Why? The Science of Athletics

I I' 236 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS to take another stride, instead of which the left knee IS picked up strongly to maximum height and the foot IS kicked as high as possible. The shoulders are lifted and the arms raised and then the right leg gets in a strong kick. This leaves . the body in an upright position, and the rise must reach its maxi– mum height before being interfered with ; but as soon as the left foot reaches its 'highest point it passes over the bar while the_left arm is pushed up and to the right. The right arm must be left to follow its own instinctive action. The body is now flat out and is reaching a face down– wards position and the right leg is kicked violently back and up towards the sky in the same way that my right leg is being kicked up in Fig. 63, Plate 16. The secret is to make the kick h.ard enough to carry the knee up to hip lev.el. As .one foot is kicked up and back the other is kicked down to facilitate the lancljng: Your History in Your · Footprints Many athletes have asked me to state what I consider to be the relative difference in performances done on grass and on cinders. In actual fact, there is very little differ– ence in merit between the ordinary so,rt of cinder track one finds in use in England and a really good stretch of ·well kept, firm and dry British turf that is as smooth and level as a cricket table. In any case, I should not 9-ssess the relative values of the two surfaces in terms of speed, but rather for their merit as factors in enabling the athlete to study and understand his own athletic history. Turf that is firm enough to yield maximum spe~d, or springing power, by due resistance to the runner's or jumper's muscles, retains no footprints, but every spike– mark by the athlete's shoes is recorded' on a surface of fine cinders. What story do such footprints reveal to the athlete ? Where the runner is concerned, it is the stride length and the way in which he puts his feet down that supply