Evening star., 1925-02-08

In athletic uniform Paavo does not
conform to the popular picture of the
ideal athlete. His legs. although well
proportioned. are much simmer than
those of the average American foot
racer and his arms are positively
thin. In street clothes none would
take him to be the greatest runner
the world has produced. Some would
smile If you claimed he possessed
any athletic skill.
Not Picked as Athlete.
This was brought to my attention
many times during Paavo's trip from
New York to Chicago and return.
Trainmen and fellow passengers al
most invariably picked Hugo Quist,
Nurmfs American sponsor, as the
athlete and Nurmi as the attendant.
Paavo's shamb bling gait as he moved
through the train or walked up and
down the platforms during the stops
en- route fooled some of them; others
fell into their error in studying the
compiexions of the two sons of Fin
land, for at that time the clear
healthy skin of Quist contrasted
ma rkedly with the somewhat lined
and colorless epidermis covering the
Nurmi physiognomy.
But Nurmfs ceuntenance is not al
ways lined and colorless. He lacks
the fine skin for which the northern
European nations are famous. His is
of coarser texture and never shows
that distinct and distinctive coloring
one expects to see. Yet at times it
takes on the robust glow of the Nor
die peoples
Finn Is n Man of Moods.
Paavo is a young man of moods.
Behind the poker face" a lot Of
70 Oh
not in the expression, as is usually
the case, but in the complexion.
= Paavo came here with no expert
ence in indoor foot racing to face the
most difficult program ever attempted
by a track athlete. He did not come
as carefree athlete seeking the
thrills and enjoyment of his favorite
sport but as the standard bearer of
the Finnish nation, with the eye of
every Finn upon him, and all Finland
demanding that he continue under
strange conditions and amid strange
surroundings the remarkable career
he started at home.
1t was that mental burden that
Paavo carried with him into those
earlier races in this country. And IL
was reflected in his lined face and
pasty skin, and led to the conflicting
descriptions of him.
But just recently in the Millrose
games it was not a pasty-faced sunk
checked Paavo who took the mark.
Paavo had found himself. He had
mastered indoor racing and not only
was living up to, but exceeding, the
expectations of his people.
His worries were at an end. The
lines had vanished from his coun-
tenance; the hollow cheeks had filled
out to the normal condition of a high
1y trained athlete; the skin had taken
on roster hue, and Paavo appeared
more the typical Nordc l had seen in
the Antwerp Olympic games of five
years ago.
The varying descriptions of Nurmis
form in running can be charged to
the perhaps unconscious efforts of
tho DISORDERS to see and accentuate
only one or another of it's particular
phases.
Some tell you he carries his torso
in an upright pose; others that he
leans slightly backward. still others
that he has forward body lean.
Some say he lands heel first on the
ground; others that he lands on the
ball of his foot; others that he runs
fiat-footed.
All of Them Are Right.
And all of them are right as far
as they go, for Paavo does all OF
those things in the course of a race
the particular thing depending on
what he sets himself to accomplish.
He adopts the forward lean of the
body and lands on the balls of his
feet at the start of the race; assumes
an upright stance as the race con-
tinues and lands almost fat-footed
or on his heels as the race progresses
and in the final burst for the tape
his body inclines slightly backward
In short Paavo runs with his legs
and allows his body to conform to
Its natural inclination.
The majority of his rivals, by ac-
cepting the forward lean OF the torso,
driving the arms and landing on the
balls of the feet, call upon all sec
tions of the anatomy to aid them at
the task. In theory, the American
idea seems the sounder, but in
practice-with Paavo Nurmi doing