New-York tribune., 1908-06-15
AMERIC4'S CHANCES GOOD
Team Should Vim Majority Of the
Olympic EUents.

Americas prospects of winning the Olympic
championship in track and field athletics in the
stadium at London next month are now brighter
than ever The selections made by the Ameri-
can Olympic committee leave room for criti-
cism. Our team IS truly representative one,
every part of the country, from Massachusetts
to California and from Michigan to Texas. hav-
ing members on it. College athletes. both
graduates and undergraduates. hold an i'm
portant place and this will probably be pleasing
to the Britons, for they know that these men
belong TO the highest class of amateurs, though
1t can safely be said that not a man on the
Olympic team bears the slightest tafnt of pro-
fessionalism. OF the seventy-six athletes picked
to carry the Stars and Stripes 1t is hard to see
where any bad mistakes were made. There
may be several men on the supplementary list
who should change places with those on the
first list, but if they did II is hardly prob
able that it would add much to the point getting
ability of the team as whole. careful COM
parison of the results of the American and Brit
ish try-outs would seem to indicate that there
are few events the Olympic programme in
which our men will not score.
Our greatest handicap Will be the change in
climatic conditions. The distance runners will
suffer most, but these are the events in which we
are weakest and consequently the score will not
be greatly affected. Records show that have
a good chance to win all the points in the
dashes. The sprinting squad is the strongest
this country any other has ever mustered to-
gether. J. p. Taylor and Jack Atlce should take
good care of the quarter-mie dash. We are
better represented in the S00-metre race than
ever before. 1t is hard TO see where there is
any man who hold NJ. w. Sheppard, who
has run the half mile in 1:53%. Though our
other half-milers are sterling performers. they
are at least seconds slower than Sheppard
H. C. Halstead, of Cornell: H L. Coe, of Michi-
gan, and j. P. Sullivan. of the Irish American
A. C., form trio of milers that should be able
beat the Britons at their favorite distance
close up at the finish in the fve-mle event. Our
hurdlers outclass the world. and should
sweep the card in these two events The same
may be said Of the pole vault, in which A. c.
Gilbert and w. R Day take turns in breaking
the worlds record, the latter's mark now being
II feet 912 inches.
Ray Ewry will undoubtedly win both the stand
ing high and broad jumps. We should score heay-
lily in the running high and broad jumps, though
may not win. Sheridan. Dearborn and GarrelIs
seem to have 4 first class chance to take the ma
jority of the honorS in the discus throws while
representatives in the hammer throw and
shotput will almost surely outdiStance their riv-
ais. The hop. step and jump should be an Aneri
can victory but our chances of winning the Mara
thon race are not particularly good. Take II
all in all, and with Mike Murphy in command
the American team is athletic army which
cannot be beaten. and the American Olympic
committee deserves the highest concentration
for its admirable work