The Washington times., 1924-01-28

this country'S chance OF taHlng u
In answer to the above 1t Is
only necessary to give brief de-
scription Of the cinder-path stars
this country hsa fit and ready to
respond to the call for sprinting
talent. Loren Murchison. national
champion, is without doubt one OF
the best sprinters of recent years.
Many shrewd judges Of sprinting
talent are of the opinion that
Murchison is the fastest athlete OF
the day over a 100-meters distance.
These individuals point to the
fact that at the Antwerp games
Murchison ran a splendid race at
ter being left at the post by the
starter. This unfortunate occur
renee at the start took place be-
cause the officials had warned
Paddock not to line up with his
hands in advance of the starting
line.
MurchisOn, thinking that the
rules of starting were the same
i'm Belgium as in this country,
Strengthened up when Paddock
received his warning. For this
reason he was not ready when
the starter fired his gun, almost
Immediately after warning Pad.
dock. MurChiSOn lost many yards
at the break. His race was far
superior to that of any other
rival. He finished with q rush.
Many at the finish credited him
with running a winning race.
Since his return from Antwerp,
Murchison has improved with
every start. He wrote his name
in the record books on two occa-
sions last season. On January 81
he set "A new record of 6 LIS for
the 60-yard dash. At Buffalo a few
weeks later he had the distinction
of making a new record of 81 1-5
for the 300-yard dash.
At the national championship last
summer he proved beyond all doubt
that so far as the 100 yards dis
lance Is concerned he is the best
that Uncle Sam has in his lineup
today.
The former middle Western star
is training diligently for return
to his favorite distance this season.
Those who have witnessed him in
some of his trials predict that Pad
dock will soon be forgotten when
Murchison hits his full stride.
Boots" Lever, former Univer.
sity of Pennsylvania sprinter and
intercollegiate champion at the cen
fury, Is another athlete who must
be taken into the reckoning. Lever
has only one disadvantage. He is
out of college and working for a
living. That Is sure to handicap
him in training. A few weeks ago
he reported to Lawson Robertson
his former trainer at Philadelphia,
in the hope. Of getting himself into
physical trim to stage come
back.
Lever set the world afire last
season when he created a new
record of I is seconds for the
7O-yard dash on March i'm this
city. This is about as fast as
human legs can cover the dis
lance. 1t means that if Lever
can get himself into shape Uncle
Sam is going to have a worthy
competitor in this former Uni
Versity of Pennsylvania cOllegian.
]. S. Scholz, who represented the
United States at Antwerp, finishing
fourth in the Olympic 1UV-...,.
event, is another star that has de-
cleared his intention of once again
donning the spiked shoes for Uncle
Sam.
Scholtz is a natural runner. He
is fast at the start and can hold his
own with any rival up to the 100
meter distance. After that he tails
off little.
His greatest feat was to win his
trial heat at the Olympic meet in
Antwerp in 1920. In this race he
met some of the finest sprinters
in the world. His time of 10 4-5
seconds was just as fast as that
made in the final. 70 prove that
this was not a flash in the pan he
won his second heat In exactly the
same time. 49,.
In the semi-finaI he was beaten
out by small margin by H. r.
Edwards, the British star. He ran
a fine race to finish fourth in the
title race.
Some of the other athletes who
must be taken into consideration
when Olympic honOrs are talked
about are Francis Hussey, the sen
Louis Clark, the Johns Hopkins
University star, national collegiate
champion; Bob McAllister, the fly
ing cop, holder Of the 100 yards
worlds indoor record; Chester Bow
man, the spectacular Syracus,
University football and track star
Eddie Farrell, the Fordham Univer
sity runner; j. Alfred Laconey, O
Lafayette College; William d
Hayes, Of Boston,; Royal WEIGH
of Bridgeport, Conn.,; l.. HalloclI
of Newark A. c.; Paul Davis, O
the New York A. c., and more thar
half dozen other fast sprinters.
I'm the event that Paddock i
barred from competition 1t is likel,