Athletics of To-Day for Women

CHAPTER T • 400 METRE TO I,OOO METRES AT its Fourth Congr ss held in Gothenburg in August, Ig26, the F. . .I. d ided upon the adoption and u e of the metric system only, and th limination of dist nee b tween 200 and Boo 1netr s. The r ason for the ec nd deci ion is om what obscure, but its ffect is very plain since Great ritain is now almost the only country that has any quarter mile girl runners. In B lgium and France the 300 metre , approximat ly 328 yard , found favour for a long time, Mlle. Van Truyen making a Belgian record of 4 ~· secs., whil in France Mll . D roze returned 47~ s The Polish intermedi t di tance is 500 m tr (about 547 yar ), whi h \V. rajkowska h cov r d in I min. 24g e s., whil r cord hav b n stabli hed for 400 m tr (437 ~ y rd ) in atvia, J. hmisowska ( ictur 8 ), 4l s s. ; Esth nia, . T it lb urn (Pictur I55), I~ s c . ; and Bulgaria, t . orgieva, I min. I7 ~ c . Th e r go d records, but ther is not one of th m that can b ompar d \ ith the amazing times of th ritish girl , who em to have a positive g nius forth 440 yard di tanc , and to glory in con- qu st in th hard t r ce of all. ev n English quarter mil champion hips hav b n d cided. Mary Lines ( ictur 3 ) won th first in 62~ cs.; the slow st tiro was 65~ s c ., wh n V ra Palm r ( ictur I ) r cord d her first of thr wins, b ating 2 . in th th r two, whil th champion hip, riti h and w rld's r cord f 5 1 s . was mad in I 2 by Mi s M. E. King. Mi s A. t n ( icture 7), who w def at d by th bar st inch , al ob t v n time. I doubt if any running f at gr ater than that f these two ngli h girl h s ev r b n hie d by a woman runn r. And I rem mb r 139