Starting Blocks Without starting blocks, runners wouldn’t run as fast and races would be


marred by slow starts. Tanks to starting blocks, which were first invented in 1929, the world’s best can run as fast as possible. Runners push off of cast aluminum pedals that are adjustable to numerous heights and angles, depending on the preference of the athlete. Top-end blocks also include sensors that time a runner’s response to the starting gun.


Bell To let runners know the final lap is


coming, a race official rings a bell, one that’s usually cast. Bells also have been an instrumental ceremonial part of the Games, and one of the more interest- ing stories was what happened with the Olympic bell in 2012. A bell was rung to open the Games in London but instead of being cast in Britain, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry subcon- tracted the bell to Royal Eijsbouts, a facility in the Netherlands that could handle the oversized order. It was 6.56 ft. (2 m) high with a diameter of 10.95 ft. (3.34 m) and cast in bronze.


38 | MODERN CASTING June 2016


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