Show METER SWISS METER ACE MAY UPSET EASTMA I PAUL MARTINS MARTIN'S SPEED BRINGS GRAVE THREAT Doctors Doctor's Great Bid in 1924 Olympics Is Recalled by Paddock D By CHARLES W PADDOCK rADDOCK Famous American Sprinter r While the track world continues I to pay homage to Ben Eastman's re remarkable re- re achievements in running the quarter in and the half mile in 1 1513 it il should be remembered that hat the Stanford athlete will b be forced to face some great middle distance dis dis- tance runners in the Olympic games ames Including Dr Otto of Germany Ger Ger- many the former worlds world's record hold er or for the yards ards Sera Scra Martin lartin o of oC France Prance the pre present ent record man fo for forthe forthe the meters which is the Olympic distance and Dr Paul Martin o of Switzerland In some respects the last name named star is the most amazing half mile half in the world toa today He has been a champion for many years and the f finest fin inest in- in est runner his country has yet pro pro- Short of training he nevertheless nevertheless nevertheless never never- made a fine showing at Amsterdam Amsterdam Am Am- in the games of at 28 and i inow is isnow now nosy pointing toward the Los Angeles Olympics He recently ran a practice meters In flat which is no not only under Sera Martins Martin's time but bu compares most favorably with Easman's Eastman's East East- mans man's new worlds world's record AT 1920 GAMES GAr The first time I ever saw Paul Paull Martin Martin Mar Mar- tin Un was as at the Antwerp Olympic games of 1920 He came there as a youngster of 18 IS from his home i in Lausanne Switzerland He was a aready aready ale a- ready th the champion of his country with a B record of two minutes for th the meters which corresponds to ou our own mile half distance and his showing showing show show- In ing in the Olympics proved that h he was a star to be reckoned with b by bythe bythe the champions of the future Martin and I met again at th the worlds world's college champ championships i in Paris during 1923 1523 Martin came t to I this meet with the reputation of being being be be- being ing the best middle-distance middle runner in Europe The great games of or 1924 1024 were als also I held field in Paris and some of the finest fines athletes yet produced gathered there long weeks before the meet to practice practice tice lice for the mile half-mile race Durin During this period of training Paul Martin Marti was not to be found He was the then studying physics and surgery in Swit Swit- The young doctors doctor's work at al that tha time ime was in the field of bone structure ture lure and he was already making successful successful suc sue operations He left the operatIng operating Ing ng room just in time to arrive for th the preliminary heats of or the Olympic 80 meters and was forced to spend th the night before the race on the train But he qualified ed in easy fashion am and toed ocd the line the following day against the champions of ot many n na Ions Still he was not figured a asI liS as I laving having a n chance Richardson o or of America and Lowe of ot England were the he leI reigning favorites The distance was twice around the Olympic track At the end of the first lap Dr Martin was lost in the field of at runners The men swung into nto the final turn and Douglas Lowe came ame smoothly striding to the front It t seemed that he had the race well wellin wellin in n hand But just as the thc lithe Englishman English English- man hit the home stretch out of the field from behind came the ficht fighting ng Martin He swung wide on the turn losing osing precious yards ards yet he passed man after man Five yards from the tape ape he was less than three feet belind behind be be- hind lind Lowe He made a great effort to o close uV u uthe the gap in that final burst but ut he failed by inches JUST ONE MORE YARD Another yard and Martin would have lave been champion of the world Had lad he not swung so wide on the turn had lad he started his final sprint a few yards ards sooner or had he taken the same amount of training time as the theother theother other ther competitors he would have von won As it was he was the real sen sen- of that race race race-an an unknown who had lad made macic n a glorious bid for victory But the doctor had his reward Arhe As Ar Ashe he c finished a frantic Frenchman grabbed him and carried him from the ic field It was a Frenchman whose wife Paul Martin MarUn had operated on successfully at Lausanne two days before be bc- fore ore Copyright l 1932 1032 Sper r Newspaper I I Syndicate |