Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-01-15
wsrL SKATE FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bobby Mclean Gives Norwegian
Champ Chance TO Regain Laurels. ).
y New York, Jan. 14.-T'he Arst OF 4
record number Of foreign sport Ia
vasions for 1920 Will begin here today
with the arrival Of Bobby Mclean.
preparatory to sailing for Christiania.
Oscar Mathieson for the worlds pro-
fessional championship. Mclean, the
American champion VINO defeated
Mathieson flfteeu out Of sixteen races
in this country In 1s16a 1918, makes
tho trip to Norway In order to give
the European champion sportsman's
chance to regain his skating laurels
upon larger track than those used
when the American was victor.
Mclean, who sails on Friday, comes
direct from Lake Placid, N. Y, where
he has been training for ten days, skat-
ing from fifteen to twenty miles day.
to improve his speed and endurance.
Tomorrow night he will be the guest Of
q number Of sportsrnen, who will. ten
der him farewell and best of-luck
dipYler. The American champion VIII
arrive in Christiania about Jan. %. and
will have close to two weeks In which.
to add the finishing training touches
before facing MathieSon on Feb.
and 8.
The races will consist OF either sew
en- or nine events at distances ranging
from 2Go to 10000 meters. and the wiz
fer Of the majority of these contests
will be the undisputed worlds cham
pion Of professional ice skaters. The
racing viii continue over q psriod Of
from two to three days and will be held
on the quarter-mile track of the Chris.
tiania ice Skating Club, at what "
known as FRANCES rinS The rink Is
an open-atr stadium, which will seat
close to 10000 spectators, and as the
admission fee will be equivalent to
about 81, the gate receipts are likely
to establish a record for such a con-.
test. The club, which is an amateur
organization Of high social standing,
refused to participate IN the arrange
nents for the races, altho perfectly
willing to donate the use Of the rink for
the occasion without remuneration.
The arrangements were left entirely
In the hands Of Mathieson and the lat
ter soon discovered that he could not
train properly and also promote the af-
fair. )As a result he requested that an
American promoter and publicity man
be cent over to take charge of ar
ranrements. The latter sailed several
weeks ago with thousands of foreign
posters, printed In this country, and In
all probability by this time Norway IL
getting an idea OF American publicity
methods and appears much lthe q
country town hero on tho ove Of the
annual visit Of the circus. >4tS
Mclean has the. advantage Of youth
for he Is .25 years old. while Methieson
is 80. Tho latter, however, has the
longer stroke when skating at top
speed. for his stride measures 40 feet
to McLean's 3s. The Norwegian has
always claimed thRt the small tracks
in this country hampered hts long
stroke and that he could do much fast
err work on the larger courses OF his
own city. Hts claim Is borne out to
some extent by the records, which
show that Mathieson holds the world
records for the following distances:
Five hundred meters. 4y2-b seconds:
1000, i minute 81 4-b seconds; 1890 2
minutes, w. ssconda; 5000, minutes
i4ss-1Q SECONDS; 10000. II minutes.
;22, AZ sspendS. gl y
folewng ths races at CNraxtiAni2