Athletics of To-Day 1929

The Short Middle Distances 73 He made his debut at the Public Schools Championships of I920 and won the half mile in the moderate time of 2 mins. 6! secs. From Highgate School he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, and against Oxford won the Half Mile in I923, I924, and I925, and the One Mile in I924. He took a world's championship at the Olympic Games, I924, before he had won an English title, but made up for that later by winning the A.A.A. 440 yards and Half Mile as a double event in I927 and I928. Had he run in both the 400 and8oo metres events at Amsterdam, and there was no reason why he should not have done so, I firmly believe that he would have won both, for he was in training for the two as was proved by his A.A.A. '' double." The winning of Lowe's record Boo metres Olympic title at Amsterdam in I928 provides such a brilliant example of racing strategy and track tactics that I shall deal with the contest in detail. It must be remembered that among the ntries were 0 . Peltzer, world's half mile record holder, and his very excellent fellow German, H. Englehardt, Lloyd Hahn, U.S.A., said to have beaten Peltzer's record, Sera Martin, France, E. Byhlen, Sweden, and . Edwards, the Canadian negro, all just about reaching world's record breaking form. We knew that no representative of Great Britain, other than Lowe, would have a chance in the final and were well satisfied to find the other two ambridge Blues, W. G. Tatham and R. S. Starr, coming through to the semi-finals with him. Lowe drew a fairly soft heat and qualified for the final behind Earl Fuller, U.S.A. Tatham, drawn in the hottest heat with Hahn, Edwards, and Martin, and Starr, up against RayWatson, U.S.A., Byhlen, and Engl hardt, both did admirable work by obeying orders and making the pace a'' fizzer" from the start. In consequence, Lowe came home quietly b hind Fuller in about I min. 57 secs., but Starr pushed his field along to make Byhlen do I min. ssi secs., and Hahn had to fight hard to master Edwards, Martin, and Tatham in I min. 52f secs. That heat seemed to puzzle Hahn, and the effort took a lot of the sting out of him, for he ran stale and with poor judgment in the final the next day.