Olympic Cavalcade

154 OLYMPIC CAVALCADE Nurmi trotted along to vict9ry in his own inimitable style with Ritola, his fellow Finn, in close attendance until Nurmi chose to commence his sprint for the tape. For the 100 metres, on 30 July, America had Bob McAllister, who had be-en making -·a great come-back in sprinting, and Frank Wykoff, who, . although a newcomer to an Olympic team, had been touching world's record and was one of the_brilliant boys of th_e U.-5.A. te~m. · American sprinters have always figured prominently in the ·Olympic Games except when someone from the British Dominions has come alsmg to upset all preconceived notions. _ Thus the Empire had winners in 1908 in Reggie Wcalker, South Africa, and Bol5by Kerr, Canada. At Amsterdam, Canada was to produce a brilliant boy-athlete in 19-year– old Percy Williams, a high schooLstudent from Vancouver, B.C., who was said to have hiked his way all across Canada to take part in the Canadian Olympic trials. Great Britain had qutstanding men in the Negro medkal student, J. E. London, from British Guiana, and the vete1;an furlong-running bank clerk, W. Rangeley. · · _ _ Williams surprised the whole world by winning· both the Sprints. At the shorter distance London was 2nd, Lammers, Germany, 3rd, Wykoff 4th, and McAllister, wh9 pulled a tendon, was 6th, but I still think it was a terrible mistake not to have allowed Lgndon to run in the fu~long simply because Abrahams, having-won at the shorter distanGe at Paris, jn 1924, had fail~d at the furlong-a few days later. - At A:mst~rdam Percy Williams won th~ 200 metres also, ,and this time it :was Walt_er -Rahgeley, G;B., who was 2nd anti. tlie German,_- Hannes Kornig,-·vd. _ - -_ - "'" - Before fuat event took place, however,_America, fbr the· first time in Olympic history, liad lost the Hammer Throw to Dr:.~ Pat O'Callaghan, who was said to have learns:d the tricks of hammer throwing from John J. Flanagan, the_Irish-Arperican maf;vel of the New York Police. The 8oo m~tres Final had taken·place on· 31 July. The most canvassed winners for that event were Lloyd Hahn, U:-S.A., and SerfMartin, ofFranee. B_9th were great middle-distance runners wi~ world records t6 their credit. There was also in that race-Phi-1 Edwards, the famous Canadian Negro medical student, Byhlen, of Sweden, and Engelhard; ef Ger.many. No one thought that D.G. A. Lowe, of England, who had won at Paris.in 1924, could repeat his triumph, since the only man who had ever retained his title after the four years' s_pan of an Olympiad was Paavo Nurmi 0 and that was at w,ooo"'metres and he, or course, was a super runner; -~- - · From ilie flash of the pistol Lloyd f!ahn went straight.into ~he lead and, being the mechanical type of runner, forced the pace 'in an attempt to kill off the o'pposition. But DouglasJ.owe raced in~o 1st place rounding the fi?.al bend and dashed aoWn to victory in the Olymp.i:c reGQr_d _time of r mm.