World records only a byproduct ;

~

‘Secret’ of Soviet sports
lies in socialist system

By ARCHIE JOHNSTONE ,

MOSCOW

% . . a . elves

Sports experts of the big business press have recently been asking thems
in peaks ae of questions with the one recurring theme: What is behind all
this record-breaking by Soviet athletes during the past few months? These experts,
like jesting Pilate and larking gdoorbell-ringers, do not wait for an answer. In fact an

answer is the last thing they want.

experts don’t want to know about

Soviet sport. ee
I don’t say that it is all plain
Sailing. I for one, can’t go very §

far into the question before run-

hing smack up against this con- §

clusion:

centrate on piling up world re-
cords, its best plan is not to |;
concentrate on piling up world
records.
That doesn’t mean, of course,
that due attention is not paid to
the star performers here, but you.

would be surprised — as I have;

been and still am — at how little
fuss is made over them. |

For instance, at one recent
Sports meeting an “unknown” girl |
broke the world’s half-mile record, |
and a weight-lifter bettered his)
Own world record, and the pair
of them together rated only SIX
lines of type in the Moscow dailies.

On the other hand, if a player

or trainer introduces a new pass-
ing tactic in football or a new |
hold in wrestling or a new stroke
‘in rowing, that is reported at
length; but if he marries or di-
vorces or becomes the father of
twins, that, by some strange pro-
cess of reasoning, is considered
to be his own business.

The rule seems to be that sports’
hews is sports news; but don’t ask |
me how that rule would be applied
in the case, say, of two record-
holders getting married and be-
coming the parents of quints. :

The whole “secret” of Soviet
sports — a secret from nobody
but these experts of ours — is
that it is a mass, socialist activity,
aimed at increasing the athletic
standards of the people as a whole.
And even that is not an end in
itself;. it is only a means towards
an end — the highest possible
Standard of health and general
well-being of the people as a
whole.

Compare that with the old col-
lege custom of stepping down the
entrance exams in the hope that
the “end” will justify the means!

During the between-war years,
although a number of big sports
clubs were built, only the founda-
tions, so to speak, of Soviet sport
were laid. And in that period the
USSR was not a serious contender
for a leading place in world sport.

During the war, Soviet sports-
men, more especially Soviet skiers,
were “otherwise engaged”; and in
the immediate post-war years So-
viet sport did little more than
get back into its stride.

During the five years 1948-
1953 the’ total membership of
Soviet sports clubs — that is,
the total. of athletes in training

* — much more thar doubled. In
that period Soviet athletes broke

209 world records, 80 of which

still stand.

How rapidly the figures have
risen from year to year is indicat-
ed by the figure for the first six
months of this year — 45 world
records, practically all of them
still standing. So we can expect
that the full year’s crop of records
will be much more than double the|
average for the previous five years,
each of which was a “best-ever
year in its time.

- How much the Soviet Union “in-
vests” each year in sport and phy-
sical culture is difficult to state
‘because there is no sharp line be-
tween expenditure on these items

If any country wants to con- |[ a

So let us non-experts see what it is that the

Following his magnificent world-breaking 5,000 metres win
-over the Soviet champion and record holder Vladimir Kuts (above)
‘Chris Chataway told a television audience that he was sorry his
victory had “rather overshadowed” Moscow’s big win over Lon-

don.

“ft present they are a lot better than us,” said Crataway.

“That is a thing we have to put right in the next few years.”

and on other items that come un-
der the heading of public health.
In the last budget the public
health vote was 29,000 millions;
and trade unions, kolkhozes and
other bodies spend scores of mil-
lions annually on sports facilities.
New, well equipped stadiums,
sports grounds and gymnasiums
are springing up everywhere.
For example — an extréme ex-
ample, I imagine—Leningrad open-
ed 2,000 new sports centres during
the months of May and June this
year. Leningrad has at present
the biggest general stadium in the

the Lincoln-

Fisher,
shire lass who won the women’s

Brenda

English Channel race in 1951
and 1954, has challenged Mari-
lyn Bell to a channel duel next
summer for a purse of over $10,-
000. Brenda would like Florence
Chadwick and Winnie Roach to

enter the race, too.

USSR, but a bigger one will soon
be opened in Moscow.  It- will
have summer ice skating rinks as
well as the usual arenas, swimming
pools, gymnasiums, etc.

Even in the new virgin-land
projects in Siberia, there are
ample sports facilities. One
area, Kustanei, has already 26
large sports centres, 20 football
clubs and 500 volieyball clubs.

Last year Soviet teams took
part in 130 international contests,
more than half of them in foreign
countries. That total means little
in itself: what is significant is that
it was much bigger than any pre-
vious year’s total and that this
year the total will be 200 inter-
national contests, a year’s increase
of more than 50 percent.

In short, take any aspect you
choose of Soviet sport and you'll
find not only that the figures are
increasing from year to year, but
that the rate of increases itself is
increasing. 2

Maybe the “experts” from their
ringside seats in New York, Lon-
don and Paris can see something
that will stop this steady, rapid
advance; but from where I sit I
can’t see it.

So I am prepared to bet odds
on that no matter what country

may “win” the next few Olym-
pic Games, the Soviet Union will
be the country that shows the
biggest increase in its number
of victories in any “Olympiad”
period of four years; and that,
by any system of counting, the
Soviet lead in this respect will
go away beyond any argument,
even from the experts.

Any takers?

Gert Whyte v)

SPORTLIGHT

peo™ almost any angle, Detroit

Red Wings figures to wind up
the season leading the National
Hockey League. Several fearless
forecasters have already conced-
ed them the NHL title and the
Stanley Cup.

Well, here’s one guy that’s wil-
ling to buck the tide of popular
sentiment. I’m calling the Mon-
treal Canadiens to take the title
and cop the cup.

Ask me why I’m gambling on
the goaltending ability of rookie
Jacques Plante, who wa’ hoisted
up from Buffalo late last year and
blew up in the playoffs, and all I
can say is that I have a hunch. ¢

Plante allowed only 27 goals in .

17 league games. Then the pres-
sure got him and he was nicked
for 15 goals in eight playoff
games. He was yanked out and
replaced by regular goalie Gerry
McNeil.

Seems to me that Plante should
find himself this year and settle
down. Beliveau, Moore
Geoffrion will be better than last
year. Bouchard and Richard are
past their peak, but still good.

* * 2eS g

Red Wings, if they don’t finish

first, can hardly do worse than
wind up in the second slot. On
paper, in fact, thev look stronger
than ever before. Sawchuk in the
nets is as good as anything in the
NHL, while early’ games show
that the “production line” of Del-
vecchio, Howe and Lindsay is
working smoothly.

Toronto Maple Leafs got off to
a bad start, but should eatch
third spot. z

After that, I think it will be
Boston Bruins, New York Rangers
and the luckless Chicago Black
Hawks.

* * x

Arsenal’s match with the lead:
ing Soviet soccer club Moscow

Nina Otkalenko, Moscow miss
who holds two world records,
beat Britain’s great Diane Leath-
‘er in the 880-yard run at the
London-Moscow track and field
meet last week.

and ~

Spartak in Lendon hes been
changed back to Tuesday, Novem-
ber 9.

* * *

In the great London-Moscow
track and field meet point results
were 103 for the Russian men to
57 for the Londoners and 56 for
the Moscow women to 32 for the
Londoners . This was based on
five points for a win, three for a
second and one for a third.

Everyone expected the Russians
to win, but what is encouraging
in the great comeback England
has made in track and field since
the lean, rationed war period.

A week before the meet in Lon-
don, Britain beat Czechoslovakia
by 58 points to 48 in a women’s
athletic meet in Ostrava, a coal
and steel town.

Armour Milne, London Daily
Worker sports writer, had this
to say:

“The British girls finished first
and second in all of the track
events, including the hurdles.

“A notable sprint double was
gained by Jean Scrivens. Her win
over Anne Pashley at the shorter
distance was as impressive as it
was unexpected.

“The Czech champion Berdish-
ka Mullerova was no match for
Diane Leather in the 800 metres,
the Birmingham girl striding
away at the finish for an easy
win in 2 minutes 8.8 seconds, a
time that was extremely good in
the bad underfoot conditions.

“Jean Desfonges could not hold

‘Pam Séaborne in the hurdles but

won the broad jump with a good
over-19-foot effort.

“Three girls cleared 5 feet 41%
inches in the high jump, but the
first place went to the tall Czech
champion, Olga Modrachova, with
Dorothy Tyler, as in Budapest
the weekend before, again beat-
ing the European and BEG cham-
pion, Thelma Hopkins.”

* * *

The Football Association Book
for Boys, published in England
this week, contains an article by
Ferenc Puskas, captain of the
great Hungarian team, — giving
some tips on how to be a good
inside forward.

“For ‘an effective performance,
it is not sufficient to be fond of
playing,” Puskas tells his young
English readers. ~

“Adequate partners are also
needed, people who like to play
as much as we do, and know how
to do it.

“1 used to be a selfish: foot-
baller and, when | got hold of the
ball, all | thought of was getting
near the goal and having a shot.

“Today | really feel | have be-
come a team player. | am glad
only if the teamwork is good, if
the ball is passed well, and we
are continually exchanging posi-
tions.

“That doesn’t mean, of course,
that I have given up trying to
beat an opponent.

“But I now realize that feint-
ing is not an end in itself, but
should serve the interests of the
whole team.

“Feinting can help your side
gain superiority in the opponents’
half of the field, but if it is over-
done your side can lose the in-
itiative.

“In my opinion, a good inside-
left is not only an inside-left; he
should also be able to play easily
in other positions in the forward
line, and actually do so in the
course of the match.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 22, 1954 — PAGE 11