OCR Text |
Show After the Championship 1 : J JACKIE OLAItKE, Salt Lake's Favorito Bicycle Bidor, Who Challenges Frank Kramer for tho Cycling Championship of America. Jackie Clarke, the phenomenal little bicj'clo rider who has been electrifying electrify-ing tho Salt Lake City fans this summer, sum-mer, was bom at Camperdown, Victoria, Vic-toria, Australia, on March 2, 1SS6. His first bicycle race was ridden in 1903 at Melbourne. Tho following year his riding rid-ing in Australia began to attract attention. at-tention. At that timo Ivor Lawson, Floyd MacFarland and Hardy Downing, tho American stars, wero riding m Australia. On seeing tho little Australian Austra-lian rido Ivor Lawson predicted that Clarke would somo day bo a world's champion. How well his prediction is coming true is evidenced by tho fact that tuiB year Clarice has come to Salt Lako and has beaten Lawson. Clnrko won many important raccB in Australia and first attracted international interna-tional attention to his riding in 190-1 when ho won (ho famous blue ribbon event of Australian cycling, tho Austral Aus-tral wheel raco, a handicap of two milos for a purse of $3000. Tn 1906 Clarko camo lo America and appeared at Salt Lake and eastern bicycle bi-cycle tracks. In 1907 he was Frank Kramer's closest competitor for the American championship. During tho season of 1908 no rodo at tho Saltair Coliseum and won twenty-fivo professional profes-sional races. At Vailsbnrg in 1909 Clarko was tied with Frank- Kramer for tho American championship. Tho distance wis changed in tho deciding heat by tho N. C, A. and Clarke refused to ride, thereby forfeiting tho raco and the title to Kramer. Last winter Clarke proved his romarkablo versatility by winning tho New York six-day race. Ho easily Srovod himself to be tho greatest six-ay six-ay ridor in the world and in spite of the fact that ho was matched against tho best professional bicycle riders in tho world he won ns he pleased. He repeated his New York victory by winning win-ning the Berlin six-day raco a few weeks later. Last winter Clarko spent abroad and defeated the best European sprinters, winning tho Crown Prince prize at Berlin. Ber-lin. When he camo to Salt Lake last spring Clarko announced that ho would break all world's records on a bicycle track and already has secured nearly all of them. Just now ho is trying to forco Frank Kramer to raco him for tho. American championship. Clarko is very fond of Salt Lake and contemplates contem-plates making this city his permanent place of abode. Tho world's records now held by Clarko follow: Ono-sixth of a mile, unpaccd. Timo, :15 4-5. One-half mile, competition. Time, :53 3-5. One-half milo. unpaced. Time, :50 1-5. Two-thirds bt a milo, unpaced. Timo, 1:12. (This record was held at 1:13 2-5 by. tho famous Walter Sanger for fifteen, fif-teen, years.) One mile, competition. Time, 1 :4S 3-5. Ono mile, unpaced. Time, 1:52. Two-mile competition, Time, 3:3S 2-5. Three-mile competition. Time, 5:41 2-5. Four-milo competition. Timo 7:56 3-5. Ten-milo competition. Timo 20:21. Twenty-five-mile competiton. Timo, 56:13 l-o. It will be noticed that tho only world's records not held by Clarko are tho quarter-mile record, held by Iver Lawson; the three-quarter-mile record, held by Frank Kramer; and tho live-imlo live-imlo record, held by Iver Lawson. Clarke is confident that ho. will have these throe records before the present season closes. With tho official world's bicycle record page au exclusive exploitation of the achievements of Jackie Clarke, it is hard to see how any other rider can claim the American championship without first defeating Clarko. |