Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-29
BY CLIFTON HARDY LEVY.

TIME greatest track and field COM
petition in the world begins to-
day. It comprises the actual
i stadium races and contests OF
the ninth Olympic Games. mod
ern series. In the huge stadium al
Amsterdam. Holland. when the formal
| ceremonies that preceded the contests
were held yesterday, the contestants,
nearly 5000 strong, swung past the re-
viewing stands. Mainly youths in the
high tide of manhood or womanhood
| with here and there a CRAVING stall
wart who mocks Father Time, they
typified as do no other modern parades
or professions the ideal OF beauty that
made ancient Greece immortal Hun
dreds on hundreds of athletes, per-
fectly developed, perfectly conditioned,
strong, confident, clear-eyed. clean of
limb-a pantheon Of the little gods of
sports
From all the major nations and ter
ritor!es of earth--some As or more
these narchers assembled, and all OF
them are the picked physical paragons
of their own peoples.
The bulk of them have been training
through months. IN some instances
through years, for this day and the
two brief weeks OF competition to fol-
low They have downed the leading
athletes of their own respective races.
They parade as champions. under the
banners of their varied homelands, as
champions who would be kings Of
champions And they strive for neither
pomp. power riches nor influence, but
for the high satisfaction that goes with
the figurative crown of wild olive. SYM
Dol Of victory since the day when their
predecessors raced, II you believe your
mythology, under the august eyes Of
the gods on Mount Olympus.
They neither heed nor care that
other Wearers of this same ephemeral
wild olive-breakers Of Olympic records
Of the past-are now forgotten back
home, their quick nerves and muscles
slowed and stiffened by years, their
lives CONSTRUCTED To little routine Jobs
because they prepared for nothing
more in their wild olive days, their
inner eyes ever turning for consolation
TO their own heyday Of youth and
championship triumph.
But they make a surprising picture.
Blond viking giants and runners from
the North, dark and swarthy strong
men from the South. Companies of
superbly muscled and poised gym
nasts, girls and boys, striding along
| IN rhythm and conscious power. un-
trammeled by clothing or convention,
with the light Of high resolve In their
young eyes; rowers. swimmers weight
| tossers. sprinters, murders. jumpers.
1.-THE hurlers Of the ancient javelin,
hnlking wreBtlers. players indeed Of a
hundred games, trekking across the
field and track, with all the glamour
OF the gladiators and the marathon
runners OF the beginning of civilized
history inevitably traditionally above
and about them.
| A host for any conqueror OF king.
| but not, 1t seems, for every queen. VIII
| helmina, ruler OF the Hollanders. re-
fused 10 review the Olympians because
she does not believe in games on sun
! day. She kept the royal children and
| the court home, too
| Cnriously enough, In view Of Wilhel-
| mina's attitude, the Olympic games
| probably had their origin in religious
observance. The earliest trace of attn
! letic competition Is found In monu-
ments Of ancient Egypt There, ac-
cording to this evidence, foot racing,
| jumping and similar exercise was assoc
ciated along with dancing In the pay
| Ing OF obeisance 70 certain deities. IL
| Is supposed, though IL cannot be proven,
that 1t was from this source that the
Greeks derived the athletic idea But
whether or no this be true. 1t Ii a fact
that the first known or automatically
recorded arecinn games were under the
patronage Of Heus. father OF the gods,
and All the athletes reyerently be8ought
| him his aid and approval before they
| stripped for action and they did strip
entirely tn the competitions Of that
| early day
stili. the Greeks had 10 have legends