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Olympic Track Finals Start Today Over 125 Athletes To Vie for Berths Seventeen Events Scheduled During Two-Day Competition In Coliseum at Los Angeles By HENRY RIEGER United Press Sports Writer LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 26. — Americas track elite shoot the works in a two-day bid for berths on Uncle Sams 1952 Olympic team here tomorrow and Saturday in a meet culminating four long years of preparation and anticipation — the U. S. Olympic finals. Uncle Sams exclusive invitations for the 1952 Olympiad in Helsinki late next month go to those fortunate few who finish among the first three in each of the 17 final events. Consequently, the competition is keen. • With the risky hammer throw opening the meet tomorrow in massive Memorial Coliseum, eight finals are on the Friday schedule. Nine finals make up Saturdays show, with a second day crowd of 30,000 expected to file into the site of the 1932 Olympics. The field of more than 125 is the prime crop from three qualifying events — the AAU, NCAA and All-Service championships. It is a field of proven veterans and promising young prospects • and includes three 1948 Olympic champs. Heading the list of 1948 kingpins is Mai Whitfield, who will seek an Olympic double this year in the 800 and 400. He is slated to tangle with Occidentals Johnny Barnes in the metric half-mile final in tomorrows feature. Rematch of 1951 Race It is a long-awaited rematch of a 1951 race which saw Barnes hand Whitfield his only defeat of the past two years at the longer distance, but lose out to the lanky former Ohio State star on a disqualification. One 1948 champion of the London games, Wilbur "Moose" Thompson, is given little chance of making the U. S. team in the shot put — one of tomorrows four field finals. He is fifth or sixth choice behind favored world record holder Jim Puchs and collegiate and AAU champion Parry OBrien, and others. And the third Olympic defender, Harrison "Bones" Dillard, wont compete in the event in which he won his games title — the 100 meters. Instead he is favored in his specialty, the 110 meter high hurdles — an event he failed in during the 1948 U. S. Olympic finals when he hit a barrier midway in the race and fell. Fortunately for "Bones," he also had qualified in the 100 and easily made the American team to go on and win the London race in the good time of 10.3 seconds. Typical of the younger finds in the two-day meet is Wes Santee, the beanpole from the Kansas plains and one of Americas best distance prospects, who probably will confine his activities to walking off with the 5,000 meter final tomorrow. He is also qualified for the 1,500 meters but his Kansas coach thinks it would be unfair for Wes to also run in the Saturday event, and-thus, if he placed, deprive another athlete of the trip to Helsinki. Other track finals tomorrow include the 400 meter hurdles, with American champion Charley Moore the choice and the 100-meters pitting injured Jim Golliday of Northwestern against the field. In the Friday field finals Sam Felton, Cliff Blair and Tom Bane are a toss-up in the hammer throw, Cy Young and Little Bill Miller are favored in the javelin, while UCLAs George Brown goes after his forty-second consecutive victory in the broad jump. Those who make the grade here tomorrow and Saturday will depart from New York for Helsinki July 7 aboard chartered planes, following a weeks training at Princeton, N. J. t MAL WHITFIELD— Former Ohio State athlete is among the galaxy of track stars seeking berths on the U.S. Olympic team in the two-day finals which get under way in Los Angeles this morning.
