oviet women
ot favorites

Ny

At the last Olympics the
irst three placings were oc-
upied by the United States,
the USSR and Hungary, the
ast-mentioned moving up
rom fourth place to third on
verall count; Sweden, which
as second in 1948, dropping
oO fourth place in 1952.

Eighteen events are to be
ecided, the king-pin of the
8 being athletics, which has
lways had the most glamor
urrounding it, besides having
nine days devoted to it.

If the Americans deplore
the almost accepted system
of evaluating of points 7, 5,
4, 3, 2 and 1 for places from
first to sixth they are mere-
ly hoist with their own
petard.

Since 1896, when American
thletic supremacy was never

seriously challenged, they
ere as happy as sandboys to
parade to the rest of the world
OW premier were their ath-
etes, And now things don’t
ook so hot for them.

It is an extremely rash thing
to do to forecast winners, but
ne thing is certain, and that is
hat for the first time since

| The thrill of the Games will soon be on us. Once more
he glorious concept of the founder of the modern Olympic
ames, Baron de Coubertin of Paris, will be blazoned to
the world: “The important thing is in taking part; it is
he struggle that counts more than the prize.”

the modern Olympics were in-
itiated, the- Americans are go-
ing to have the half-Nelson
they had on athletics these
many Olympics prised open.

The quality of athletes of-
fering today in Europe, and I
include England with Europe,
is superlative. America will be
fighting tooth and nail to re-
tain premier position in events
that have passed into their
keeping — with the added
weight of the USSR on Euro-
pe’s side.

Here and now I can state
that the Americans will win
both sprints, they have a. wel-
ter of sprinters unequalled by
the rest of the world; also the
broad jump, the short relay,
the shot put, and the _ short
hurdles.

After that there is going to.

be razor-edged competition for

the remaining events — and
there are 23 events in all (for
men).

In 1952 Americans won
14 out of 23 gold medals. To
my way of thinking this
time they are certain of six.
They still have to collar an-
other eight gold medals to

HS

* Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn of an earlier era in sports;
lit the traditional fire to inaugurate the fifteenth Olympiad

t Helsinki, He is shown standing beside the flaming stand.

*

*& 1956 Olympic Games preview *

a

Se ast

Poetry in motion describes the running style of Australia’s great John Landy, who pro-

duced the fastest mile ever run by man — 3.58 at Turku, Finland in 1954 — and is favored
to win a gold medal at Melbourne. Landy may retire after the Olympics. Roger Bannister, who
beat Landy at the British Empire Games, predicts a 3.50 mile in the near future.

break even with their 1952
record, a really very tough
assignment,

In 1952 the USSR won two
gold medals for athletics, and
that by their women athletes.

Bear in mind America’s
wonder boy athlete Bob Math-
ias’ statement (he won the
Decathlon championship in
1948 and 1952, the first at the
tender age of 18): ‘“‘The Soviet
Union very well could win the
1956 Games at Melbourne.
They came close to it in Hel-
sinki. They piled up points
at gymnastics, women’s track
and field, and a few seconds
and thirds among the men
(track and field). If they win
two or three gold medals in
men’s track and field they will
beat us. The way the Russians
have been cleaning up these
past three years in Europe
shows ‘how they have improv-
ed.”

I think I could rightly say
that the USSR should ac-
count for at least six gold
medals (men and women).
What a galaxy of superlative
stars Europe has to offer in
addition to Soviet athletes!

Iharos, Tabori (Hungary),
Chromic, Sidlow (Poland),
Hewson, Chataway (England),

Kutz, Lituev (USSR), Zato-
pek, Jiri (Czechoslovakia),
Bengtsen (Sweden), Nielson

(Denmark) are only a few na-
mes that spring to my mind
that have become household
words in the world of sport.
And there are lots more Eur-
opeans of like calibre who are
going to make the Americans
wish they could turn back the
clock.

Why will the socialist coun-
tries place high in the Games?
A very pertinent question,
and one which could be easily
answered. We read that non-
Communist countries were to
prune their teams for the Ga-
mes to a minimum. Sweden
has placed qualifying times
that are little short of world
records, 46 seconds for the 400
metres alone. Only one man
in Europe has done that since
1939, Ignatiev (of the USSR).
We have been told that a full
team from the USSR and the
New Democracies can be con-
fidently expected to go to
Melbourne.

It is no use sneering at these

countries which have the who-
lehearted financial support of
their governments. While
these sneers are reversed for
the USSR and the New De-
mocracies we have the spec-
tacle of the governments of
Brazil and France accepting
the responsibility of their
teams’expenses for the Games.
The English AAA has for
years been striving to get the
government to accept the idea
of a Ministry of Sport.

For the last half century we
have peddled the very credit-
able principle to other coun-
tries that amateur athletes
make better citizens and, if
necessary, better soldiers. Now
because the USSR has accept-
ed the principle and has adopt-
ed mass athletics on a scale
never visualised before, at a

Cigar - smoking, beer -

drinking Chris Chataway
of England has cracked the
four minute barrier and is
also a threat at longer dis-
tances. Cheerful Chataway is
always a favorite with the
crowds.

_ athletic
‘the Russians at the last Euro-

government level, we sneer
at that country. Why not take
a good look at the beam in
our eyes before seeing the
mote in others’?

Some time ago an English
official, after seeing

pean Games, digmally made
the observation that the West
could not hope to compete
with the USSR and the New
Democracies because they
have no money worries, which
meant that they could employ
(where necessary) the top
coaches and, better still, train
their own boys and girls to
make an attractive career as
such.

How much our boys and
girls need these full-time
top-class coaches! At every
level Soviet citizens are en-
couraged in athletics of ev-
ery form.

So these Russians are pro-
fessionals?” And that goes for
their “satellites”, the New De-
mocracies. é

Avery Brundage posed these
questions to top-line athletic
officials, Romanov and An-
drianov, in his 1954 visit to
the USSR. And remember
Brundage’s official position,
president of the International
Olympic Association! He was
answered that no athlete is
sent for more than 14 days to
a sports camp, which is entire-
ly in line with Olympic rules.

When the Russians came
back with the “scholarships”
at American universities it
appeared to Brundage that
it would not rebound to
American credit to pursue
the question of “profession-
alism”’. :

At the last meeting of the
IAAF in Sweden the question
of payment for broken time
was moved and was lost by 71
votes to 70. Very, very close.
And when this question is
moved again (as moved it
must be) it must certainly be
won. So much for Simon-pure
athletics. So there you have
it.

In the words of Vladimir
Kutz, ace distance runner
of the USSR, that “when the
Russian athletes compete at
Melbourne it will be in the
spirit of true sportsmanship
and not to prove whose ideo-
logies are superior.’

July 6, 1956 —PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 15