OXYGEN GAS FOR ATHLETES 261 



foot-race, declare that they cannot believe that they are 

 really running hard, even when surpassing their usual 

 performance. They come in at the end of the quarter- 

 mile, having beaten their record ; and with no sense of 

 having made a special effort ; they feel fresh and ready 

 to start again after more oxygen and a short rest. More- 

 over, the after-effect on the muscles is stated to be such 

 that " stiffness " and what is called " grogginess " (due in 

 ordinary circumstances to the retention of lactic acid in 

 the muscle) do not supervene. 



Swimming and diving, as one would expect, are 

 greatly affected by the preliminary oxygen inhalation ; 

 the length of time during which submersion can be 

 endured without discomfort is doubled, and the great 

 effort of fast swimming rendered less rapidly exhausting. 

 Cycling uphill at a rapid pace becomes, according to 

 Dr. Hill's own frequent experience, possible after oxygen 

 inhalation when in ordinary conditions it was impossible. 

 Hockey players and boxers he has found notably benefited 

 by oxygen given both in the intervals of and after 

 the exercise. It is, of course, to be expected that a 

 wider practical application should be made of this simple 

 method of increasing our power of sustaining muscular 

 effort, and of enduring submersion. Dr. Hill suggests 

 that the divers of the Mediterranean, who, without any 

 apparatus, plunge into the shallow sea and remain below 

 long enough to find, cut, and bring to the surface the 

 valuable sponges of commerce, might use the method 

 of preliminary inhalation of pure oxygen gas. He has 

 also tried the method with a young racehorse, but owing 

 to the fact that the course run was only a mile, and the 

 animal perfectly fit and strong, he tells me that no 

 advantage was found to result from the inhalation. With 

 an older cart-horse somewhat tired by a day's work 

 he obtained the most satisfactory results, the animal 



