Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

T H R O W I N G T H E H A M M E R THROWING the hammer and putting the shot are the only two weight events now practised by college nnd school athletes, although many of the athletic clubs still retain throwing the 56-lb. weight on their cards. The last named, however, is merely a sort of exaggeration of the first, and only practicable for very large and very strong men. With the other two events it is different. Strength, of course, is a prime requisite, but to attain perfection in either of them the performer must combine skill with muscular power. The intercollegiate rules which govern the throwing of the hammer require that the ham­ mer-head shall be a metal sphere, and the handle may be of any material. Up to within three or four years the handle used to be made of hard wood, but recently athletes have shown a prefer­ ence for a flexible steel handle. The combined length of the head and handle must not exceed 4 feet, and the combined weight must be 16 pounds. The hammer is thrown from a circle 7 feet in diameter. In making an attempt the com-