Evening star., 1924-08-17

Po"Sl loI Ills ldNOiil
And in the rowing race the contest
is right out before one, whether ex-
pert or ignoramus. He does not have
to wonder what the judges decision
will be on technicalities. He does not
have to wonder which crew got the
judges decision in the first round
and in the second round, and how the
points footed up in contest. He just
sees those shells with their human
freight struggling bitterly, and. the
decision is his own to make as TO
which is leading and which finishes
first.
Provides Thrilling Sport.
For these reasons there was no
more soul-stirring episode for Amer
lean spectators than that produced by
Leaders crew in rowing down it's op-
ponents in the heats, and then coming
home in such a decisive manner in
the final. And the triumph was
unique in many ways. Not only was
1t dramatic in the preliminaries over
here, when the Yale crew won out in
the Olympic try-outs and in one at
least most bitterly contested heat, but
also in the record of Leader since he
came to New Haven some two and
one-half years ago.
Two years ago last spring very few
people were particularly interested i'll
the personality of one Edward Lead
er. who was coming on from the Pa
cific coast to- take on the Job off
coaching Yale crews. Many wondered
at the shifts that had been going On
at New Haven since Guy Nickalls had
been succeeded, first by one of the
Corderry brothers and then by the
other. and regarded the new move as
merely another wild experiment
Today not only those who follow
those classic races between Yale and
Harvard on the Thames at New Lon
don. but the whole world is marveling
at this man who came from the coast.
little heralded, and turned out varsity
crews that the first year defeated
the pick OF Eastern rowing institu-
tions in short races on the Housa-
tonic and elsewhere, then beat Har-
ward at miles.
Adds to His Triumphs.
In his second year he repeated all
these short-distance triumphs, and
sandwiched in a trip to Philadelphia,
to defeat all comers in the Olympic
tryouts. He rushed his crew back to
beat Harvard in miles on the
Thames. and then put them aboard the
steamer for Europe within As hours
He~won his heats on the Seine against
the pick of the world, beating the
record for the 2,000-meter course, and
wound up his two years work by
winning the Olympic championship,
and giving the United States the vic
torious score by the margin of l
point in the rowing championships! 2
Ed Leader is big, strapping fell
low with broad shoulders, and well
over feet in height: a strong face
with squire jaw, and voice that
carries any message home. He can
make a man see the picture of what
he wishes him to do better than any
coach since Bob Cooks day. He was
a pupil of Hiram Conibear at Wash
ington University out on the Pacific
coast, has developed and further per-
fected the principles of that stroke,
and in his first season at New Haven
tossed aside several of the veterans
of a winning crew because, although
he could show the picture of his
stroke to them, they could not them
selves forget the, old methods they
had learned and which had become
second nature to them.
He took q number of new men, grip
ped their imagination, and made real
oarsmen of them; His stroke is rhyth-
mic to a degree-no viciousness about
it. No pronounced emphasis anywhere,
but that grip OF the blade in the water
riS nrHlHSBS lIScu, Auu Tie ISCONtTy u
thing Of beauty which allows the boat
to creep along between strokes without
check, and which, with It's terrible re>
lentlessness, takes the heart out of op-
posing crews.
Maae No wild Dashes.
:, His crews make no mad dash for an
early lead in the first 20 strokes. They
let the other crews do that. But when
the other crews are put in front that
knffe-like PROV Of Leaders boat comes
creeping up steadily upon them like an
inevitable fate-nearer and nearer
then once alongside hje crew seems to
play with the other boatload and look
them over. as 1t were. 81
Then his men slide out In front while
the others raise their stroke and strug-
sie with. q, desperate energy to hold on.
BUT that rudder Of the Leader boat Ia
slipping away from them steadily, and
bis crew Is smiling back at their strug-
Cling opponents. Nearing the finish