Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

THE OLYMPIC GAMES BY H. B. STALLARD THosE of us who were present at the Olympic Games at Amsterdam in 1928 came away with a feeling of pride in our British heritage. Both the victorious and the vanquished in our team showed the fine qualities of determination and doggedness in the face of odds that belong essentially to the British. Napoleon has described us as "a nation that never knows when it is beaten." Certainly one famous American coach, after the American disasters in the track events, was heard to remark, " For most of my life I have been trying to teach our American athletes that an Englishman is a darned hard fellow to beat, and they have not believed it." The march-past of athletes on the opening day was a spectacle that could not fail to thrill the most phlegmatic. From an azure sky the sun poured down on a vast stadium fashioned in grey concrete and crimson brick, on the parapets of which flew the flags of the competing nations. The red cinder track is 400 metres in circuit, and it surrounds an oval of green turf in the centre of the ground. To the music of massed bands the teams of the competing nations entered the Stadium in columns of fours, headed by their respective flag and standard bearers, and, marching past the Royal box, dipped their flag and saluted the Prince Consort of the Netherlands. The order of precedence was arranged alphabetically. Some of the Olympic uniforms ' were particularly impressive, especially those worn by the German and Dutch teams. It was interesting to compare the demeanour and physical development of the different nations. The Americans, marching with the care-free gait of the democrat, full of assurance, and apparently caring little for such ceremonies. In their ranks men of fine stature and physique– Goliaths, compared with us. The German team marched with the swing and steadiness of trained gymnasts. Amongst their numbers were some of the most beautiful figures that Nature has ever moulded. Some four or five ranks were composed of men varying from 6 ft. 2 in. to 6 ft. 7 in. in height, with broad shoulders, and magnificent limbs. Their flaxen hair and deeply bronzed complexions showed the advances of lichtkultur in Germany to-day. The German women athletes and gymnasts were also beautiful examples of magnificent health. The Italians were vivacious and demonstrative, and the Dutch resembled the Germans. The Frmch were absent from this ceremony. 102