He started chasing butterflies

Aussies look to Landy

to capture Olympic

mile

MELBOURNE

It is only a few years ago, on December 13, 1952, to be exact, that a slim, young
runner made the world of athletics sit up and take notice. Running with a delightfully easy
action, John Landy had just returned a time for the mile of 4 minutes 2.1 seconds (4:02.2
officially, as only fifths parts of a second are internationally recognised).

This particular race was re-

markable in another respect too.
In it another future world record
holder received his baptism in
top-grade competition, a lad
named Dave Stephens, who re-
turned a personal best time. of
4:20 at his first start in such
company.

As far as John Landy was con-
cerned, this was only the begin-
ning of the real thing.

Scoffers in the U.S. and other
places were soon at work, casting
all kinds of doubts, so John came
back at them three weeks later
with a 4:02.8 result, another time
nobody had surpassed since the
Hagg era.

A little later, at the national

John Landy, holder of the world’s record for the mile,

championships in Perth, in op-
pressive heat, he returned 4:04.2
and the doubters’ chorus ceased.

The succession of further
mile times around 4.02 in Aus-
tralia, the world record of 3.58
at Turku, Finland, and his nar-
row defeat to Roger Bannister
in another. sub-4 minute mile
in 1954, as well as his “come-
back” early this year with yet
another below - four - minutes
time are athletic history.

Just like other record breakers
before him, John’s success was no
accident but the result of hard
work and determination.

* * *

John’s beginnings in athletics

were ordinary enough. A good

is shown taking a workout with a couple of Australian
youngsters at Olympic Park in Melbourne in preparation: for
the Olympic Games in November.

UBC sets sights on
Melbourne Olympics

UBC rowing crew, getting in
shape for the trials at St. Cather-
ines in July, have set their sights
on the Olympics in Melbourne
next November.

When the Canadian Association
ef Amateur Oarsmen finally de-
cided to hold eight-oared trials
for the Olympics, Frank Read and
his “Cinderella crew” let out
whoops of joy.

The UBC boys won the British
Empire.Games and just missed
for the Grand Challenge Cup at
Henley last year.

The present crew has five dif-

s

ferent men, but proved themselves
an even better aggregation by
decisively whipping University of
Washington by eight lengths re-
cently.

Public pressure helped the
brass decide to give the rowers
a chance.

Everyone knows that our Olym-
pic basketball team hasn’t a
ghost of a chance at Melbourne,
yet they'll be going. The UBC
lads might win a medal for Can-
ada, but until the people spoke up
Canadian Olympic Association
bigwigs frowned on the idea of
sending an eight-oared crew.

all-round sportsman at his school,
Geelong Grammar, with a pas-
sion for chasing butterflies as
part of his study of entomology
and his future career in agri-
cultural science as a teacher.
He won the Victorian Public
Schools mile in a moderate 4:43.8,
and later went up to the country
agricultural college of Dookie.

turned to Melbourne University
to continue ‘this studies, he again
entered athletics to get his mile
time down just below 4:20 by
the end of the season.

The summer preceding the
Olympic Games in 1952, John im-
proved a further ten seconds, al-
most invariably “chasing” home
clubmate and national champion
Don Macmillan.

John was selected for Helsinki
in the 1,500 metres’ and in the
5,000 metres, but only just.

Although he did not yet get
past the early rounds, he watched,
learned, and returned determined
to win through.

Day after day, week after
week, John. reeled. off. mile
after mile in training, having
by now reluctantly discarded
his first love, football, Aus-
tralian style.

Back he came to the track in
the 1952-53 season, where’ this
story started, and he looked a
different Landy. | :

His action, although it had
been smooth before, was now
even smoother.

The arms, which had previous-
ly barely moved, now were car-
ried through high and vigorously,
the legs strode shorter and faster.

Untiringly John had worked
through all these months to over-
come his faults while doing his
alternate slow and fast 600 yards,
and he neared his goal.

After the season was over, the
constant battle continued, al-
though often he wondered
whether the grind was worth
while.

Season 1953-54 saw John again
at the 4:02 mark, but runners*in
other countries were learning too
and making rapid strides forward.

In May 1955 Roger Bannister
finally . shattered the four-
minute mile barrier. ;
Then came the invitation from
Finland, and finally John decided
to take it. :

He gained not only world
records for the 1,500 meters .and
the mile at Turku but also more
valuable experience and under-
standing in the problems of train-
ing methods.

By now, John had to concen-
trate on his career as a teacher

petition for a year. t

It gave him time to work
things out in peace and quiet, al-
though he never had been above
discussing everything with his
fellow athletes. He kept fit run-
ning in the mountains of the
Australian Alps.

When he returned to the

an improved runner again and
proved it by coming within an
ace of beating 880 yards world
record holder Lon Spurrier, of
the U.S., and breaking the four
minutes on Australian soil.

Now he has company among his
mates right to the finish of his
races, athletes like the improv-
ing Lincoln, and» the brilliant
junior miler Ron Clarke.

John has blazed the trail, but
he is no longer alone.

Early in 1951, when he re-|’

throughout

and he decided to rest from com-

track early this year he looked *

Nine-year-old, 78-pound Ab ‘Ho man (above) Was chosen

as an all-star Little Toronto Hockey League defenseman a

few weeks ago — and then the fun began. Ab turned out to

be a girl, Abigail, and her triumph has sparked a move to

. organize an all-girl hockey league next year. About 40 girls
have already shown up for tryouts‘and the league chairman has — _

the names of more than 100 girls who want to play league

hockey. {

Gert Whyte s

oe the puek isn’t allow-
®ed in Canadian hockey —

but Russja scored its first goal

against nada at Cortina on a
pass. from’ a Soviet player’s
skate.

No Canadian paper, to my
knowledge, reported the inci-
dent. My authority is Vsevolod

Bobrov, captain of the Soviet’

Olympic team, who has just
written his review of the big
game.

Says Bubrov, in part:

“Both teams took the ice with
their best ‘lineups. From the
face-off the Canadians went
over to the attack. They tried
hard to break our defenses
down; to paralyse us by the
very power of their game.

“But our defenses held
the first period.
After the match, the Canadian
coach remarked, ‘Had we been
the first to score, there might
have been a different outcome.’

“This is quite possible. I will
not argue. But we just did not
give our opponents a chance to
score.

_“Our defense withstood the
onslaught, with goaltender
Puchkov giving a faultless dis-
play. :

“We opened the scoring in the
seventh minute of the second
period, following a fine piece
of work by Kuzin. . ©

“He lost his stick, but show-
ing wonderful judgment passed
the puck to Krylov — with his
skate.

“Krylov drove it home power-
fully.”

x a *

Dates have been set for the
1956 horse racing season, which
opens May 18 at Exhibition Park
and closes October 1 at San-
down Park, Sydney.

Ex-Park has 36 days, Lans-
downe also gets 36 days and
Sandown gets the last 14 days,
September 15 to October 1.

* * *

Baseball fans have bought less
than $40,000 worth of tickets to
see Vancouver Mounties play
this year.

Lower mainland ticket out-

MARCH 30, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 30.

-SPORTLIGHT

lets will be opened April 2 and
figures will have to jump if
Mounties expect to keep out of
the red their first season here-
* *iteak
The Juan de Fuca $15,000
swim scheduled for July oF
August should be a dandy if
Cliff Lumsdon, winner of last
year’s Canadian National Ex-
hibition marathon, agrees to
meet logger Bert Thomas, only
conqueror of the strait, on 4
winner-take-all basis.

Only snag is that Lumsdon
is determined to take part in a
26-mile championship swim at
Atlantic City in July, and won’t
tackle Juan de Fuca unless there
is a gap of two weeks or more
between the big swims.

If Lumsdon and Thomas clash,

I favor the Toronto splasher
over the Tacoma star.

Regarded as a sure gold

medal winner for the U. 5:
at the Olympics at Melbourn®
this fall is Parry O’Brien (above)
who has broken every worl
shotput record, indoor and out-
door, in the past month,