The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-15
AMERICANS AT OLYMPIC GAMES Divided Honors With
 Great Britain. HAMMER RECORD IS BROKEN Uncle Sam's Athletes Open Eyes of
 Foreigners. Game. Were ss BewiIderins to Watch as Three Ring Circus--A Dosen Events Going on at Same Time.

London. July i4--America and Great Britain captured most of the iaurels today in the first real business day of the Olympic sports.
 Twice the Stars and Stripes huttered to the top of the stan in the center of the arena and the American enthusi- asts who monopoiized a section of stadium, waved their flags and broke out in cheers. which in smaller held would have been deafening. The hon. ors were nearly even. for of the four events finished. the United States and the United Kingdom each won two gold medals. Great Britain, however, took three silver medals. while America got only one. Canada. Australia. Great Britain and Belgium each obtained a bronze medal
 The Yankees had the hammer-throw to themselves as had been expected, and the performance of John J. Fiana- gan. of the Irlsh-American Athletic Club. in breaking the Olympic record with the hammer and the almost equal of the New York Athletic Club, were eye-openers to the foreigners.
 M, W. Sheppard of the Irtsh-AmeFi- can Athletic Club. however. did more spectacular work and aroused great CT degree of enthusiasm by crossing ahesd of his English rivals in a dash ing finish to the I.50o meter run. This the Englishmen had counted for wiI- son or Hallows. no prophets conceding America better than third place. To add to the satisfaction of the Ameri- cans, the judges announced that George W. Gaddzik of the Chicago Athletic Association had done ts.e best work in the fancy diving. The British pedes- trians had their own way in the 3.b00 metre walk There were no American competitors In this event
 A Cosmopolitan Event.
 The twenty kilometre cycle race was the most cosmopolitan event of the day. l.. J. Wientz, of the New York Athletic Club. made a desperate effort but he was unable to secure In the Anal sprint. The eight riders were we'll punched in the last lap and 1t was only in the final hundred yards that the light was decided.
 The first three heats for the three mile team race were interesting. The United Kingdom was pitted against Italy. Holland and Germany in the first, and in the second the Americans met teams representing Sweden and France. Great Britain had a waIixover in the first heat, four members of her team keeping together throughout. running their opponents off eheir legs and coming under the wire elbow t6 el- bow in slow time. The American com petitors set q faster pace in thsir heat, but on nearing the finish. the French man, Bouin. shot ahead of the field and the best the Americans could get was second and third places. The Cana dians. who were expected to. make a good showing in this heat, failed to appear, The final will be contested to- morrow by the three first men of each team.
 The other interesting number on the program today was the es0 yards cycle race of which there was sixteen heats. Of this number the United. Kingdom won six; France three and America Holland. Canada, Africa, Germany and Belgium also took one heat each. while one heat wa svoid because the time limit was exceeded.
 watch as a three ring circus. At one time a dozen bicyclists were wheeling along the outer edge of the oval, while twenty runners were racing on the cin- der path just outside of 1t: swimmers with bright colored caps were splashiug through the long tank, while on the green sward within. members of the Danish and German Gymnastic Clubs. arrayed in glaring white uniforms were performing spectacular feats on the horizontal and parallel bars and giving exhibitions of calisthentc drills. Judges,> scorers, trainers, timers and rubbers of the many nationalitIes represented. swarmed everywhere.
 A Small Attendance.
 The only dis appointing feature of the exhibition was the crowd in att tendance. The enormous stadium which was built for the accommoda- ton of 70.00O persons, at no time held more than 10000. There were great blocks of empty benches during the morning session and there were only a few hundred people gathered through the great expanse of chairs. Consider ing the English devotion to sports and the generosity with which the public responded to the appeal for S50.000 by subscription, the small attendance is surprising. The weather today was discouraging to sport. It continually threatened to rain and few light show CTS did fall. Unless the attendance greatly increases the Franco British exposition, which built the stadium and receives seventy per cent of the re- eeipts. will be heavy loser.
 The Irish athletes have expressed dissatisfaction because the Olympic commission refused to permit them to enter a separate team on the ground that Ireland is not nation, thereby compelling them to compete as a part of the British team. Finland has her own delegation which attracts much attention. The Films were apxious to parade with the Finnish flag. but as their rights to carry it was vetoed by the Russian officials. the Rinnish con- tingent was the only one that appeared yesterday in the procession without a flag. as they would not display the Russian colors.
 The committee will consider the American protest against the eIigibili- ty of Tom Longboat, the Canadian Indian runner tomorrow. but 1t is be- lieved that they will table 1t on the ground that it was not properly pre- scented.
 A DOuRIE TRAGEnY-