The morning times., 1897-02-04
AFTER A SKATING RECORD
John Lawson Will Try to Lower
the Fiffy-Mile Figures.
He VIII Make the Attempt at
the Ice Palace This
Evening.

tits expected that wholesale slaughter
ing OF records will take place at the Con-
vention Han Ice Palace tonight, as a re-
suit OF John Lawson's attempt to lower
the worlds skating records for all dis
5ances from ten to fifty miles 1t is not an
easy thing TO set down and imagine any
one skating fifty miles, and especially in
rink, where the turns make it excep-
uonally hard upon the left foot. Fifty
miles is very long distance, and some
Idea may be gained OF the magnitude of
the task before Lawson, when il is stated
that he viii have to make the round of
the rink 500 times, Us the track is ten laps
To the mile The trial viii he started
shortly after 8 o'clock, and, Judging from
the practice work of the Swede. he VIII
finish very soon after O'Clock, which
viii allow all who attend the evening ses-
session tonight ample opportunity to see
the end OF this ambitious effort
This is the first time in the history Of
sport in this city that a number OF records
have been gone after in this way and the
attempt has already attracted notice all
over the skating world. The Swede has
received letters from friends in distant
parts OF the North who have heard of the
effort he viii make, expressing confidence
in ntheoutcome and encouraging him in every
way possible.
During his training at the rink Lawson
has frequently skated anywhere from 40
TO so miles during the day and has shown
the same wonderful power of endurance
a ttrin no
six-day bicycle race recently held here.
lie has maintained on the shorter dis
tance-4O to so miIes-an average speed
OF 16 miles an hour and is able TO keep
up a speed of from TO miles an hour
for six or seven hours. Lawson is not in
strict sense short-oistance speed
skater, tins fact having been demonstrated
during the stay of Let's and Wilson in
this city, but those who are unfamiliar
with the staying powers OF the Swede
on long distances will be surprised when
they see how easy and how comparatively
swiftly he gets over the ice lie has
shown a wOnderfulimproveme his W ork
of late, and there is every likelihood
that Washington will have the honor OF
being the place where some exception
ally good long distance skating record:
viii be established.
Lawson will be helped around on his long
Journey by Sites, the winner of tn,
championship of the District and Mary
lana; lie Mat, Cassin, the winner OF th
second prize; Hewes, the winner of th'
third place; Williams, and, in fact, all o
the fast local men. Sites, in particular
should be able to give Lawson a yer.
material lift, as he is himself a strOni
skater at long distances, and freqUentl.
covers a good many miles during tn
course of day at the rink.
The professional records are the one
which Lawson will go against. 10,
Donoghue's time for the amateur recUr
is 1859 20, but Lawson, being a full
fledged professional, would not be allowe
to make any change IN that mark. H
believes, however, that he will be abb
to make the distance in about that time.
The professional record for fifty mile
is 4.2343 l-2, and it has stood sinct
1879, being made by z. Goetz, OF Mil
waukee, Wis. The ten-mile record is 35:3S
the eleven-miIe, 39:5S; twelve-nile, 1890
thirteen mile, 1857, and fourteen-miIe
50:45, being made by Hugh Mccormick, a
the Crystal Rink in Montreal in 1887. F
Dowd, OF Montreal, holds the fifteen-mil
record, having made it in 1887 in 54:l7
Goetz holds the remainder OF the distance
up to fifty miles. They are as follows
Twenty miles, 1.31 40; thirty miles
22s:50; forty miles, 3.27:02, and fift
miles, 4. 23:43 1-2.