The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-06
Jumper Crop
.Brightens U.S..
Hopes
Sport of Making '3-Story
Hops Gaining High
Popularity.
BY JOE KING
Times Special Writer

growing so last IN America that the
comics have stopped gagging it as
a Swedish breakfast food. Railroad
rolling stock, formerly idle over
week-ends, becomes a snow train,
and New England is threatening
Floridas popularity as a winter re-
sort.
The citizens have quit yelling at
the janitor for more heat and are
swishing over snow or throwing
themselves into space with seven
foot bedslats tied to their feet. So
far they haven't progressed much
beyond wrapping themselves around
trees and landing on their cervicai
vertebrate.
But they are getting places-the
U. S. Olympic ski team, which
showed off for Germany Saturday,
for the first time showed a majority
of Americana athletes. And it
is regarded as the best ever U. S.
squad.
The experts today are shouting
hopefully for the first place with
the present team, instead Of whisp-
ering pessimistically about tenth.
Deaths Are mot Many"
DR.. Joel H. Hildebrand, University
of California chemistry professor,
who is managing the team, says that
the improvement in ability and
numbers of Olympic candidates has
been sensational since the Placid
games in 1882. He states that Off
Gals are driving hard to develop
championship material, especially
jumpers.
AS one who has hung in dread atop
those 300foot jumping scaffolds and
shuddered every time fellow shot
into space at a mile-a -minIte clip,
I think it will be a major diplomatic
coup if the officials get their jump
ers.
You can't say to a lad: at is
very simple, this jumping. The take
off is only 80 stories high, and there
aren't many deaths in the sport"
But They Don't Mind
The jumpers, however, seem to
be more heroic or mad than their
adrniring reporter, who would rather
let Joe Louis sock him than be
scrambled over snowy landscape.
There was, for instance, that
Japanese boy, 19-year-old Goro
Adachi at the Placid Olympics.
Adachi got the bird when he fell
while skiing along the village
streets. Two weeks before the
Olympics he gyrated from the take
off into the grand stand. Goro was
reassembled and shipped to the
hospital. The spectators were flab-
bergasted when, patched in several
places, he took his turn in the COM
petition and leaped to the sixth
best jump of the day. He became
the first japanese to do ZIG feet.
Daring Youngsters.
Goro was very young and that
explains a great deal about ski
jumping. The daring young men
who float through the air with the
greatest of ease and risk are the
young skiers AS soon as the good
fellows reach Is they begin to value
their hides more and medals less
Consequently, they throw dash of
caution into their performance and
don't give all on the takeoff in that
extra push that may mean a new
record or broken neck.
Nineteen was magical age in the
Placid jumping. Two Norwegians
of that age, Burger Ruud and Hans
Beck were the top contenders, with
Ruud nosing out Beck Ruud's broth
er, Sigmund, was the favorite, but
he didn't show his accustomed form.
He was a.
There is a 19-year-old jumper on
the United States team who gets a
nod of recognition from the older
naturalized Scandinavian leapers.
He is Walter Isaac Bietila, native
of Ishpeming, Mich. That num-
Der 10 is still up, Ike, and you have
it.
Judges Have Their Troubles
The skiers aren't satisfied with
sailing as far as they can in one
piece; they also insist on pre-
scribed style in the air and grace
full landing, without fall.
There are as many ideas on this
style as there are judges. 1t is sell
dom that a winner of a ski jump is
announced before the judges have
juggled their figures 10 minutes and
cast vituperation on their associ-
ates' selections for several hours.
The Placid judges spoke four
hours in three languages, named
Beck the winner, then reversed the
decision to Euud.