ATHLETICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1924, Page 2

ATHLETICS.

OLYMPIC GAMES. \

IUfiTHAI.IAN A.vn N. 7.. CAm.E ASSOCIATION

PARIS, July 10. Voss took up the grievance and succeeded in getting a few inferior seats but many were disappointed. Lane (Melbourne Grammar School champion) fought every* yard against the Frenchman in the lour hundred metres heat and was beaten by two feet for second place. He did not qualify.

Bella (Smith African.) brilliantly won his heat in 19 -1-5. i lie other heat winners were the Africans Dttttstan and Oldfield. Americans, Robertson, Wilson. Taylor and Fitch; also Liddell and lititlcr.

Later in the day Norman was eliminated in the semi-final.

The superman Nurmi, appeared hi two finals in the space of half an liliui'.* lie jumped out in the final ol the fifteen hundred metres, again carry- . iug a watch.• The crowd were most amused when at the end of the second lap he threw his watch «n the grass, and sped away from bis opponents and won easily l>v ten metres. Hie Englishman, Slallard. though suffering intensely from a tightly bound injured foot, threw off the Americans challenge and finished amazingly. He faltered at the winning post and was carried off unconscious. He received an ovation lot* his heroic effort*.

Nurmi set up a further record of S7l 1-3 seconds in the five thousand metres final, liiiola it as sccotld and the Swede Wide, third. Additional points are Sweden 3D, France i,S). Switzerland 10, Hungary 71, South Africa 3, Norway *l, Canada

The Finns laughingly remarked that Finland was a dry country with no cabarets there or rich suppers. Nurmi is onlv 27 and trains himself. |„ the semi-finals for the hundred metres Betts was a dashing winner; •d so stated Dutchman, Paulman the Swiss, Imbacli. Liddell, Fitch, and Butler (Americans) filled all the places in the pole vault, the winner being a Barnes schoolboy.

THE FINNS’ SUCCESS. and their mode of LIVING. PARTS, July K). All competitors acclaim Ntirme as the world’s greatest runner. His two wins and two records, alter the hnetost spell, has been hitherto unparalleled. He is a building contractor. He runs with bis shoulders hunched up am forearms horizontal.* In the last lap of the five thousand metres he consulted his watch and set oil at a ternhti speed* and won by a yard looking round. \n outstanding feature is the success of the Finns in long distances, which thev ascribe to the lack of railways and the" necessity of walking or running between villages. Their diet is of the simplest with plenty ot milk, wholemeal bread, porridge, sitpp .es wJ.ereof, also water, is specially brought to Paris.

AMERICAN WINS HIGH JUMP. PARIS, July 10. •U the Olvmpic games, the Polo Jump final resulted : Rai nes (America) I. Graham (America) 2, Brookes (America) 3. The winning jump was 3*8(1 metres. Inn Barnes and Graham lied at first with 3.03 metres, thus equalling tin* Olympic record. Graham failed at 3.81) metres in the jump off. The Hammer Thrmviiyg final resulted:—Toiitell (America) 1. McGrath (America) 2. Xokes (Britain) 3. I fie winning throw was 273 metres. In the second heat of the 10:1 metres event, Inihaeh (tswilzerhinil) won his heat in -IS st’eniH Is. This is a world’s record.* There is much discussion regitnitng < the numerous breakdowns of the Australians. Outside experts ascribe these to training errors. The points scored at the end of _to,|yv’s events were: America 177. Finland 103. Britain -101. New Zealand 4. In the final of the Polo Championship at the Olympic Games.. Spain easily heat France by 13 to T.