Success in Athletics and how to obtain it

CHAPTER XVII SHOT-PUTTING IN this event bulk preponderates as the deciding factor in the selection of the athlete. The late Ralph Rose, the finest shot-putter the world has ever seen, weighed 20 stone, and stood 5 ft. 5~ in. in his socks (his photo appears in fig. 73), and W. W. Coe, holder of the English Inter-University Record, weighed just on I7 stone. Of course there are phenomena which upset all one's calculations. As such we have already instanced Flaxman among the hammer– throwers, so here we may take the case of W. R. Knox, chief Olympic coach to the English AAA. A photo of Knox appears in fig. 42. · He weighs little if anything over I I stone, and yet by the perfection of his style and the strength of his muscles he has attained the surprising distance-for so light a man– of 46 feet, which is only 5 feet less than the World's Record of 5 I feet, established by Ralph Rose, Knox being only little over half Rose's weight. Combined with his strength and style, the amazing speed at which Knox gets across the circle and the force with which he shoots out the arm contribute largely to his success. As has already been said, weight and height are essential to the first-class shot-putter, the former 165