Gordon Pirie Aims At Rome Olympic Titles

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29189, 27 April 1960, Page 15

Gordon Pirie Aims At Rome Olympic Titles

[This article is by SYDNEY WOODERSON, former world record-holder for the mile, halfmile and 800 metres.} Q.ORDON PIRIE, according to his German coach, Woldermar Gerschler, of Freiburg University, can win the 5000 and 10,000 metres titles for Britain at the Olympic Games in Rome this summer. For me this is encouraging news. I have always shown the greatest respect for Gerschler’s judgment and ability as a coach. For it was he who was responsible for the supreme achieve-

ments of Rudolph Harbig, the greatest of all German middledistance runners, just before the war. It was Harbig who took the world 800 metres record from me with a seemingly impossible run for those days of Imin 46.65ec in July, 1939. I well remember how at the time so many refused to believe that anyone was capable of racing the distance so fast. But Gerschler always asserted that the human body could endure almost any physical achievement—so long as the body was built strong, enough to take the strain. He steered Harbig to his triumphs on this theory, building strength and then more strength into his man. Strength Pirie became a disciple of the super strength-building cult after his first major clashes with Emil Zatopek, of Czechoslovakia, in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki where he finished fifth in the 5000 metres and seventh in the 10,000 metres—both won by Zdtopek. It was there that the Czech told him, and convinced him, that strength was essential in the make-up of a modern running champion. The ambitious Pirie straightaway forged a link with Gerschler and began to wear heavy Army boots in his training, finding the toughest hills to tackle and covering endless miles in his endeavour to build his body to make light of racing pace no matter what the speed. The fact that Gordon simply lived for his enjoyment of athletics made the strenuous training no mental hardship. He has had his share of setbacks of course —notably when he collapsed on the White City track in London one lap from the finish in the six miles championship in that dramatic A.A.A. title race with Ken Norris in 1955. And again when Vladimir Kuts, of Russia, cracked his threatening challenge in the final of the 10,000 metres on the opening day of the last Olympic Games in Melbourne four years ago.

and complete the Melbourne course In eighth position. As he staggered in I wouldn’t have given tuppence for his chances of gaining a medal from the 5000 metres. Yet so fantastic was his rate of recovery, due to his basic strength, that he not only won his heat of this event the next day, but two days later ran second to Kuts in the final, producing a time which outstripped Zatopek’s Olympic record by more than 15 seconds.

Pirie gave serious thought to quitting the track after the Melbourne Olympics, and settling down to a business career in New Zealand. But the call of the track became too much for him and now we find him back in Europe eager as ever to bid for the 5000 and 10,000 metres double in Rome. Pirie deserves all the luck in the world. To many he is something of an enigma. But only, 1 think, to people unable to understand the extent an athlete can become fanatically devoted to his sport.—Exclusive Press Features, Ltd.