ATHLETICS.

Ted Meredith, considered by many the greatest middle-distance runner of all time, will hang up his spiked ehoc3 for good and all after the national track and field championships of the A.A.U., which are to be held in St. Louis on and 8. Lawson Robertson, coach of the University of Pennsylvania, who was engaged largely through Meredith's instrumentality, is the authority for this announcement of the Quaker trier's forthcoming retirement.

In the spring of 1312 Meredith first came into prominence by astonishing the athletic world by running a fast quarter-mile at the University of Pennsylvania relay games as a member of the Mercereburg Academy one mile relay team. Less than three months later he won thfe Olympic SOOmetre championship, and raced on the 880 yards, setting a world's record of lmin 52_3ec.

In the fall of 1912 he entered the University of Pennsylvania, and, becoming eligible to represent the Red and Blue the following year, has been the most conspicuous athlete on the American cinder path. His career as a college champion culminated last spring, when he set a world's half-mile record of linin 52 1-oeec. in a dual meet with Cornell, and made a new world's mark of 47 2-osec for the quarter-mile.

"He feels that it is time he settled down to hard work." said Robertson, in talking about Mcredith'B retirement recently. "But before he quits for «ood he wante to regain his national quartermile title, which he lost last fall, when he was defeated by Tom Hatpin. To beat Halpin and regain his- lost honours are the incentives which are driving him to train as he never trained before, lie will race at intervals during the indoor season, * rest for awhile in the early spring. and then settle down to hard work again in the early summer, and keep it up until the championship comes around. He has limited hie smoking, and is taking wonderful care of himself."

An issue of the New York "World," just to hand, gives details of America's latest athletic wonder. This is Robert Simpson, a Missouri youth, who until April, 1915. was unknown on the track. On a Saturday afternoon late in the month there was entered in the special 120 yards hurdle race at the University of Pennsylvania relay carnival on Franklin Field, Philadelphia, a youthful giant whose name appeared on the programme simply as J. Simpson, University of Missouri." He was defeated, but it was by no less a person than Fred. Kelly, of the University of California, the Olympic champion, and holder of the world's record of 15s. Kelly's time was 15 3-5s for the turf course, nnd Simpson was only a few inches behind him. Tims began the athletic career of Simpson, who to-day is the holder of the world's record of 14 3-6s for the 120 yards high hurdles, a standard event for which the record for ycare and years was never under 15s. In every way he is a wonderful athlete. He runs the hundred in even time, is close to the record for the furlong, and is good for 50e in the quarter-mile. He has jumped 23ft fljin. and has cleaTed sft 9J in in the high jump. He throws the discus 130 ft and over, and pute the 161b shot close to 40ft. Simpson is in his twenty-fourth year. He was born in Carroll County, Mo., in 1893, and lived the life of a farmer boy until he went to high school in 1911.

"The World," N.Y., states: "Joic W. Ray and Ivan A. Myers have been insured by the Illinois Athletic Club for lO.OOOdols each against injury on their trip to Boston, where they will compete in the games in that city on February 3. Ray is folder of the indoor record at one and a half miles, and also is the national two and five mile champion. Myers is the national one mile champion and Western College Conference record holder for the distance."