Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

34 TRAGK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL held, for this will greatly aid in the sprint for the tape. Training for the low hurdles is, in general, the same as that for the high hurdles. The jump over the obstacle itself, however, is radically differ­ ent, and it is for this reason that many hurdlers FIG. 4 who are invincible over the shorter distance are frequently defeated in the longer. In clearing the low hurdles the athlete should endeavor not to jump. He must put as little spring as possible into his effort, but should clear the obstacle by a dexterous management of the legs. Here is where one advantage of the double- jump exercise comes in. In the 220 race the body of the hurdler should be kept on as constant a level as possible. In other words, his shoulders should move along an imaginarystraight line from start to finish. Fig. 4 shows thismore clearly perhaps than any description can. The line AA is the one that the shoulders should follow; the line BB shows the motion that should be avoided. With prac­ tice this form can be readily acquired, and it adds greatly to the speed of the hurdler. The secret