Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-03-09

THROWING THE HAMMER - READY o DE-
LIVERY,
for a light man must 10 II certain extent give
way to the swing of the hammer. The game
as formerly practicei in the United States
was lone from a stand, but within the last
two years a seven foot run has been allowed.
II the athlete is eventually TO throw with a
run, it is not well to practice from a stand,
for the delivery is quite different in the two
styles
In practicing with a run the athlete should
stand at the back edge Of the circle, with MS
back toward the direction IN which he in
tends throwing the missile. After enough
momentum is given the hammer this is gem
orally accomplished IN three or four SWINGS,
the athlete turns around once in the circle, at
the same time going toward the 'front.' part
He delivers the hammer when he is in about
the same position as when he began, viz,
with his back TO where be throws, and care
must be taken to keep inside the ring and not
follow the hammer after letting 20 of it. 1t
isa bard game to acquire properly, and one
OF the accompanying pictures shows about
the position Of the athlete just before the
hammer leaves his hands. The difficult part
Of performing well at IL is to control the
weight and keep il in a proper position rela-
tive to the turning Of the body. II the
weight swings in advance Of the body no
force can be applied, and il the turn Of the
body is made too much In advance Of the
weight much force is wasted. Il takes a
great deal Of practice TO adjust matters, but
il is q splendid exercise for the arms, chest
and back, and is.a very popular event among
weight throwers
Throwing the fifty-six pound weight is q
most discouraging game to practice, except
for what might be called Q truly ponderous
man. The missile is so heavy that nothing
but muscle and weight can control II, and o
competition at it is an excellent test Of down.
right strength. The game is now very SINH
lar to that Of throwing the hammer, being
controlled by the same ules. The shape Of
the weight is different, FOR In place Of being
q sphere with q long wooden handle, IL has q
short triangular shaped iron handle, which
can be grasped by M or two hands, as the
athlete sees fit. The spherical part Of the
weight is about 0 inches in diameter, and the
total length combined with the handle is lin
tied to 10 inches. The athlete goes through
about the same motions as in throwing the
hammer, only much slower. Some can throw
1t further with one hand than with two, for
the handle Is so short that a free swing around
the head cannot be obtained with two hands
on account of the contraction Of the shoulders.
The best record Of the game is 30 feet l
inch, by J. s. Mitchell. This man weighs
over go pounds in athletic costume. He also
holds the record at throwing from a stand of
q feet Z inches. He has not yet thrown the
weight with two arms in public, but as other
athletes are coming very near 20 his record,
who have adopted the two handed style, be
may have TO resort to this method TO protect
his record. The next best figures are 20 feet
~ inches, by c. A. j. Queckberner, who
used two arms In making these figures.
The prevailing styles OF practicing the
game in Scotland and Ireland are throwing
from the side for the former and throwing
between the legs for the latter, both from q
stand. Twenty-six and % feet are done In
these styles, but they are not popular In the
United States since throwing from a 7-foot
circle was instituted. This latter style is
more snowy and a greater distance can be
accomplished In 1t as compared with throw