Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-09-09
OLYMPIC GAMES
AREBECOMING +.
AMERICANIzED

"A I the present rate of progress il
nwon't be long before the Olympic
games are completely Americanized
providing, of course, that the war does
not put an end to all athletics in the
old world for the time being.
Not only have the international anna
teur athletic federation and the inter,
national Olympic council adopted vir-
tually all OF the American rules and
the standard lis Of events, but more
important yet, nearly every European
country save England has engaged a
former American athlete to coach it's
candidates for the 1916 games at Ber-
lin. +
The German athletes are being pre-
pared by Alvin c. Kraenzlein, former
captain of the University Of Pennsyl-
yania track team, intercollegiate cham
pion broad jumper and joint holder of
the worlds hurdling records. Sweden
has re-engaged Ernest Hjertberg, for
several years successfully coach of Co
lumbia university, the New York A. C..
and the Irish.American A. c.; Austria
is under the direction of AL Copeland,
q former A. A. q. champion hnrdler
and at one time coach Of the Princeton
track team; what little prominence
Russia has achieved is due to the
coaching of Anderson, who went to st.
Petersburg from Kansas City as Y.
NJ. C. A. secretary and has since been
trying to build up athletics in the
cars empire; finally, Lawson Robert
son, a member of the American Olym-
pic team of 1908 and since then coach
of the Irish-American A. c., has been
secured as national director of ath-
letics for Hungary.
Comes Here to Learn.
But the American influence has ex-
tended even beyond these countries.
After the 1912 games at Stockholm the
Firms, whose teams finished second 20
the United States in the track and
field section, were so impressed with
American methods that they sent one
OF their older athletes, /. Pikhala, to
this country to take course in the
Springfield Training school and then
a postgraduate course in observing
the methods employed at the leading
American Universities. After his year
at Springfield he went TO the univer-
sity OF Pennsylvania, where he train
ed with fhe. Quaker ~ letes uildeE.
Mike Murphy and his assistants. Since
his return to Ffndland he has put into
operation the ideas he picked up on
this side and expects to make Finland
more OF a power in 1916 than the
country was in 1912.
Englishmen would probably resent
the inference that by the engagement
of Knox, who is now doing most Of the
active coaching in that country, they
are copying the American methods.
But the fact of the matter is that Knox
made most of his athletic reputation
In this country, and, although not
given the free rein that other Euro
pean coaches enjoy, he is working
along the lines that made America sup
rene Even in these countries which
have not engaged American coaches,
the American influence is strongly felt
and everywhere the athletes seize
eagerly upon every idea which bears
the American stamp.
l<lndlier Feeling Toward America.
The most remarkable feature of the
of American coaches and
training ideas into Europe is that it
gives proof of new and friendly
feeling toward Americans and their
methods. 1t is unfortunately true that
at the time of the 1908 games and I'M
til 1912 the feeling between the United
States and European countries was
distinctly unfriendly. This feeling,
though, was based largely upon a mis-
understanding of American methods,
jealousy of our success, and those two
sensational events, the 400 meters and
Marathon runs. All that, however,
was forgotten in the 1912 games.
There were a few events in the 1912
games that under ordinary circun1-
stances would have provoked hard
feelings, but all of the countries were
trying to exercise restraint and the
games ended with the best of feeling
on ell sides. Europeans are now will
ling to coneede that they misjudged
the American character and that they
are now idealizing American methods
is shown by their eagerness to secure
American coaches.