Athletics of To-Day 1929

The Low Hurdles 1 53 At the London Olympiad in 1908 America had two well-tried athletes in H. L. Hillman, who four years earlier had taken three Olympic titles at St. Louis-400 metres fiat in 49! secs., 400 metres hurdles (below regulation height) 53 secs., and 200 metres hurdles in 24! secs. He was a short man of very sturdy build, and met his match in a tall young Irish-American, C. J. Bacon, who deprived him of his 400 metres hurdles laurels by 2 yards, in 55 secs. ; L. F. Tremeer, Great Britain, then over thirty years of age, whose sporting prowess is mentioned else– where, finishing 10 yards away, and L. A. Burton, Great Britain, giving up in the straight. In 1920 F. F. Loomis, U.S.A., brought the world's and Olympic record down to 54 secs., and in that same race Georges Andn~, France, was fourth, and C. Christiemsson, Sweden, fifth. Andre deserves a special paragraph to himself. At the Olympiad of 1908 he was eighteen years of age and retained the distinction of being the youngest representative of a nation at the Games until H. A. Simmons, the Southampton School– boy High Jumper, represented Great Britain at Amsterdam twenty years later. In 1908 Andn~, who stood 6 ft. and was well built in proportion, won the French 110 metres Hurdles in 15-t secs., but was selected to repr sent his country only in the Olympic High Jump. In that ev nt he ti d for second place with Con Leahy, Gr at Britain, and . Somody, Hungary, at 6ft. 2 ins., H. F. Porter, U.S.A., winning at 6ft. 3 ins. At Stockholm, 1912, where there was no Low Hurdles race, he competed in the 110 metres High Hurdles and won a heat in 16! secs., but did not get through to the semi-finals. Then came the Vvar, and he fought all through it. In 1919 he made a French record of 25f secs. for 200 metres Low Hurdles; in August, 1920, he ran fourth in the Olympic race in which world's record was broken, and later in the same month set the French record for 400 metr s Hurdles at 55! s CS. lory enough, one would have said, and yet at the Paris Olympiad, 1924, at thirty-five years of age an as the senior athlete competing, he took the Olympic oath of amat urism on behalf of all contestants. In competition he finished again fourth in