Hurdling

HURDLING, running races over short distances, in which a series of ten flights of hurdles has been set. The standard distances are 12oyds., ten flights of 3ft. 6in. hurdles; 22oyds., ten flights of 2ft. 6in. hurdles; and 44oyds., ten flights of 3ft. hurdles. At the short distance each flight of hurdles is separated from the next by 1 oyds., with a space of i5yds. from the start to the first flight, and a like distance from the last flight to the finish. At the inter mediate distance the hurdles are 2oyds. apart and at the long dis tance 4oyds. apart. The Oxford and Cambridge distances are I2oyds. high hurdles and 22oyds. low hurdles. The distances at the A.A.A. championships are i 2oyds. and 44oyds., and at the Olympic games 110 metres and 400 metres.

In 1935 the official world's records stood as follows:-12oyds. High Hurdles 4-1-secs., Percy Beard, United States (1931) ; no metres hurdles, I4- secs., Percy Beard, United States 200 metres, low hurdles, 23secs., C. R. Brookins, United States (1924) ; 22oyds. low hurdles, 23secs., C. R. Brookins, United States (1924) and Norman Paul, United States ; 44oyds. low hurdles, 5 2 s secs., J. A. Gibson, United States (192 7) ; 400 metres low hurdles, 50g-secs., Glen Hardin, United States In 1930 Lord Burghley created a new British record by running 12oyds. over ten flights of 3ft. 6in. hurdles in I42secs.

In the early days of hurdle racing men merely ran the dis tance, jumping over each hurdle in turn and landing on both feet, so that there was very nearly a dead stop in the run after each jump. A later school of hurdlers favoured a "sail-over" style, with body upright, front leg tucked up and rear leg trailing. This was quicker, because it called only for a one-foot landing. The next discovery made was that the fastest pace could be achieved at the 12oyds. distance by a man taking only three strides to cover the ioyds. distance between hurdles. About 1885 A. C. M. Croome, Oxford university, realized that the athlete who tucked up his front leg and "bucked" high over the hurdle was losing time. From that year a straight-leg, step-over action came into vogue. Forrest Smithson, U.S.A., Olympic victor and world's record holder, 15secs. in 1908, produced a wonderful flexibility of the rear hip, and it only remained for Earl J. Thomson to add the forward lift of the arms, and the high pick-up action of the rear knee, which allows the athlete to land in the best position for the next stride forward after the hurdle has been cleared.

The difference between high and low hurdling lies in the ex tent to which the body is bent forward in the clearance of the obstacle. A 6ft. man clearing a 3ft. 6in. high hurdle should not allow the crown of his head to rise more than 5ft. 91-in. above the ground, whereas the same man clearing a 2ft. 6in. low hurdle should raise his body an approximate 2 so that the crown of his head would pass just under a bar raised 6ft. 2 tin. above the ground.

Method of Hurdling.-In

clearing the hurdle the athlete's leading leg and opposite arm, or both arms, are stretched straight to the front, the other arm being bent at the elbow and tucked in to the side; the rear leg, bent at the knee, is at right angles to the body and the trunk is pressed forward over the thigh of the leg which goes first over the hurdle. As the body is centralized over the hurdle the leading leg is chopped sharply down so that the foot lands close to the fence, the body leans well forward and the rear knee is picked up to the point of the shoulder so that the rear foot can be carried straight through for a full forward stride after the hurdle clearance has been effected.

Under modern rules it is laid down that "A competitor knock ing down three or more hurdles, or trailing his leg, or foot, along side any hurdle shall be disqualified." See Boyd Comstock, How to Hurdle (Spaldings 1926) ; F. A. M. Webster, Athletics of To-Day (1929).

now loosely used as a synonym for any grinding organ, but strictly a mediaeval drone instrument with strings set in vibration by the friction of a wheel, being a develop ment of the organistrum reduced in size so that it could be conveniently played by one person instead of two.

The hurdy-gurdy originated in France, and during the 13th and 14th centuries was known by the name of Sympjionia or Chyfonie, and in Germany, Lira or Leyer. Its popularity remained undiminished in France until late in the 18th century, but in Germany it never obtained recognition among serious musicians. The idea em bodied in the mechanism stimulated in genuity, however, the result being such musical curiosities as the Geigenwerk or Geigen-Clavicymbel of Hans Hayden, of Nuremberg (c. 1600), a harpsichord in which the strings, instead of being plucked by quills, were set in vibration by small wheels.