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Show DIFFICnr IllVIK(j M, BOMS GROTESQUE FEATS I j THi BWEDISH YOUTHS i A Ceaablnatlea anmtnaall Ittne by I , Xfla frnne a Bpr .jb.i.rrt iMrlaa t eleallfle Fermi la a (Jracrl l.liaimt ninla. The Swedes delight In "rntnblnatlon diving." and two men will pertorn, many clever feat together. One of th moat grotesque of these, says a writer In Cearson Magaslne, la shown when one man stands upright on lh prlnghoard and tightly claupa anoth,, man body around the walat, holdia him head downward, and puis his own head through the otnor man r0 When the upright man spring fron th board he throw his legs Into iho air, ao that the two men, bi h claapliuj th other tightly around the walit, turn a somersault, and when ttity reach the water the man who tartd upside down arrive feet foremost To handspring dive I an effective spa. clalty of Swedish swimmer. Th per. former take off from l..e diving board with hands Instead of feet, turning hla body In order to descend feet foremost or anmerasultlng to srrlve head dowg. ward. Very graceful alao la the back prlng dive. In which th spring U mad backward, tha body turning toward th aprlnghoard. Double Bom-raault Bom-raault dlvea are made from platforms thirty or fifty feet high, the diver mag. Ing two turn In the sir and entering tbe water feet foremost Among Is Swede the graceful art of (Jiving n Its most daring and scientific forms I cultivated to a degree that do other nation ran equal. The Swedish boy and girl ar taugkt when young to overcome their natural Instinct ot fear when entering the water and to p rootle roo-tle all manner ot difficult feats, and th result I that even among th primitive race, such th Hswal-lana, Hswal-lana, whoa wonderful diving holds th man who cannot swim la bonud-lesa bonud-lesa aw and admiration, there are few who can attain auch a standard of th at as may be found throughout Sweden. Swe-den. To a Swede diving mean not only plunging Into the water betd foremiwt, but also springing backward, turning Bomeranults and "swan" diving div-ing from twenty, thirty or forty feet Hwan diving Is peculiar to Sweden. It ib tu poetry or motion, th supreme glory of the art With a standing spring, or with a brief run, the body la launched Into the nlr. At the some moment th head Is flung far back, the back la hollowed sharply, th legs ar straightened and brought together. The arm ara Hung out In a line with tha shoulder, like the wings of a bird flying. In thla position the body awoopa through " - air until with a few font of the water, when the arms are awung Va,'.,ner until th hands touch, at--I ihe body atrlkaa the water Ilka u"f.,ring arrow, at the correct cor-rect angle, with hardly a apluah. There ; I no mor fascinating dive to watch than thl swan diva of the Swede. Ono after th other. In follow-my-lend-er style, the Hwedca run to the edt of the diving place and throw them-aelvea them-aelvea Into the sir, the Impetus gained from the running spring sending tin body twenty or thirty feot forward, to drop through the air for all the world aa though It were flying. In Sweden It Is not uncommon to see a party ot boya flying through the air together performing the awullow dive. All day long they enjoy themselves practicing these fancy forms ot diving, performing perform-ing tricks and somersnults that would astonish the most expert gymnast. The women become aa fearlesa aa the men In the backward nnd forward somersault somer-sault dive from comparatively great I heights, and are even more graceful In their movement. New York Press. |