Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-31
AMERICANS HAVE GOOD CHANCES
IN LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES
PROSPECTS ARE GOOD THAT YANKEE ATHLETES WILL
PERFORM WELL IN INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
Roughness Contests Which Form Stk
ing Contrasts Crude Feats of Ancient Times-Try-
Outs Now Being Held Throughout the
Country Choose Team

cloth and in the long distance runs
were stark natked."
Finally In 394 A. d. the emperor. The
odosius, prohibited the games, claiming
that they were opposed to the teachings
of Christianity. The modern history
of the Olympic games begins in 1895,
when the international athletic COM
mittee was organized in Paris to re-
vive the ancient contests. The first
games were held at Athens in 1896.
In 1904 the Olympic games were held
in the Stadium of the Worlds Fair at
st. Louis and two years ago the reg
ular meet took place at Athens. Next
month London will be the Mecca to
which the contestants journey for a
meet which, 1t Is thought by experts,
will eclipse all that have gone before.
This is because the English claim, ana
with truth, that they have never sent
really representative set OF athletes
to any of the other previous games,
and this year they will put forth their
best efforts to wrest the championship
from the Americans.
This fact is realized by the Ameri-
can athletes and they will go into the
games with the knowledge that they
will be obliged to work harder than IN
any of the previous four contests: In
the opinion of those who are qualifieo
to speak the team from this country
will be far and away the best yet seen'
and many of the athletes Will be men
who hold worlds records.
Most of the men will be chosen from
the college athletes in series or pre-
liminary events which will have the
full Olympic program. In order TO
make sure that the entire strength OF
all the athletes in the country has been
tested before the choice the american
Olympic committee has divided the
country into three sections and the
preliminary meets will be held In Phil
adelphia, Chicago and San Francisco
The majority of the leading athletes
are in the east and the meet at Phiia- :
delphia. which will be held on June o.
one week after the intercollegiate
ton. In Chicago the date set Is June
13. but on the Pacific coast the tryout
will be held In the latter part OF May,
on account of the more advanced state
of the season.
1t is thought that these three try
outs will be sufficient to insure the
picking of the very best amateur attn
letes in this country, and anotner
sweeping victory is prophesied for
America. The Americans hold world s
records in the hammer throw, shot
put, pole vault, 100-yard hurdles, pole
yaulting for distance, standing high,
standing broad and three standing
| Jumps. These last three RECORDS are
held by man named Ewry, who was
at one time a paralytic, unable to
walk, cripple for life, his physicians
told him.
| Rose, the University of California
athlete, broke six worlds records, es1
tablishing new ones at the meet OF the
New York Athletic club last fall. In
one afternoon he emade new worlds
records putting alf the shot. One af-
ter the other he put the 5, IL, IA, Is,
21 and 2S-pound shot, making the rec
ord in each case on the first or second
try. Other worlds records held by
Americans are the 56-pound weight
throwing, the running broad jump and
throwing the discus.
The exact date of the Olympic games
at London has not yet been announced,
but it is known that they will take
place in the latter part of June. What
the English athletes may be doing, or
have done in the last few months, Is an
unknown quantity. They have been
training as they never trained before,
and while the supporters Of the Ameri-
cans express themselves as confident
of victory, they and the athletes them
selves realize that 1t will be no walk
over.