in it during its passage through the air, from the ·time of leaving the thrower's hand to coming to earth, it may be briefly stated that, from a mechanical point of view, these movements should be merely "two" in number– viz. a perfect parabolic path, and an even balance in the discus itself. Before describ– ing what is meant by an "even balance," it will be necessary Diagram 2 5 . to imagine the discus as r,epre- senting an ordinary " fly– wheel," such as one may see attached to an engine, uniformly made both as regards shape and weight and with a true centre. Round this centre the discus re– volves at a very rapid speed, produced by the twist given to it by the first finger as it leaves the thrower's hand. Diagram 25 represents a discus with centre (c) and . (a c b) a segment out of it; also the darkened portion at a b represents. a further segment, which rotates round the centre (c). When a body moves in a circular path round a centre, it tends to fly off from that path at a tangent, as shown by the line a d,