Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-22

w next July tile Americans will
for the first time in the his
tory OF International athletics,
be regarded in the light of faVoTlteS Ill
the niddle-distance runs
AT ali previous meets where our iN'n-
nerS have met the crack BritonS in the
quarter, half and mile, America $ chances
have been loil% ones atsthe best, but next
summer. if the Yankees full strength
can be presented at London. il will be
q different tale. Instead OF ranking az
outsiders, the men who wear the Stars
and Stripes will be reckOned as most
dangerous of al: among the worlds mid
diStancerS.
John Taylor, the feet negro. will be
! this c0UntIy's hope in the quarter-nlile.
The only bar to Taylor's success in the
London meet is lack of condition. If he
thoroughly accustomed to the climate,
there is hardly doubt that the great
ebony flyer will be the one TO burst the
tape in the fnG-meter race.
To realize the truth of this assertion it
! is Only necessary to recall that Taylor is
| only about five yards slower than the
miller s;ich as Is found in athletics about
once III ten wears, and to beat him on
the big one-third of 1t mile track at Shep-
ards Bush will take 440 performance
such as the athletic world has not seen
since Longs record at Guttenbnrg.
Coming to the half mile. the Stars and
Stripes will 10 doubt be carried by Shep-
parG. Clan ner and Shcehan WHAT trio
| this is! Since his early career Sheppard
has never suffered Il half-mie defeat, and
| it is hard to see how the Britons and the
| SWedeS will be able to turn the trick
| next sumner. Like Taylor, Sheppard in
| his true fern is about as unbeatable as II
human runner can he. and this is at
| tested to by his performances of 1.53 50
at TraEers Island a year ago.
! In "asc Sheppard should fail. what
about Andrew Glarncr. Of San Francisco,
and Frank Shcehan, of Boston? Glacner
| is 4 consistent 1j6 man. and has proved
that lie might dc better in pinch
Sheehan won the junior title on the poor
jamestown Exposition track last summer
in LIT 2-5. The Boston lad led all the
way and won easily, ana Melvin Shep-
pard himself is authority for the State
ment that sheei:an will do yards faster
| Look 1T Americas Enthusiastically.
the twn-time l5eo-metel worlds cham
spring; sullivan. the rciuverated ]. A. A
&c. rurne". who has done 4.23 Coe. OF
| Michigan, and Lewis OF Cornell. both
York A; c.. who has a A. race to his
credit also Of this string tho most likely
aanpear tc be Lightbody, and HasiSns.
| LighthOdy is a wonderful runner.
| When in condition he has never beer
pushed III a mile race. and proved on
the trip to Athens that re can travel
a bit, too, without losing his running
form. Haskins. though he mas a Won
derfnl mile to his credit. has hardly been
as consistent Lightbody. but II he is
in share 10 run one OF his great races at
London, something will drop.
AT any rate, with this great bunch Of
lmid- diStancers il seems certain that Uncle
Sam will CLEAN many telling points III
THESE races. In the quarter-mie and half
mile the Americans must be granted an
even chance to wiz the honors. While in
the mile our chances are about one in
| three. This state of affairs. months be-
fore the big games, is eminenIly salts
factory to our chances of success in the
rlns-in fact. Americas hopes of VIM
nirG the middle distance championships
are higher now than before any interna-
tion1l meet ever held on European soil.