Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-03-23
can be seen, are quite different, and each
method has many advocates


method has many advocates
Some claim that the short stride with the
front foot when the legs are already some
distance apart, makes them sag too low by
further spreading the legs, and that an ath-
lete cannot recover 80 well 10 take another
stride, simply on account Of the sagging when
the body Is not enough IN motion TO stand it.
The advocates OF this style say that the posi-
ton Of setting" necessltates their bearing
nearly all the weight Of the body ON 10 the
front leg. and that a short stride Of about a
foot with the front leg puts them better In mo-
ton than Il they struck out directly with the
back foot, which necessitates, before a stride
can be taken with it, the putting Of a certain
amount of weight ON lt So that il can I've
pushed from Nearly all the weight being on
the front foot brings about a los Of time at.
ter the pistol is fired ia transferring some of
IL TO the back foot before the latter can be
used in showing.
Another way of holding the arms when the
back foot is used to spring from is shown in
the illustration, ''Otber Methods OF Starting
The athlete in this picture has his left foot at
the scratch line, as In the first illustration,
but his right arm Is forward and his left arm
is pointing back. lie will use no half swing
with his arms, but will, when he hears the
pistol, step out with his back foot. bring his
right arm back and left arm forward all the
way, and 60 on with his arm swing, which Is
rendered possible by it being originally com-
menced in accord with the stride Of the legs.
The style is not used very much, although it
has been proved by some sprinters to be good
-.z.l q, - ...rtA- 81 sra,l ft,- -
athlete is at home with q certain style of
starting il would be rather foolish for him to
change his style unless he is convinced that
some other method is better than the one he
uses. II he continually practices different
styles confusion will show itself in the race,
and as so much depends upon the start Of a
sprint race an athlete should feel thoroughly
at home when on his mark and be able to
move from il with a sensation that he has
been long accustomed 10.
Another style Of getting ready TO start is
shown in the illustration, Other Methods of
Starting" by the athlete, who has both hands
and right foot at the scratch mark, STOPPING
down with his left knee just above the
ground. 1t was used successfully by c. ii.
Sheriff., the 100 yard champion Of America
of 1857 aud intercollegiate champion 100
yard runner Of lsSs and lss9. In his later
races he has not used il, but stands on the
mark, as shown in the illustration, Position
for Setting" The STOPPING start is not popu-
lar, and Sheriff. said he adopted it to prevent
falling over the mark, which he seemed un.
able to avoid when he used the regular posi-
ton for setting Some sprinters nave used
the STOPPING start to good advantage, but out
side Of its making Sheriff. hold bis mark, It
was Of no advantage to him in getting into
his stride.
At the time he used il he was running very
fast and won his races, although it was the
universal opinion that he invariably lost a
little distance at the start. The principle Of
this style of starting is TO rise quickly on the
leg placed Mt the scratch mark, which in
Sherrill's case is the right one, and step out
with the other. A little push can be given
with the arms, but it must necessarily be
very slight. II the shoulders are stopped far
enough to enable the rms 10 be bent, IL
brings the athlete too close to the ground.
Sheriff. was taught this style Of starting at
Yale college, but latterly he became recon-
ciled to the ordinary style.