Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-24
ATHLETICS IN THE FAR WEST
EdmundsOn Of Idaho Great at Middle
Distances.
SOME NEW WONDERS ON TRACK
After Winning the Half Mile CHAM
~PiOnship, He IL said 60 Have
Broken the 8OO-Yard
Worlds RECORD.

49, 80 80 AAA ERAh Aka NNG
man ever seen on American soil. This crack
Is Clarence Edmundson Of the University
Of Idaho, who won the national half mile
title at Seattle by about eight yards from
Harry Gissing of the New York Athletic
club, and incidentally equalled the cham
pionship record Of / minute, 55M seconds.
A tall, lean racer, the Idaho man went
about his work with plenty Of confidence,
and from the crack Of the pistol showed
that he was out to win. In the draw for
position he CHANGED to get the pole and
aligned out in the order named were Mil
Ter. Olympic club; Gissing, New York Ath-
letic club; Rsmey. Chicago Athletic asso-
citation and Glarner. Olympic club.
After they broke away there was a bit
Of a scramble for the lead. but at the first
turn Edmundson had it, and he went down
the backstretch at a fearful clip and drew
tight out from the field. Passing by the
quarter post he was leading by six or
seven yards. The time there was O:53h,
the fastest first quarter ever run in a fast
half. When Fitzpatrick made the record OF
1855 in the international meeting of 1886
the first quarter was done in O:54. and
then he was not quite up with the leaders.
However, as Edmundson tore along the
wise ones predicted he would blow up on
the homestretch, but they were wrong, and
though he was firing he crossed the line In
pretty fair shape.
Gissins's time was 1861. which can be
put down as a first rate performance when
1t is considered that he had a weak leg
and had not time enough to rest after the
long journey to Seattle. In discussing the
merits of the performance subsequently
| the critics were Of the opinion that Ed
mundson's figures were as good as the
record allowing for the difference in con-
dition. Fitzpatrick had a perfect day and
a perfect track, and while the Seattle
track could be improved, the runners were
surely hampered by a strong wind on the
home stretch, and worse still, It was sur
charged with a white, dustlike lime, which
blew into the eyes and mouths of the
runners.
Whether the wind and dust would
amount to III seconds cannot now be ac-
curately determined, but It is certain that
Edmundson Is a great man and on a fast
track in favorable weather should surely
take a fall out OF Kilpatrick's mark. Ed
mundson represented the Seattle Athletic
club, but on his shirt he sported the winged
I. the emblem of the Idaho seat of learn
ing. About a week after the champion
ship he was reported to have run the 600
yards in the worlds record time of ION,
but so far It is unknown whether or not
the timing and other conditions OF q record
breaking performance were correct. That
Edmundson is also fast for q quarter mile
there is no doubt, for he ran a fine race in
the last 40 yards Of the mile relay cham
pionship and after the half mile had been
taken out Of him. He did 5Oh seconds. a
- - ~
the race for the Seattle Athletic club.
But IL Edmundson proved the sensation,
the real curiosity. of the championship
meet was Harry Mclean, a Navajo In
dian. from Phoenix, Arlz., who managed
to capture the gold medal for the five miles.
and into the bargain defeated f. G. Bellars
Of the New York Athletic club, last years
winner. The advent OF the Navajo on the
path was more of an accident han a
hankering after athletic glory. A few
weeks prior to the championships the Elks
club OF Phoenix held an athletic carnival
and Mclean ran away from everything in
the distance race and, most wonderful Of
all, he hoofed 1t along in his bare feet.
Then and there the Elks decided that he
was good enough to try for national honors
and he was sent to Seattle. Meantime he
had learned that spiked shoes were an ad-
vantage in travelling afoot, though it was
hard to persuade him that the spikes would
not hold him to the ground.
Only four men went to the starting line,
but the grind developed into a duel be-
tween Bellars and the Indian. They took
turns at the pace-making, and whenever
the Indian led the crowd set up u yell like
a million wolves. That the screaming
pleased the redskin was evident. for as he
~ ma ara,..1 L. FwoAN - ~ .Au.l III. -.
black hair seemed to stick higher in the
breeze and there was more life to his lope.
For with a lope ne sped along like a
brave on a hot trail after a paleface. Up
to four and a half miles 1t was a ding dong
affair between the pair and then Bellars
tried to shake off the Navajo. His effort
was in vain, for though the New Yorker
sprinted in the last lap the Indian shot
by him on the home stretch and won by
ten yards. A great crowd surged around
the Indian on his way to the dressing
room to offer their congratulations, but
il was all Greek to him and he nswered
the huzzahs with only a grunt. He could
not speak a word Of English.
The week following the championships
there was an invitation meet at Frisco
given by the Olympic club, and a three
mile special event was put on so that
~ INV NAA1A ~ AA6A AA0AA
battle over again. There was a new
conner in the race in the person of Joseph
Ballard OF the Boston A. A., who won the
mile at Seattle and who has in him stamina
enough for any distance from one to five
miles. Previous to the three miles Ballard
had won the mile in slow time and there
was some surprise when he toed the mark
alongside OF Bellars and the Indian. As
the race progressed II was apparent that
the two palefaces were using their brains
against the Fedskin. The pace was slow
and Mclean was not wise enough to foree
It. Ballard and Bellars were waiting for
the final sprint and It came when the bell
sung out the last lap. Both tore by the
Indian and on the backstretch Ballard
pulled away from Bellars. The speed of
the miller told at the critical time and the
Boston runner won as he liked. The In
dian let forth a loud series of grunts after
he finished. for then IL dawned on him
that he was fooled.
OF all the big cities In America none
possesses a finer climate for track and
Held sports than San Francisco. There an
athlete could train all the year round, or at
least he could keen in trim all the time