Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-01-13

CHAMPION FIGURE SKATER J. F. BACON.
 ing. The eyes of all lovers of this sport are
 particularly turned toward Manhattan
 field, New York, which has been flooded
 and turned into an immense open air rink,
 and where Joseph F. Donoghue, Adolph
 Norseng, John s. Johnson, J. F. Bacon and other famous skaters will show what
 they can do.
 The champion distance skater Joseph F.
 Donoghue, and his younger brother James
 have been training quietly, but steadily,
 near their home at Newburg for weeks,
 while Johnson and the rest of the western
 'crackS" have been getting themselves i'll
 condition in the vicinity of Minneapolis
 where the weather has been very cold sEci
 Thanksgiving. DonoGhue is looking and
 feeling very we'll and expects to be faster
 than ever this season. He is anxious tC
 meet the two Norwegian racers, Hagen and Norseng, and if possible vii get on ma ches with all the other speeGy men. Bnt the
 man he wants to meet the most is John' son. This great athlete, who stands in the
 front rank both as a wheelman and d skat-
 CT, defeated Donoghue last season in five mile championship race and the latter eX- poets to turn the tables on his opponent the \ next time they meet.
 Donoghue claims that he was out of con- dition when Johnson beat him, and there is little doubt that he was, as he covered the five miles in slower time than he took to go the same distance in the first part of
 his hundred mile race at Stamford, Conn.,,
 a short time before. In the latter race he
 evidently injured himself physically. He had never raced at anything near that dis tance before and did not train for it prop erly His legs were affected for many ! months after the event and gave him ] 1crf 1Y,1y To now that he never wants to enter so long a
 contest again. Unless he does the public
 will probably be deprived of witnessing one this season, as there are few men who
 can skate that distance at racing speed
 The race held last year, being the greatest of it's kind ever contested, Is worth short description
 It was held on the Cove creek, Stamford and many thousands of people gathered on the snowbanks surrounding the half mile track to witness the spectacle. Donoghue's competitors on this occasion were John Ennis, who had held the American record for many years, and A. $. Franklin, who
 claimed to hold to hold the English record for the distance. At the crack of the pisto Franklin sprang away in the lead, closely
 followed by Ennis, with Donoghue bring ing up the rear. In this order the trio gid ed along for nearly half mile, when Don oghue evidently thought the pace too slow and set sail for the lead. Having once got it, he was never headed again. He folded his arms behind his back, and bending fal forward he propelled himself swiftly along
 with an easy, graceful stroke which nc
 other skater can approach. He passed and
 repassed his opponents and never rested un til he covered the full distance.
 At the finish he was about 10 miles ahead of Franklin The time, z hours 10 minutes
 beat the best previous record by over two | hours. He had TO sooner finished than he
 was seized and carried off triumphant by the crowd, who cheered him till it grew
 hoarse A few days later he was rendered
 q dinner by the citizens of Stamford and 1 was presented with magnificent medal