Why? The Science of Athletics

88 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS recorded in the subsequent times returned m actual trials. How close the agreement between scientific deduction and actual athletic performance may be is proved by the following table, taken from a paper by Professor Sargent in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, B, Vol. roo, p. I I, Ig26. 300 I I/4 I/3 I/2 I 2 Distance yds. mile mile mile mile miles Calculated best time 33 ·3"s SI ·ss • Im 12ts 2m IS 4m 415 IOm !25 Runner's I actual best time 34'0S 51 '45 Im 155 2m 25 4m 40s IOm !OS As Professor Hill remarks, the results look almost too good to be true, but the fact remains that the agreement was obtained as the· result of many experiments.