Why? The Science of Athletics

THE BUILD OF THE ATHLETE One may go outside the mere consideration of the negro athlete in relation_to the white man because it is a fact that every race has a characteristic pitch to its legs. For example, it is not difficult to determine the difference in the thigh of an Indian squatting at rest from, say, a white . cowboy, who probably uses the squatting position more than any other type of white man. In further elaboration of his theory Doctor Stroud points out that women cannot hope to compete with men in the sprints, because even those of them who are modelled most closely upon the male plan are yet pitched too far outwards. The negro, on the other hand, is so formed that he will always be the best sprinting machine, whereas the pitch of the Indian is out farther than that of most white men. This pitch of the leg is believed to work to a very marked extent against the negro in distance running and to a lesser degree against the white man in comparison with the Indian. The logical conclusion is that Indians should always make the best Marathon runners. This remark will prob– ably set veteran followers of athletics thinking back to the days of the famous Indian runners Deerfoot and Long– boat. More recent generations may perhaps be surprised to learn that Zabala, who won the 1932 Olympic Marathon race, is an Indian. The reason his extra forward pitch must work against the negro in distance running is because it makes his stride always long enough to tire him and prevents him from resting by means of that change of stride-length which most distance runners use. On the other hand, the white man should always excel at the middle distances because he has sufficient forward pitch for stride length and enough outward pitch to allow him to rest. All that .has been said may, of course, be defeated, or apparently so, by some freak coming along with an abnormal pitch to produce fresh marvels in the way of