The accompanying series of pictures illustrating the dive in detail are made from instantaneous photographs of Professor Gus Sundstrom. They show, in No. 1, the upright pose of the body just before taking the plunge. The diver stands upright on a spring-board or on the edge of a float, with the arms held stiff to the sides, the chest well filled with air so as to give buoyancy to the body, and the eyes resting on about that spot in the water where he expects to plunge below the surface.
The diver then raises his arms before him, the palms downward, not held closely together like an arrow-point—a position assumed by many divers who do not know the correct way. He then allows his body to fall forward, bending his knees and giving a slight spring with his legs. As the body rises in the air the arms are gradually lifted, until, when the body is about to enter the water, it lies practically in a straight line from toes to fingers. Fig. 6 shows very clearly what happens as soon as a man plunges into the water and turns his palms upward. The body describes a sort of arc under water, and the head comes to the surface about six feet from the point where it entered.
The whole science of diving depends upon the spring taken before leaping into the water—that is, the diver should be careful to give enough spring to throw his body sufficiently forward to give the legs time to follow a curve, otherwise the body will fall flat on the water, and this might result in serious injury to the performer.
The high dive is different from the low dive only in that a run is taken, instead of plunging into the water from a standstill. Of course in this case the spring is greater, the body goes higher into the air, describing a greater arc, and dives deeper under the water, unless some effort is made to prevent. This effort is very simple, and consists of bending the hands back as aforesaid, in throwing the chest back, and in bending the legs back.
If the intention of the diver is to sink to the bottom of the stream or pool, to pick up something, for instance, he should not perform any of these motions, but allow his body to go unrestrained. To rise again from the bottom, keep the hands well below the shoulders, and work the feet as when treading water. The body will thus come to the surface very quickly.
As was said last week, the fastest way to swim on the breast is to use the over-hand stroke. It is the most common stroke in racing, both for long distances and short distances. But in order to acquire speed in swimming, one must practise considerably and maintain a certain kind of more or less strict training. The swimmer needs plenty of sleep. He should go to bed not later than 10.30 every night, and should rise early. He should then take a very light breakfast—a glass of milk and a piece of toast, for instance—and take a walk of a mile or so.
When he comes home he should exercise with light dumbbells and rub down with a coarse towel. Then he should take a more solid breakfast, consisting of coffee, eggs, and steak. An hour or so afterwards he should go for another walk, this time of from five to ten miles, and every now and then during this promenade he should sprint from 50 to 100 yards. This sprinting limbers the legs, which is necessary for the swimmer.
