Olympic Cavalcade

CHAPTER XIII AMSTERDAM, 1928 Finns Fulfil their Earlier Promise FINLAND commenced her for~ard march to what may well be world mastery in athletics, in 1906, whenWernher J aervinen sent the Finnish Flag to the mast-head at the Intercalated Series of the Games by winning the Discus event, and whose athletes further emphasized the claims of the little Northern nation, with an estimated population of 3,5oo,ooo in 1912, when Hannes Kolehmainen made his sensational victories in Stockholm. In 1920 Koleh– mainen won the Marathon race and Nurmi commenced his own grea_t career on the track, and for the first time four Finns won field events titles which hitherto had been the preserve of the English..:speaking races. At Paris, in 1924, Paavo Nurmi had continued his tril::lmphs on the track and cross coun– try, backed up by his compatriot, Ville Ritola. Finns had also won the Javelin and Pentathlon events and Albin Stenroos the Marathon. For the first time in Olympic history the position of U.S.A. as premier athletic nation was to be severely challenged. The Games of 1928 were officially opened by Prince Hendr!k of Holland, acting for Queen Wilhelmina, who was on a visit to Norway at the time. The parade was smart and colourful and noteworthy for the fact that for the first time after the First World War the Germans and their allies of the Central Powers were allowed to take part in an international athletic meeting. There was more to it than that, for it was the first Celebration of the Games at which women athletes were represented, although they had had their part in other branches of sport in former years. The democracy of modern sport was shown not only by the manner in which H.R.H. the Prince of Wales came down from the Royal Box to con– gratulate a British runner upon his success, hut by the manner in which another Royal personage marched in the parade as a competing athlete. He was the Crown Prince Olaf of Norway, who was to sail his own boat in the 6 metre class, in which his country was victorious. · The opening ceremony was characterized by a Dutch athlete taking the Oath of Amateurism on behalf of all the competing nations. There was the usual thunder of guns and then the whirr of wings as a special arrangement for mast-heading the Olympic Flag released the doors of all the traps in which the Olympic pigeons were waiting. · Comparisons, it has been said, are odious, -but the fact remains that U.S.A., with an estimated population of 120 millions, had, in effect, to bow to little Finland, whose population was estimated at 3,)oo,ooo. 1)2