Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
On the centenary of its publication, Kinue Hitomi’s 234-page book, The Latest Methods of Women’s Track and Field Athletics, is recognized as a foundational text in women's athletics. The Japanese athlete wrote the book in 1926 at age 19, the same year she set her first world records.
Hitomi’s book is notable for providing the earliest detailed description and technical blueprint of starting blocks, predating the US patent filed by George Bresnahan in 1927. While starting blocks had been used since at least 1910 and appeared in earlier works, Hitomi published a comprehensive and practical design, establishing her as a pioneer in this area of athletic equipment.
She challenged patronizing attitudes toward female athletes, emphasizing the need for scientific, experience-based guidance instead of dismissive advice. Her work offered women athletes a serious technical resource before women were allowed to compete in Olympic athletics, which began two years later.
Although starting blocks were banned by the IAAF in 1935, they were reauthorized with limitations in 1938, at which point Bresnahan’s patent design was officially recognized. Nonetheless, Hitomi’s early blueprints remain a significant milestone in the development of athletic training and equipment.
Hitomi’s book occupies a unique place in the history of women's athletics, recognized for its technical innovation and its advocacy for the advancement of women athletes.