The New York herald., 1921-04-03

Appearances are deceptive In Charlie
Paddock's case. In his street clothes
you scarcely would pick him out as a
sprinting champion and record holder.
You would be more inclined to guess
that he is a shot putter or discus
thrower, for he Is a big sturdy, mus
cular fellow, not far from six feet in
height and more than 180 pounds in
weight. In the best of trim he has
the appearance OF being overweight
America has had few sprinting cham
pions, much less record holders. as
big and as heavy as the California
collegian who astonished the athletic
world the other day by covering 100
yards in 93-5 seconds and 220 yards
in 20 As seconds.
See him In action as he warns up
for race and you Immediately form
your doubts as to his ability as a sprint
er. for he lumbers along rather awk-
wardly There Is none of the machine
like smoothness and rhythm of Howard
Drew in his style. Those who sized him
up in practice when he made his debut
In this city at the Millrose games last
year were inclined to scott and predict
that he was just another coast phe-
nom" But he convinced the doubling
Thomases as soon as his heat was run,
for. although off to bad start he
pounded" his way up to the leader be-
fore the so yard mark had been passed
and in the last twenty yards. having
gained full momentum, opened so wide a
gap that the rest of the field appeared
suddenly to have become rooted to the
board floor. Pounded" is about the
best word to use in describing 1t.
Secret of His Success.
Possessed OF wonderful strength and
supple, though well developed muscles.
the Californian, after the first twenty or
thirty yards. gets remarkable speed and
drive into his stride, and therein Is the
secret OF his success There is nothing
pretty" about the way he finishes at
the tape. A snapshot of the final heat
of the Olympic championship 100 meter
race. which he won at Antwerp last
summer. shows Paddock leaping at the
tape, his head flung back as far as his
neck would allow, his face distorted and
his arms reaching full length over his
head.
What matters It, however. whether
one has the perfect action of a Bernie
wefers or a Howard Drew or an un-
orthodox pounding" style, so long as 1t
gets a fellow to the tape in record break
Ing time. Until Paddock ran his SEN
sationai race recently. It was more than
six years since sprinter had equalled
the time of 81 1-5 second for the fur
long set by Wefers on May 80. 1896.
Ralph Craig, Donald Lippincott, Dan
Kelly. Howard Drew and George Parker
had duplicated the performance.
AS for the century dash, only two
men had been credited with negotiating
II in the phenomenal time of 8 3-5 Sec
onds. Howard Drew did II on March 2S.
1914. and the only one before him was
Dan Kelly, on June 23. 1906-a per-
formance that always has been doubted,
although accepted by the record COM
mittec OF the Amateur Athletic Union.
slow to Believe.
Paddock, too, is finding athletic Off
cials In the East slow to believe that he
was timed correctly on March 2s when
he ran 220 yards in 20 AS seconds,
two-fifths OF a second faster than the
twenty-five year old record. and the
century In as seconds. The fact tina.
three days later he repeated the 3-5
for the 100 and ran the 220 In 21 sec
onds flat does not appear to have con-
vinced some athletic critics either.
Apparently. however. the track measure
ments were exact. the majority of five
timers agreed. and the wind, whatever
there was OF II, did not favor Paddock
In the least, according to affidavits OF
the officials at the Berkeley meet. IL
Is difficult to see, therefore, how the
Californian's record performance can be
turned down.
There never has been record break
ing sprint or high jump that has not
been doubted. anyway. Many experts,
seeking TO explain why California rec
ord breakers seldom IL ever live up to
their regulations whei they come East.
have referred 10 the difference In the
atmospheric pressure on the eastern and
western coasts, the conclusion being
that the California ozone offers less re-
sistance. Others have openly questioned
the ability OF the Western officials to
time a sprint perfectly. Be that as Il
may. there Is no doubt az TO Paddock
merit as a sprint champion. He has
been tried In every sort of climate and
has proven to be one OF the greatest
sprinters In the history Of athletics.
The Berkeley track, on which Paddock
ran his record races. is known to be one
OF the fastest In the country. Roy
Morse. the local sprIntcr. who held the
national title at one tIme ran 100 yards
In AZ eccords nm fhe Rertn1cv ira cL n,