THE ANATOMY OF SPEED SKATING. 183 



we would look for examples of the operation of this law, for 

 nowhere has specialism been carried further than in athletic 

 sports. 



Such contests as the Penthalon, a revival of the Greek idea of 

 all-around development, which includes a test in running and 

 jumping and weight-putting, are too rare in our modern athletic 

 meets. 



Men systematically train for bicycle racing until the particu- 

 lar set of muscles used in that particular exercise those of legs 

 and thighs are in a perfect state of development, while the arms 

 remain poor and the chest flat. 



The " bicycle stoop " is now a well-recognized deformity, and 

 few men who have devoted much time or attention to racing are 

 entirely free from it, while in many racers the marked dorsal 

 curvature forward (kyphosis) is permanent, unsightly, and inju- 

 rious to the health. 



Heavy gymnastics were the cause of many round shoulders 

 till a reaction took place in the world of physical education, and 

 now body-building is done by the almost exclusive use of light 

 work. This reaction has extended to the more intelligent ath- 

 letic trainers, who have given up the old drastic methods and 

 have adopted more rational means of obtaining strength and en- 

 durance to their proteges. 



Our present method of testing athletic prowess thus encour- 

 ages the exclusive development of certain groups of muscles and 

 the neglect of others sometimes, as we will see, to the permanent 

 deformity of its too zealous votaries. 



Other instances of anatomical changes brought about by 

 special feats could be cited, such as the flat foot of the broad- 

 jumper or the broad back and flat chest of the oarsman ; but one 

 of the best examples of this effect of function on structure is seen 

 in " speed skating," which the international contests of the last 

 few years have done so much to popularize. 



Speed skating differs from ordinary skating in several marked 

 particulars. The skate itself about eighteen inches long has a 

 flat blade, almost as thin as a knife, set into a light tube support- 

 ing two uprights, circular but hollow. These short upright tubes 

 fasten it to the boot by means of a plate, the whole purpose being 

 to combine the greatest strength and lightness. The boot laces 

 tightly, giving firm support to the ankle. 



This form has evolved from the original skate, made of the 

 lower jawbones of horses and cattle carved to the proper shape 

 and polished. In the British Museum the visitor can still see a 

 pair of these primitive instruments, and the workmen occasionally 

 disinter them about Moorfields and Finsbury. 



Let us take up the strengths and weaknesses of the modern 



