Evening star., 1948-02-03
ing af Sports SwedenSweeps Into Oympcs Lead U.S. ShutOut
Americans Victorious
At Hockey, but Fail 10
Gain in Standings
By the Assoeioted Press

IVoIH iii SIolIuIHyS
BY the Assoeioisd Press
ST. NORTH, Switzerland, Feb.
I3.-Sweden swept far ahead in the
race for team honors in the fifth
winter Olympics today with al
double e-barreled triumph in the 40
kilometer (25 mile) ski relay and
the 10000 meter (64 -n1ile) speed
Iskating.
The United States failed to gar
ner a point, although its hockey
Iteam-the Amateur Hockey Associ-
Iation squad-defeated Sweden, to
IL, to remain in the title running in
the unofficial ice hockey tourna-
Iment. Americas fearless veteran
bobsledGer, Jack Heaton, Of New
Haven, Conn, moved within sight of
an Olympic crown.
As expected, pretty Barbara Ann
Scott, Canada's world champion fig
ure skater, took a lead in the COM
|pulsory figure tests with Americas
main hope - four-time National
Champion Gretchen Merrill of Bos-
ton, falling to seventh place.
Swedes Add 20 Points.
Trailing Norway when a warm
sun broke over this snowy Alpine
playground, the Swedes annexed 20
points for a total of SO in the un-
official standings figured on a 10-5-
4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places.
Norway, which has dominated past
winter Olympics and which won the
first three speed-skating races in
this one to assume an early lead, fell
back to second with 481z. America
is in sixth place with 1874.
Sweden's new Olympic champions
are:
AXE Seyffarth, who circled the
Olympic Stadium on the hard morn
ing ice in II minutes and 1858 Sec
onds to capture the gruelling 10000
meter (614-mile) speed skating
marathon.
The ski quartet Of Nils Oestens-
son, Nils Tapp, Gunnar Erikkosn
and Martin LindStrom, who set a
new Olympic record in winning the
40-kilometer ski relay in 2 hours
80 minutes and seconds.
Werket Finishes 11th.
The best America could do in the
speed skating event, which saw sew
eral contestants collapsed before
they could hit the tape, was 18th.
Johnny Werket of Minneapolis, sixth
in yesterdays $500 meter (metric
mile) race, made it in 19 minutes
A seconds.
During the last five heats-which
included three Americans, Arthur
Francis Seaman of Minneapolis,
Louis Rupprecht of st. Louis and
Richard Solem of Chicago-the ice
was SO soft the skates dug down al
most as far as the tubes in some
places.
John Cronshey of England re-
marked: This blinking ice is dan
gerous."
Second place in the long race
went to Lauri Parrkinen of Finland
in II minutes SO seconds.
Then followed: Third - Pentti
Lammio of Finland, 17:427. Fourth
-Kornel Pajor of Hungary, 17:46.6.
Fifth-Cornelius Broekman of Hol-
land, 17:54.7. Sixth-Jan Lande-
dix, Holland, 1883. |
l. U. S. Team Withdraws.
The Americans withdrew from
the skiing relay because two Of its
men-Correy Engen of Huntsville |
Utah, and Wendell Broomhan OF
Rumford, Me.-were tired after the
18-kilometer race Saturday.
In the bobsled event Heaton
turned in three fast heats down the
suicidal open ice tunnels to gain
second-place tie at the halfway
point of the Cresta run.
Heaton's accumulated time Of
minutes, 23.2 seconds, shared by
Nino Bibbia of Italy, was only two
tenths of second back Of the
leader, John Crammond, British
broker and naval officer.
They move into the final three.
heats tomorrow, with Heaton con-
ceded a good chance of successfully
defending the Olympic champion
ship he won in 1928, the last time
the event was held.
| Crammond, Heaton and Bibbia all
are riders Of some 20 years expe-
rience.
YOungster Is Challenger.
Challenging their leadership, how
ever, is comparative youngster-as
these daring sledders go-31-year-
old William johnson of Minneapo-
lis, who is with the United States
Army of Occupation in Germany.
Participating on the suicidal
Cresta run for the first time, john
son made his three heats in 2 min
utes 241 seconds.
Behind him is the 19-year-old
Montsnan, Will Martin, another
member of Uncle Sans occupation
forces, who had a halfway time of
minutes 25.2 seconds.
Richard Button, 18-year-old En-
glewood IN. j. figure skating stylist,
practically assured himself cham
pionship when he led yesterday
through the compulsory figure tests
-lldll VI GllG UlGlC COllipCGlGlOll IlCC
skating, Buttons speciality, Is on
schedule tomorrow.
Third U. S. Hockey Victory.
The AHA teams hockey victory
was the Americans third in four
starts and it kept them on the heels
of the leaders, Canada, Czechoslo-
vakia and Switzerland.
The Americans scored two goals
in the first period. Bruce Mather
of Springfield, Mass, raped in the
first counter after only 80 seconds
of play. Six minutes later Bob
Baker of Thief River Falls, Mimi,
added another on pass from Rob-
ert Boeser of Minneapolis.
All the scoring in the second
(see OLYMPICS, Page A-13)
Silver Spring, Frederick