Final Preparations For The Olympic Games

Chronicle (Levin), 3 July 1948, Page 5

Final Preparations For The Olympic Games

(N.Z.P.A.-

— — 7 -Reuter,

Copyright)

Received Friday, 8.30 p.m. LONDON, July 2. The result of the fight between Freddie Mills, British and European light-heavyweight champion, and Gus Lesnevich, world # light-heavyweight titleholder, at the White City on July 27 is regarded as an impartaiit guide to Lesnevich's prospects of eventually assuming the world lieavyweight crown renounced bj' Joe Louis. The- last meeting between Mills and Lesnevich in Britain in Alay, 1946^ is still remembered as oxxe ofi the toughest fights seen here for many years. The referee finally stopped the contest in the tenth round and . deelared Lesnevich the winner, but it is no secret that the American champion had takexi teri'ific punishment. Subsequently Lesheyic.h was beaten bv the British lieavyweight champion, Bruce Woodeock, xvho in turn defeated Mills. Mills ap peared to liave slippOd badly, for this defeat Avas followed by a trouneing at the hands of "Joe Baksi and another by the Aiperican Lloyd Marshall. At this ."ftage Mills, for many one of the fiourest fighters of the Rri- , tish ring, was practically written ofi, Imt after a periofi of rest he staged a cframatic comeback by defeating France 's forxuidable lieavyweight champion, Stephan ()lek. Those who have been watehing Mills clami that this improvement has Oeen inaintained ano that when he meets Lesnevich again the British champion will give the American the fight of his life. ' O Precautions Against Olympic Porgeries. Elaborate precautions to make the two and a quarter million admission tickqts for the Olympic Games prooi against forgery. have been taken. The tickets are printed on bankiiote papoc and show a waterhjark which the autii orities claim will make it easy to detect forgeries. The large staif working day and niglit has now alniost completed its taslc of despatching tlie tickets to applicants all over the world. Ilalf of the tiekerts have been allotted to Olympic eommittees of the 58 participatiug countries and one-sixth to" the governitig bodies of various sports in- Britain, leaving 937,500 for sale to | the general public in the ITnited Kingdom. From today these tickets will be publicly on sale.. >So far the strongest demand has been for tickets for the uthletic, swimming and boxing events.

Carrying Torch from Olympia. . -The Olympic torch will be kindled at the Greek village of Olympia at noon on.July 17 when the first of the 1700 runners who -will earry it in relays across Eur6pe will set out for Corin'tli and Athens. The torch will reaeh Cort'u on the 18th and be carried across tlie Adriatic to Bari in Bouthern Italy by tlie British liaval corvette Wliite sand Bay. From Bari the torch will be carried by the Italians up the Adriatic coast through Foggia, Pescai-a, Ancona to Rimini, thence to Bologna, Piacenza to Milan, and over the Simplon Pass 1 mto Hwitzerlaiul. From Laussanne it will be carried into Yugoslavia .and" thence through Luxembourg, Belgium aud France to Calais wliere it will be broughti across. the Gliannel to Dover. The torch will be carried on the last lap of the journey to Wembley by relqys of British runners passing through Canterbury, Westerliam, Guiidford and Windsor. Each runner will keep his tox'ch after kindling that of his successov. Tlie torches are made o.f aluxiiinium bearing tlie inseriptiou: I ' ' Fourteenth Glympiad 1948, with ' thanks to the bearer. " Cricket Bdom in Britain. Despitq tlie slump in tlie standard o,f English llrstclass cricket there are

many mdications that the game has never been better supported than it is. at present. Many county clubs, includ ■ • ing Yorkshire, Middlesex and Gloucestershire, liave had to close' their membersliip, and a number of others lilsp '* Glaniofganshire which faced bankruptcy before the war are now in a vevy afL'liient position. Activity among village and small country clubs. has never been more pronounced aqd most of them liave waiting lists. One postwar development is the. inereased number of ^vom'en taking an interest in cricket. Twenty -per cent. of tlie spectators at Lords during thp second test were women, and the pro,portion is much tlie same at most of thp firstclass -matehes. One of the obstacles to even greater feminine aL tendance is the spartan standards o| comfort which most. English cricket clubs offer their visitors.