Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-18
FOR SPORTS SAKE
IDEA IS R|D|CULED
Lots of Pride and Interest
Shown in Any Noteworthy
Feat, Says BcWden.
BY ALAN GOULD,
Press Sports Editor.

TNGLAND long famous for its
% foot-racing talent, is concerned
over the nations lack of mas
sive men who throw things
about"
The reference, of course, is to the
so-called field events" the mastery OF
which has been largely confined to the
American, Scandinavian and German
talent.
I'm less than a year from now our
team Of athletes will be leaving for
Los Angeles to uphold the prestige of
Great Britain in the Olympus Games, "
writes Harold Bowden. chairman Of
the British Olympic Council, in letter
to the London Times.
1.-THE performances of the COM
petitors in these games will be watched
by the whole world. At the last
Olympic games in Amsterdam, Great
Britain scored only three firsts in the
"a mems events. Placed in order, ac-
cording to the total number Of athletes
or teams who reached the first six
places. the leading countries ranked as
follows:
United States 70, Germany 4e, Fin
land and France 81 each, Italv and
sweden 80 each, Great Britain "a. Hol-
land and Canada II each, Switzer-
land 16.
G.Do we not still secretly delude our
- selves that, though other nations
may beat us. 1t is because they
take sport too seriously, whereas We
have attained just that happy mean Of
playing for the games sake without
striving by excessive assiduity TO produce
Supermen?
Il seem to detect something of this
note running through the reports Of
the A. A. A championship meeting. in
which the writer's justtflably express
pride in the achievements OF men like
Burghley, Page, Rampling and the
others, but accept almost unprotestingly
our complete failure to jump or throw
things ss high or as far as the men Of
pther countries can.
1T IT, implied that there is something
un- English about these pursuits. II
.he discus is un-English it Is equally I'M
Hungarian and un-Austrian. The arms
that can throw a cricket ball or toss the
caber should be equally capable Of
putting the weight or throwing the ham
meJ, If properly trained Given the
right encouragement and the right or
Eanization, we should be as competent
tc produce champions in these islands
ss are the people Of Germany or France
or Finland.
incidentally our potential cham
pionS must not be spoiled by adulation
that goes to the head like wine.
Il am not suggesting that between
now anG a year hence we can breed
new champions at new events. but do
oIes5 sSlat everything possible should
lS 6cns by men of influence-and rs
pecially by those who write for the press
to form q new public opinion about
international games, both for next year
and the future"
A n Irishman won the last Olympic
n hammer throw championship, but
otherwise the British Isles offered
little opposition to the Americans and
SeandinaviRns in the field events.
The Yankees, by contrast with Eng
land, suffered IN 1923 from q lack Of
championship running talent. Ameri-
can entries won the shotput, broad
jump, high jump. pole vault and dis
Gus throw, but captured only one Fat
race, the 400 meters AS result, our
coaches since have been concentrating
on the development of runners like wy
kofi. Simpson, TOPPING. Vic williams.
Eastman and others for the campaign
TO retrieve lost foot-racing laurels in
the 1882 Olympics.