The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-20
FIRST OF 0LYMP|AN
ATHLETES RETURNS
William Sherring of Hamilton
Tells How He Won the
-
Marathon.
New York Herald Special Service.

New York Herald Special Service.
New York, May 19.-On March II, .
good day for man of Irish blood to
start an undertaking of Importance,
there sailed for Europe without any
sounding of hewgags or beating of
tom-toms,a slender, trim young man with
a travelling Kit consisting of a pair of
athletes trunks and not much else. The
young man was William ]. Sherring of
Hamilton, Ont. He entertained an idea
thaht he might cut some North Ameri-
can ice in the running of the great
Marathon road race at the Olympic
games at Athens. He cut some. *
Today on the Campagnia, arrived
Champion Willie Sherring Gall winners
are breveted Willie, if their Christian
names chance to be William), with
orary citizenship in the kingdom Of
gold purse, home costing the. same
Dominion of Canada. And he still
wears the same sizes in hats and olive
wreaths he wore when he went across
in March. Sherring is the first of the
victorious group Of contestants from
this side of the big water to get back.
The others are coming along together
on the next steamer. Sherring de-
time. He is a modest man. He al
ready has two offers Of marriage from
fair or semi-fair Grecian ladies. and as
he explained on the pier to a reporter
Of the Evening World, he is not very
much Of marrying man.
= Won the Marathon.
But he is very much of running
man which no one will deny. He won
the Marathon, as all the world knows,
with a margin of seven minutes. cover
ing the distance of twenty-six miles and
one hundred and seventy-six yards in
two hours, fifty-one minutes and TWEEN
ty-three and two-ffths seconds, with
Swamburg of Sweden second, with
Frank Of the Irish-American Athletic
club of New York, third.
VI'm willing to confess,' said
Sherring, "that my friends up home
had doubts regarding the ACCESSIBILITY
of my entering for the race. I paid my
own way. YOU know, and it was close
shave. At Athens 1 didn It have enough
cash left to meet my expenses. Ii
had lost I guess I would have walked
back.
S'But all along 1 thought I had a
chance. I have had lot Of experience,
you know, in the nineteen-m mile road
race that we run every Thanksgiving
Dav in Canada, and, besides, I had
come second in the Boston Marathon
in 1900. At Boston I was a mile ahead
Of everybody on the eighteenth mile
when I fell in faint. Six men passed
me while I was unconscious, but / came
to in time to finish in the money. That
experience taught me something which
proved mighty valuable to me at
Athens.
tfThe heat was ferce-sO in the
shade-about like an August day in
this country. Daily of Ireland and Blake
Of Australia set the pace for the first
ten miles.
Greeks Gave Out.
"Among the ffty-eight starters were
thirty Greeks. These chaps started off
like creased streaks, but inside of ten
miles they all gave out and went to
grass. The native sons could not stand
their own climate. The two pace-set-
tiers ran the first. six miles in 80 min
utes and the first ten in Sc. / was half
a mile behind them and running with
Spring.
CT did my best work between the
eighth and the twentieth mile. When
we had gone fifteen miles / was
mite ahead of the field and jogging
easy. DAILY and Spring sprinted when
I drew upon them, but when of 100
yards Of forced running they took my
dust.
"When I trotted down the home
stretch. the crowd-there were tens Of
thousands Of them. The Greece prince
jumped into the road and ran the last
100 yards alongside Of me. Then the
king crowned me with the olive wreath,
and about a. thousand women jumped
on me and kissed me and hugged me
until l. was ready to drop. Some inn
pulsive men enthusiasts also tried to
join in the kissing bee, but side
stepped all of them, all but the large
old gentleman with beautiful set Of
whiskers and garlic breath; I was all
most smothereds