Why? The Science of Athletics

SUCCESS OR FAILURE 22! of course, steer a boat by the use of the oars alone, but a lot of time is lost while you are looking over your shoulder to see where the bow is getting to ; and anyway, the work will be done far more efficiently if you have a coxswain looking after the tiller lines. The Head must set the Course Steering is just as important to the athlete as to the oarsman. The runner can keep a fairly straight course, without worrying over– much about the set of his head, and the throw– ing men and jumpers, and even the hurdlers, can c;tttain a fair degree of balance and proficiency along the same lines, but the fact remains that no athlete will ever get the best out of himself, unless he masters, and observes, the fundamental principle that the head is the rudder of the body. That, however, is only a first principle, for the head is also responsible for one's balance and for the proper disposition of the feet in throwing and the body dip in hurdling. Let us see why this is so and in what manner the athlete can benefit, or handicap, himself according to the way he holds his head. Take runners to begin with. How often does a good coach tell his sprinters to go right through the tape with a bang at the end of the race and to keep on running for ten yards before easing up after passing the winning post? Eq~ally, how often does he tell them that, no matter how great may be their exhaustion, they must never throw up their arms and drop their heads back in the hope of breasting the tape any sooner ? But why is this advice given ? The first part of the answer is made abundantly clear in Fig. 47, Plate 12. This picture shows Charles Paddock, U.S.A., former 100 and 220 yards world's record holder, winning his heat in the Olympic 100 metres at Paris in 1924. You will see that his head is set perfectly naturally upon his shoulders and therefore he is about to go through the tape with a perfectly free, natural and unhampered action and without any diminution in stride-length. Now look at