Athletics of To-Day 1929

The High Jump Sweeney, of Irish extraction, and Ryan, were followed by the Leahys, another great Irish family. . ]. Leahy eclipsed Byrd-Page's twenty-one years old British record by jumping 6 ft. 4! ins. at Mill Street, Dublin. He, and his brother Con, who came after him, were tall, dark, cadaverous individuals who laid out quite fiat above the bar and parallel to it whe~ going over, much as do the "Western Rollers" of to-day. Con enjoyed an even greater career than his brother, for he was almost always safe for 6 ft. or an inch better. He won the world's championship at the intercalated Olympiad at Athens, rgo6, and tied for second place with Dr. Somody, Hungary, and Georges Andre, France, at 6ft. 2 ins., when H .F. Porter, U.S.A., won the Olympic high jump in rgo8 at 6ft. 3 ins. Dr. Somody, incidentally, was a fine natural jumper without a single gymnastic twist in his evolutions. Of the phenomenal career of Andre I have written in hapter XI. In rgro we saw the first of B. Howard Baker (Nos. I and 5, late 27) in England and Tim Carrell in Ireland. Tim was a medium-sized, sturdily-built fellow, with a perfect oriflamme of a blazing red head and fiery blue yes. The sight of him in competition with B. Howard Bak r would always d light a tamford Bridge crowd, than which ther is none more critical. Tim, yes and mouth set, body bent forward from the hips and pitch d right up on his to s, arms str tch d down stiff as two pokers with hands on a lev 1 with hi kne s, and ere ping towards the bar from straight in front, for all th world like a cat tall ing a bird, made a picture. Th n cam three or four quick strid , a spring, and the sudd n weeney twist over the lath. About ak r ther was nothing" dour," and I don't think I ev r saw him jump without a smile on his fac , but h was tremend usly determin d. To see Baker tart on the slant and come bounding at the bar in a series of long 1 ap from one gr at lt cee-spring" 1 g to the other was a joy in its If. ut when h won hi first English hampion hip in rgro at 5 ft. 8~ ins. he wa ntir ly without form, and in the next year was beat n at 6ft. by the German,