The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-07-23

f That criticism is that the Olym-
 pic games result in discord, rather than friendship; in, squabbles, rather than sportsmanship. It is a criticism, have noticed, that al- most invariably is uttered or writ ten by men who never have drawn on spiked running shoe; by men who know nothing of the tense- ness and the emotional strain that tighten the athletes heart as he goes to the mark for an Olympic tnal. felt-every Olympic final ist feels-that a nations destiny hangs on the race.
 Customs Different
 The man who never has been through that fire comes away to emphasize the occasional hareup The man who has run the race emerges with a new respect for the rival he has faced on the starting line and fought down the stretch to the tape.
 His language, his customs, his political ideas, may be different. But those trivial differences disap- pear the instant the gun barks. Then you find that the fundamen- tai idea of fair play is interna- tionaI. There would be fewer cyn- ics criticizing the Olympic games it the criticism were restricted to men who have been through the testing. l have been through that testing aHd I know.
  Much Loose Talk An incident in which I figured during the London Olympics of 1908 provides an illustration. There had been much loose talk of the tenseness supposed to mark the American and British rela- tions.
 An English star, Harold Wilson, had been the favorite to win the 150O meters. He had placed second and I had been fortunate enough Ito win a desperately fought race. Several days later came the final of the 800 meters in which had been installed as the outstanding favorite. l had won both the American and Canadian half mile with performances which made it oPpCoL AlhCiy No0iu AloI oAly WLh the Olympics 800 meters but also better the British 8S0-yard record if given the opportunity.
 Without suggestion on my part or that of the American team managers, the Englishmen who were taking a leading part in the direction of the games made plans for me to try for their half-mile record as well as for the Olympic title. At the 88O-yard mark, about five yards beyond the 800 meters finish, they erected tape and sta toned three English timers. I won the 800 meters for a new Olympic record of 1852 4-5, displacing the old mark of 1856, and then ran through to the half-mile post in 1:54, creating a new British am-l ateur record in an event of which the English had been especially proud.
 I prized that British record al- most equally with the Olympic title, chiefly because it was evidence of the good feeling of the English who had made it possible. What An Incident I recall the incident at Antwerp in 1920 when Bevil Rudd, great British middle e-distancer, happened to bump Lieutenant Don Scott of the American team on turn. Rudd turned for the fraction of a second that it took him to say Beg pardon, Scott" and thereby very likely cost himself the 800- meter title.
 can recall also the threatened fare-up that followed the Doran- do-Johnny Hayes incident in the marathon at London in 1908. can recall other incidents, none of great importance, which were em- phasized out of proportion by crit ics of the Olympics.
 In my mind, these incidents have proved that highly-trained athletes | brought together after months of momentarily is the one great thing in their lives, are only human. A complacent athlete, an athlete who lacks tenseness when the big test comes, is not a well-trained ath- lete. | Our Ambassadors Abroad | recall also remark made to some of us by President Theodore l Roosevelt when he received the American team at his Oyster Bay
 home on our return.
 You have been our ambassa- dors abroad" he said. You have | been under tremendous strain for a few weeks. You have repre- sented us ,well. You were greeted as heroes the other day as you
 landed. That is bully. Go on be-
 ing heroes for 10 days more. You have earned it. Then forget you are athletic heroes and settle down
 into your less exciting life that counts in it's day-by day accom- |plishments."
 Some of us perhaps found it a little hard to follow that advice at
 the time. But now, "A years later.
 I can tell the members of the new
 American team that it was excel
 lent advice.