The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-27
WALKER GREATEST
LIVING SPLINTER
After Touring Europe, Will
Come to This Country to
Race Champions.
RECTOR IS CONFIDENT
HE CAN BEAT AFRICAN
Applies to English A. A. A. for
Six Worlds Records Allowed
i'm Africa.

Tribune Special Sporting Service.
NEW YORK, June 26.-Maybe We
viii soon have the pleasure of seeing
r. f. Walker, the South African
sprinter, who won the 100 metres dash
at the Olympic games at London, in COM
petition against the pick Of our Ameri
can sprinters, Ever since these games
Walker has been cherishiDg the idea OF
coming over to Yankee soil and beating
our athletes all hollow. At all distances
up to the furlong dash he thinks that
he can beat the world. Having arrived
in London from South Africa, he is
talking about tour Of the athletic
world, expecting to opon the eyes of
Sweden, Germany, Bohemia and Aus
tria, breasting the tape mt their cham
pionshlp meets and then coming to
America with new glory and records
heaped upon him,
Walker is a classy runner. With F..
w Jarvis and j. A. Rector he shares
the Paris games in 1900. JARVIS nego
lated the distance in 10 l.5 seconds,
md Rector and Walker cqUaled the rec
I'D ut the London games.
Af,cr his encounter with the lesser
lghta. IL is Walker s intention 10 come
.
hat he can beaJ the South African
'lyer. and there are many who back
his belief. The Virginia lad Is prob-
ably without peer in this country. He
has not been seen IN competition lately.
md there Is no telling what sort OF
condition he is in, but at his best it is
doubtful If any runner here can beat
him Robertson worstcd him in the
tryouts for the Olympic team, bat that
signifies nothing. rs is shown by the
result of the same dash over al Lon
don.
Applies for Records,
Rector seems 60 be the best in Amer
lea and Walker looks the best outside
of America. II apparently lies between
these two runners TO lay bold TO the
titlc Of the fastest sprinter on the face
of the earth.
Walker has applied TO the a. A. A.
of England for six world s records thai
he presumably made, They are already
officially recognized by the South
African 4. A. 4. They arc: 10 yards,
I 30 seconds; loo metres, 10 2-5; 120
yards, IL %; l30 yards. - 30: $50
wards. ~ IL, and $50 yards, III 4-5.
He was credited with 30 1-5 seconds for
the furong dash, which would make
that only Il South African record. At
one set of games he was caught at 2-5
for the century dash, which would have
been beyond what is generally conceded
to be human endurance. But the start
er had fired the pistol after the speed
merchant was off. and so the record was
naturally disallowed.
If the fleet South African has really
negotiated 100 metres IN 10 % seconds
he will have no trouble in running
away from anybody in the world. That
fast time hardly corresponds with the
figures for the furlong dash. The issue
seems to lie in the authenticity of the
marks that he lays claim to, and the
mere fact that they may or may not be
accepted rs worlds amateur records
does not matter much. If Walker has
the goods he would have us believe he
possesses. then he is easily the best. If
be can clip two-fifths of a second off
the Olympic record for 100 metres he
can beat any man alive at the distance.