Why? The Science of Athletics

284 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS The results of experiments made with a tail wind were startling and upset all the pet theories of the alleged experts, who had refused to pass records made "with the aid" of a following wind. The argument that, logically, any force which propels an object must increase its speed of flight was not contested by the scientists carrying out the experiments ; but it does not follow, necessarily, that the distance of flight will be prolonged commensurately with the additional speed. . What the experiments carried out in America did prove was this, that a following wind, or even a quartering wind, creates a very marked decrease in the partial vacuum formed behind and on top of the discus, which is further deprived of the all-essential "lift" through lack of air-resistance to its under surface when it flies with the wind behind it. In other words, the:; discus is not only deprived of the "lift", which should be pushing it up constantly into a partial vacuum, but is actually forced downwards by the pressure of a following wind striking at an angle against its tilted upper surface. Consequently a discus thrower with a following wind gets less lift, less drag and less height at the top of the path of the parabola, so that the missile is maintained in flight for a propor– tionately shorter period of time than when it is thrown against a head-wind of not more than 14· 5 m.p .h. The conclusion one arrives at, therefore,- is that the stronger the tail wind blowing behind the discus the less distance will the athlete be able to throw the implement. Initial Path Angle and Angle of Inclination are Identical and Consistent Another thing proved by the experiments, as already stated, was that the initial path– angle and the angle of inclination to the ground were identical and consistent from the instant of projection, and further that the correct angle of projection when the best conditions obtain is one of 35 degrees. The inferences to be drawn from the experiments made in America appear to me to be, firstly, that the discus thrower should make full use of all head-on