Why? The Science of Athletics

SCIENTIFIC RECORDING OF TIMES AND PLACINGS Photo 1 shows the fimsh of the 110 metres OlymPzc HMdles at Los Angeles An arrow shows the f'oot of the wimz.er. Finlay (m second lane) has clearly btmten l(eller (111 lwe furthest from camera) for thml Place. Bu.rghley is very close up (fifth) and the time shown (14 86/100 seconds) is his tim.e. With this camem. the time of each other contestant ca11. be determined as easily as the time of the winner. Photo 2 sho1vs HamPson winning the Olympic 800 metres from Wilson, of Canada, m lmin. 40 70 / 100 seconds (the dial has tust pa.ssecl the 09 / 100). Photo 3 shows Tisdall winning the -WO metres Olympic Hurdles from Hardin in 51 07 / 100 seconds. These pictttres were taken by the "Kirby Two-Eyed Came1•a" -a came·ra so named by the I .A .A .F. in recognition of the services of Mr. Gustavus T. K irby, and constructed by the Ame·Y'ican T elephone and Telegraph Co. A few notes concerning this new 1nethod of judging cmd timing, whioh was used at Los Angeles, and which was also accepted for use at the Olympic Games held in Berlin in 1936, may interest readm•s. The camera is a standctrd r6mm. which tahes 128 pictures, per second. J')!Jost of the picture area is devoted to the action of the contestants, but the three rotating dials of the timing apparatzts are also photographed as they pass a fi,t:ed hair line. The three concentric dials show "hztnd'reds", seconds and minutes, and rotate respectively at one revolution p er second, one ''evolution .Per minute and one revolut•ion per hour . A 200-cycle generator is used, and the whole system is operated from an alternati,ng cur·rent of IIO volts . The experiments were condztcted by the Electric Research Prodztcts, Inc., at the Olympic Games, 1932. (The above facts have been copied from the Official Report of the Xth Olympiad, 1932, and with the above illustrations are reproduced by courtesy of the British Olympic Association.) Plate 4 [Facing page 193