Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-03-17

ment but did his preliminary train
ing at Dartmouth college.
While specializing in the vault,
Hoff has developed his aptitude Tor
other events to an unusual degree,
so much so that prior to the Olym-
pic Games of 1924 at Paris, Lawson
Robertson, head coach of the Ameri
can team, classified the Norwegian
as the greatest all-around athlete
in the world
Robertson delivered this verdict
prior to Osborn's victory in tha
Olympic decathlon, emblematic Of
the worlds all-around title. Hoff
was unable to compete in that event
because of a foot injury, 50 that the
relative merits of the two stars
has remained in doubt.
Hoff's performances in outdoor
competition give him a slight edge
over Osborn, based on decathlor
or ten-event comparison. But con-
ditions will be somewhat different
in seven -event indoor program
which will comprise a 60-yard dash,
60-yard hurdles, shot-pGk, pole vault
running high jump, running b~oad
jump ana 4fU-yafu run.
Hoff himself believes his duel with
Osborn will be close, with the out
come likely to hinge upon the broad
jump. Each has an outstanding
speciality in which to roll up Lig
point tbtals Hoff in the vault and
Osborn in the high jump. The Nor
wegian also comedies his rival an
advantage in the hurdles and shot
put but considers his own chances
OF victory favorable in the dash
and quarter-mile run.
The following table records the
best outdoor marks of Hoff and
Osborn in the regular decathlon
events:
One hundred dash, Hoff, II
minutes $40 seconds; Osborn, II
minutes 2-1O seconds.
Four hundred-m run, Hoff, AS
minutes, $40 seconds; Osborn, 50
minutes, 9-10 seconds.
Fifteen hundred-meter run, Hoff
4 minutes, Is seconds; Osborn,
minutes 40 seconds.
Broad Jump, Hoff "a feet. 6 inches
Osborn, 23 feet, 10 inches.
High jump, EIoff, feet 10 inches
OoOOtli, " LSCI, o III Ai1NllSSs
Pole vault, Hoff, 13 feet, IL 1916
inches; Osborn, IL feet inches
Shot-put, Hcff, 43 feet, 4 inches;
Osborn, 40 feet, 1-2 inches.
Discus throw, Hoff, 1873 feet,
inches; Osborn 129 feet.
Javelin throw, Hoff, 100 feet; Os-
born, 10 feet.
Hundred ten-meter. hurdles, Hoff
16 minutes, 2-1O seconds; Osborn, Is
minutes, $40 seconds.
The foot injury which kept Hoff
out of his favorite event, the pole
vault in the 1924 Olympic deprived
him of the chance to reach one of
his greatest goals. But the slim
Norwegian is determined to gain the
distinction of worlds champion, as
we'll as worlds recordholder, in
the 1928 games at Amsterdam, Hol-
land
Hoff expects to figure prominently
in the renewed effort which the
Scandinavian nations of Finland,
Sweden and Norway will make to
rival the United States for track
and field honors.
The poIe-vault king, has set his
heart on triumphing over the worlds
best in the decathlon as we'll as
his favorite speciality. He was
primed for these contests two years
ago only to sustain an accident
barely two weeks before the Paris
games.
1t was while practicing in the
vault that he knocked off the bar,
then landed on it with his foot,
injuring the heel. He recovered suf-
to enter the S0o-meter
Olympic race, in which he reached
the final, but was forced to sit
on the side-lines while American
stars triumphed III his chosen events |
Harold Osborn king the decathlon |
while two Pacific Coast youths
Glenn Graham and Lee Barnes, tied |
for first place in the pole vault |
at a height of 12 feet, ii is inches, |
more than a foot below the present |
worlds record held by the Nor
wegian.
Hoff expects Finland to be Amer
icas strongest rival in the next
Olympics particularly if Paavo
Nurmi and his fello wdistance stars