Success in Athletics and how to obtain it

SPRINTING I5 can be said is that the man who is thoroughly scien– tific in his methods will win every time when brought into competition with men who have not studied the methods so carefully. Take, for instance, A. E. Flaxman, ex-English hammer- throwing champion. He weighs only I 54 pounds, and yet he throws nearly r 50 feet, or approxi– mately a foot for every pound of his weight-a feat which has only once been beaten, when Quinn, the professional field-events coach at Harvard University, threw I 52 feet, though weighing but I 50 pounds. For years Flaxman has thought, reasoned, and prac– tised until he has accomplished that which has never been done before-even in America, where they know ''more than ·a bit" about these things-in throwing the hammer after four turns in a seven-foot circle ; hitherto this had been considered impossible. In consequence of Flaxman's extraordinary know– ledge of the art of hammer-throwing, he frequently beats men many stones heavier than he is in weight, simply because he makes use of every ounce of his weight, and nothing of his energy is wastefully ex– pended by misapplied effort. To the perfect exponent of any one of the athletic events several things are necessary. Fzrstly, he must have the physical attributes neces– sary to the proper carrying out of the evolutions involved. Secondly, he must have a knowledge of the muscle movements which take place, and the why and where– fore of the muscles employed. Th£rdly, he must understand the mathematical prin– ciples involved in carrying out the throwing, jumping, or running, as the case may be, for in this way he