OCR Text |
Show ' tfivi iMi-'-j'iii'iUtitf )Sf lE xt Olympic games 1 "T just about the same as lrf Dean CromweU was tie ters. the University of Cali- u l,t L't to much." ' be that way?" I , .r Olympic coach. any flne, natural athletes," l "Too many able coaches nH trainers all fsiV- "CI HakJ; "" Joy i " j and trainers all over the map. Our track-and-field athletes ath-letes get the best training and coaching coach-ing in the world and I'm not talking talk-ing about myself. We can't miss." The genial Dean Cromwell was right again. But, before taking too many , , dc,i't (orget we faced a war- rtiked world that wasn't very IN fed Also, we had one of the ) eti teams that ever entered U Tohmpic meet since Pindar sang . J iGwian glory a few thousand """ ;'is a star United States that couldn't be approached. 5 despite better food and better ,.ji;ng it was none too keen about races beyond half a mile or 'vi meters. The U. S. had the caU espied. Europe had the call In ' (uirina. J I asked Cromwell why it was that c j j athletes couldn't handle dis- Z. see races. Tj we ire a nation of quick re- f iclwns," he said. "We can't nil. Our favorite race is the 00-yard dash or the 100 me-: me-: it Krs! Our next favorite race is m it 2M meters. After the mile 1 k ire have little interest. We have in athletes willing to train that bit and that hard. "Tfe can't get athletes who really t! train (or the 5,000 and 10,000-"1 10,000-"1 meter races. Maybe they wouldn't bt w good if they did. It takes ere than one generation to make 1 10.000-meter or a marathon winter," win-ter," h Americans Soft? "You mean we can't take the bestial," I said. "We want the softer road." "It isn't quite that," Cromwell said, as he squirmed and twisted a Ke. "We are just not a nation of kg -distance runners, from the rde on up." 1 "Yet the mile race is the greatest great-est ot them all," I said. 'TVho said so?" Cromwell asked, "fet are you a Swede or a ' Ih?" J "ft've had some great milers," - Crimen said. "Glenn Cunning-ta Cunning-ta and Bill Bonthron." "Wat about Jack Lovelock?" I Qesled. "Yards beyond them all a: tie mile or 1,500 meters. What ikst Gunder Haegg, the Swede, .wis better than Lovelock? What - iSfJt other Swedes, many yards ,1 kyond the best we've ever had?" j; 1 'let's get back to the field Keats," Cromwell said. Tie main weakness in TJ. S. en- ts is the matter of stamina. fter here we want results and ap-! ap-! fcse in a hurry. We can't wait. Minny Hayes won the marathon " 11 England exactly 40 years ago, W. Hayes beat Dorando, the Italian, who was carried across ja fine. But Dorando came over fee and whipped Hayes. Ws be honest. We are not a ""arathon people. We are not j ,te" mile people. We never a'e had anyone to compare Paavo Nurmi, Lovelock, flje5g and others who could run around the best we ever at a mile. Cunningham, nthron and others, plus Gil odds made gallant gestures JJ te right direction. But T were not 4.01 or 4.02 mil-tts mil-tts on an outdoor track. looch Eases Along i i'riJ?' confident that Lovelock ! have taken at least two sec-AV"4 sec-AV"4 torn the 1,500 race in Berlin. Ijji :as merely galloping when he Rconds m 3 minutes' 47 and 810 J,,?01'' interested in time," f Sft Said later- "I merely : then ,w Wm cornfortably." Even Sere,!, !t 0nly broken the 01ym-lovt 01ym-lovt i by 4 seoonds. 1 feel sure rreters have " tte f 3 mmutes and 45 seconds mile in 4.01. selLnr0Iympic garae' or any V fj,. . '"ck-and-ficld games, W Sports "e the ( iPLfteshot Pt. the ham- l lav? , or some reason we hich L hC dD"est sporU in 1 erv , exce'- No one cares Jest orTh Whether yon finish .-e th. 1St" weieht events 'e SuUest of them all. d'nLb?eVe aU Olympic events I t v, Judgei on the same ba- I 'tom arathon should be worth and thTpared t0 5 Points for Way 89 The 10,000-meter 1 and rgrth 20 Points, with S? r Creek 20-meter race. I i ert report tamina Is more I beW tha)ei-that hardi- srtant than flash i |