The Alaska citizen., 1911-03-06

Etl .fa4. fllH ' dEtlN NI t N = attention to the fact that no na- ton in the world has advanced so rapidly iu the last decade in the practice uf track and field sports. If this performance at football had been achieved over some European team newly acquainted with the game the critics might admit that i' was ui 10 account. but 10 down scotland. the old. tried and aggres- i've veterans. at Rugby. leaves no word of question as to the wonder ful strides of the Frenchmen even in so rugged sport. It is only the second year of France in the international struggle, and her meet ing with England. Wales and Ire land is eagerly awaited.
 \ little more than ten years ago France had nothing in the way of athletic performers. except some crack fencerS. but a few years have made marvellous change. Today France can boast of men in every branch of sport and. like the foot hallers they belong to the front brigade. There are sprinters and long distance runners, cyclists and field performers galore, while aided by their government the Gauls are fast pushing 10 he the great horse racing nation of the world. The work Of the horse Luttour in the Liverpool grand national two years ago may be taken as a proof in the racing line Neither the horse nor the jockey. Prefarment, who hap pens to he English born. ever saw the course or went over one of the jumps, vet in faultless style he tozk every one of the fearful fences and won handily
 To q Frenchman. Baron Pierre de Coubertin. belongs the credit of the Olympic games revival in 1896; yet on the occasion of the initial cele hratiou France did not figure among the winners. though men wearing the tricolCr were seen among the competitors. and it was seen that they were sadly lacking in every thing like tirSt-class form. But if the GaulS did not score at Athens, they derived a benefit, for they took home some valuable hints on how 10 handle themselves at the diff ftrcu' contests. They also imbibed the athletic spirit. which they spread when they arrived home, and it grew so cOntagi- ous that when the time for the next Olympic games came around, in 1900. the FrenChmen wanted the fixture. Consequently the games were held at Paris. the American and English teams dividing the spoiIs But France did better than a Athens. for Dr. Teato, a native born Frenchman. won the Marathon though he time was by no means wonderful
 When America got the Olympic games ill l904 France did not send a man, but in the meantime she had been making great strides in the different branches of physical cul- ture. A brace of first rate contend CTS al standard events were un- earthed in G. Gonder, who made a worlds record of F feet 1l2 inches in the pole vault, and NJ. Eynard who threw the discus III feet 9 inches with a turn. Both these marks have been bettered, but they were the best when made and are the French records at the present time GOnder was a member of the French team at Athens in the games of 1906 and showed himself to be of the real caliber of champion, for he beat the best men in the world. On account of the ground being in bad condition, and the take-otf not being able to hold the pole, the Frenchman was Contented to win with a vault of II feet 6 inches.
 Not only did Gonder win but he introduced an innovation which has prevailed ever since. He used a bamboo Vaulting pole. which at that time was laughed at by the Americans. but after they used that found for lightness and stiffness it was unsurpassed. Some time after ward the bamboo poles were in universal use on this side of the water. Al this meeting the French cycle riders swept everything. and so did the fencers, and though the track men captured no firsts, they were well in the hunt in every race they started.
 In the Olympic games of 1908, held at London, the French were not as prominent as other nations, but they were good deal in evidence all round, showing that when they begin to specialize they will be as much of a factor in the Olympic fixtures as the American or English. A first in the 2,000-meter tandem cycle race was the most distinctive win among the track and field con tests, though, of course, they SCOT ed effectively in the fencing and shooting. In purely athletic way the best French competitor was G. Andre, a youth of little over IS, who appeared in the high-jump- ing contests. He was one of three who tied for second and third with a leap of feet inches in the running high, and though he failed to secure a place in the standing high jump, he did feet 10 inches. On his native heath Andre negotiat- ed the 120-yard high hurdles in l5 4-5 seconds, and these achieve ments for a youngster not out of his teens could not be we'll improv- ed upon in the most athletic coun- try in the world. By the time the Swedish games are due next year the Frenchman should be capable of performances out of the ordi- nary.
 In the professional line the French have been in evidence of late. When the big professional Marathon took place at the polo grounds, St. Yves ran away from field of the fore most pros" in the world. The last six-day go-as-you-please held at