Why? The Science of Athletics

378 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS metres and IO,ooo metres races each four times out of five since these races were instituted in I9I2, and two of the last four Marathon races. There is undoubtedly something about the national temperament of the Finns and the atmosphere and con– ditions of life in their northern land which enables them to lay claim to be considered the greatest distance runners the world has yet seen at distances of over one mile. I refer, of course, to the 'Finnish athletes in the aggre– gate, and not in relation to individual record-breakers, those sports of Fate which any nation may have the good luck to produce singly and very occasionally. Yet another event in which the Fi1ms are phenomenally successful is javelin throwing. At Antwerp in I920 their allowable entry of four men per event filled the first four places in the ja:velin contest, all doing better than 204 ft. At Paris, I924, Finns were :first and fourth, a much lower standard of performance obtaining. At Amsterdam they were 4th and 6th, both men beating 207 ft., while at Los Angeles in I932 their allowable entry of three men took the first three places, and all beat 225ft., while M. Jarvi:tlen (Fig. 22), who won, has broken one world's record after another, until finally stabilizing the mark at 251 ft. 6 rf ro ins. Perhaps, however, the world's ranking World's Rank- list for r935, excluding America for the ing List, 1935 moment, may prove our surest guide to the · excellence of the nations in the various events. At roo metres, Yoshioka, Japan, heads the list with ro .3 secs., but Hanni, Switzerland, and Leichum, Ger– many, ran him close with I0··4 seconds. Germany fills the next three places with men all retuFning ro I/2 secs. Switzerland, Germany and Holland take first three places at 200 metres, but Germany has the fourth man. Great Britain had the b~st two men at 400 metres, W. Roberts showing 47·7 secs., and A. G. K. Brown 47·8 secs., fC>llowed by Sweden, ·France, Italy and Germany. The order at