New-York tribune., 1921-06-05


Olympic champions.
In order to win to-day the Nassaus
oarsmen were forced to establish q
new record for the course. The dis
tance was one furlong over mile and
three quarters, as given out officially
at the Princeton boathouse before the
contest. The Fasteners stroked the
distance in 8:534-5. The old record
was 9:01, made by Cornell varsity
in 1910.
Conditions were favorable for fast
work, a swapping breeze blowing down
the course and helping the rowers very
materially. The surface of the lake
was rougher than usual, and this was
expected to be an advantage to Cali
fornia, but if it was there was no in
dication of it.
Ragged Work by Westerncrs
The boys from the Golden Gate could
have shown much better form, particu-
larly in the last three-quarters of the
mile, when their blue-tipped oars were
seen to splash heavily in the feather
ing. There were times when they
threw up clouds of spray, and it was
apparent that this ragged work retard-
ed the shell.
The Californians row a peculiar
stroke, quite unlike anything that
has been seen in the East. Their drive
is short, sharp and snappy, and there
were moments in to-day's duel when
they worked their beat up to forty.
The Tigers virtually rowed the Cali
forniSns off the lake, starting away
with heartbreakjng burst of speed
and never allow.<g the invaders time to
catch their collective breaths. Heinie
Leh, the magnificent Princeton stroke,
jumped his men into lead at the very
start, and the best that the Coast crew
could do thereafter was to bring the
nose of their shell abreast of the Tiger
boat as they flashed past the quarter
mile flags.
The killing pace broke California's
heart at the mile, and although she
fought heroically to the very last it
was plain from that point on that it
was to be another Nassau victory.
Princeton's she'll swept over the finish
line in a brilliant burst of speed exact
ly one length and a quarter in the lead.
The Tiger oarsmen, although they
had broken the course record by the
rather astonishing margin Of nine sec
onds, were paratively fresh at the
end. The Coast boys appeared to be
rather groggy.
1t was the last race of the season for
Heinie Leh's masterful crew and it was
fitting climax for their victorious
the Tiger coach, is claiming the inter
collegiate rowing championship for his
"B" crew, which has now become known
as the first varsity.
Ten Thousand Witness Race
California has been on the lake for
little more than week and it is
probable that the men have not yet
become thoroughly acclimated. Their
performance this afternoon was con-
sidered remarkable. in view of this
fact, as their shell also covered the
distance under the old record.
The race was witnessed by about
10000 persons, the number of Cali
fornia flags in the crowd being a sur
prise. The Blue and Gold of the Uni
versity of California could be seen in
colorful patches along the course and
the visitors did not lack for rooters,
There seemed to be little betting on
the outcome. and what there was saw
no odds either way. The showing of
the Westerners in their recent practice
trials has been so good that there were
many here to-day who expected to see
them finish in front.
In the toss up for positions Prince
ton drew the north lane, while their
opponents occupied the side nearest
the towpath. In the getaway the
Ilgersi seemed to have all the better
of it. From the towpath it looked as
though the nose of the Princeton shell
was some six feet ahead of the Cali
fornia bow the moment the word to
go was given. This caused some criti-
clsm among the spectators, but it was
afterward declared by the referee that
were sent away
The Nassau oarsmen went away with
a rush and in the first hundred yards
worked into lead of nearly a half
boats length. They settled down to a
smooth beat Of 36 and it was not until
the mile flags were reached that this
was raiseed to 38. 1t was this effort
that etfectually killed off the athletes
from the Pacific
Westerners Sprint in Vain
They struggled manfully to hold the
flying Tigers in check between the half
mile and mile marks, but the Orange
and Black crew was not to be denied
Although the invaders unleashed a ter
rifle sprint in an effort to draw back
to even terms, raising their stroke to
something like 40 to the minute, they
could not prevent Henie Eeh's men
from drawing away inch by inch. The
race was won and lost in this stirring
period of the battle. If the Westerners
could have held their own here, they
might have had chance to snatch the
decision.
AS the shells flashed past the mile
and half flags Princeton had gathered
in lead of one length, and an addi-
tional half length was added to this
in the final furlouns