The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-05-22
u.s. VAULTERS CAN
BEAT EUR0PE'S BEST
Nv Sherman G.. Landers
written for the United Press)

written for the United Press)
America has lost but one Olympic
championship in the pole vault since
the resumption of the games at Ath-
ems In 1896. Gouder of France won
the event in 1906, the second meeting
at Athens. In addition to this mar
velous fact the worlds record for
pole vaulting has never departed from
the United States and this year we
should be more able than ever before
to assert our supremacy.
The Swedes, Norwegians and Danes
are by far the best vaulters and
jumpers abroad. C. Horleman OF
Christiana, Sweden, is the only SER
ious competitor for our vaulters. He
made mark of IL feet, IL inches, IN
the falf of 1917, and very good
jump of slightly over IL feet, inches
last year. Rasmussen OF Denmark
succeeded in doing about II feet, 3
inches in easy fashion at the Danish
championships last fall. Word has
continually come from abroad that
Coach Ernie Hjertsberg of Sweden
has been concentrating upon jumpers
and vaulters since the postponement
of the games to have been held in
Berlin in 1916.
The Olympic committees decision
to take only six men in each event to
Antwerp will play havoc with the
pole vaulters. All pole vaulters have
their good and bad days and when
fifteen of our best vaulters, all cap
able of doing IL feet, inches or
better, line up for the final tryout
at Harvard Stadium in July 1t will
be an extremely nervous aggregation.
Styles of vaulting and weather con-
ditions will probably necessitate the
taking of four men as they qualify IN
the tryout and the other two from
performances of the present season.
Our representatives will come from
the various clubs and colleges The
clubs have the best jumpers but the
college athletes will counterbalance
this by being in better condition af-
ter a lang spring season.
The following men appear at pre-
sent to be the most eligible jumpers
in the country: Frank Foss, Chicago
A. A., holder of the worlds record
heighth 10 feet, 3 916 inches; Marc
Wright, Boston A. A., former record
holder; Percy Graham, Chicago A. A.
and Knourech, Illinois A. c., joint
indoor worlds record holders; Floyd,
Inter-Allied champion, Carl Buch,
Chicago A. A., Sparrow, Multnomah
A. c.; L. Meyers of Dartmouts, inter-
collegiate champion; HarwOod Of
Harvard; T Gardner of Yale; WILDER
Newsletter, formerly Of University of
Pennsylvania and myself. There are
several other possibilities that should
develop by the time of the tryouts.
A successful vaulter is as rule
either sprinter or a gymnast. Frank
Foss combined both; and established
the present worlds record. Neither
style can claim to be best because
weather conditions and different
vaulting grounds have shown that a
pole vaulter unlike runner is never
in a secure position. All vaulters
will agree that the details of keeping
warm, warming up as little as pos
sible by jumping, having a step, plac-
ing the standards at the proper dis
lance in order to take advantage of
the highest height and clearing the
bar on the first attempt all go to make
up a successful pole vaulter, who
must in addition to all THE, We a
remarkable competitor,