OLYMPIC GAMES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3859, 28 February 1928, Page 30

OLYMPIC GAMES.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE STADIUM (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, January 10. In expressing her willingness to stage at Amsterdam the Olympic Games of 1920 Holland took on her shoulders no small task An enormous amount ol preparation was involved, especially as in 1928 for the first time after the war the Central Powers are going to participate. In 1925 (writes the Hague correspondent of The Limes) the area where the btadiun. now stands was nothing but a marshy field. After draining operations had ueen carried out not less than I.OOJ.OlX) cubic yards of sand had to be conveyed to me ground and spread over it, and in tins wa> a layer of sand about two yards high was formed over the who.e ground About 450 J [files between 14yds and 18yds lone had to be driven into the watery earth ihe Stadium which was planned by the architect J Wils, is made of reinforced conci ete, but the outside i 3 covered with :ed bricks to preserve the typica’ Dutch character of the surroundings, [t contains only 3i,900 purees, and there are some people who fear that it will be too small to meet tne world s demand for places. It is however, certain that the '•ompetitors will be satisfied, for the accommodation for the contents so far as they are concerned is fully up-to date Tne Stadium is already nearly finished, and the smaller buildings are now under construction. There is no doubt that everything will be finished in tune. Splendid accommodation for the parking of motor cars is being provided and there will be space for no fewer than -rbOO cars. Repair shops will be erected on the parking grounds HOUSING OF VISIIORS. Ihe second big problem, that of hous mg visitors, is not yet solved, and it is at the moment far from solution No one is able even aproximately to foretell how many foreign visitors will come to Holland, the estimates vary from 15,000 t< 70.000 or more In any case it will be impossible to accommodate all the visitors in Amstc-r darn. rhe majority must be distributed over the surrounding districts. A great number of small towns, such a s Harlem U.trecnt, Ihe Hague, and Scheveningen are busny preparing accommodation Ihe distances between all these places is small and even from The Hague and Scheveningen the Stadium can be reached in 50 minutes in a very comfortable electric train, stopping close to the Stadium Cheap tickets va.id for the whole duration of the Olympic contests will be issued bv the Dutch railways I'here will bo notable absentees in the football competitions (says the Morning 1 owing to the dispute caused by the unfortunate paynnent-for-broken-time policy and the consequent opening of the door to the • shaniateur.” It is also D ossible that the lawn tennis tournament may fall through altogether. Then there will be no oarsmen from Great Britain; and England where the game has a hold not to be found anywhere else in the world is not going to participate in the hockev contests. THE WORLD'S ATHLETES.

Although the outlook m these various departments is far from hopeful, there is as already intimated, the promise of a great and representative gathering of the worlds athletes. It is the intention of America to make another bid [or international supremacy; Scandinavian athletes have made wonderful progress in recent times, and Germany is likely to excel all past achievements m the Games at Amsterdam, for with athletes of the calibre of Houben and Hornig, Peltzer and Bother competing, there is more than a possibility -a likelihood of Teutonic triumphs in some of the track events

What of British prospects‘r In 1924. at t arts, it may be remembered, a British competitor took part in the final of every Hack event, and in Liddell, Lowe, and Abrahams, the Vnited Kingdom supplied the winners of three events. Judging by the performances of British athletes at Home during the past tw’o years, it is scarcely likely that we shall do so well at Amsterdam, though, of course, the unexpected sometimes happens n l ' Algahams (lOOmetres) and Eric Liddell (406 metres) are no longer to be reckoned “ m the running," and D G. A. Lowe, who won the 800 metres, mav not be able to reproduce his brilliant form of the past few years. H B Stallard now a doctor, will find little time for the intensive training essential for the Olympic athlete of to-day. and Guy Butler, another famous old Cambridge athlete, though still a great runner, can scarcely be expected to go on for ever in the top class. THREE GREAT HURDLERS Unless some "new star of greater magnitude ” appears between now and the A.A A. championship meeting, Lowe will probably be England’s first string in the 400 metres and ECO metres at Amsterdam; and the natural choice for the sprints is II 11. Hodge, the voting Polytechnic Harrier, who gained distinettion last season. But Hodge is not quite of the class of Abrahams and Liddell, though if he had more inches he might be trained into a world-beater. At the mile w e have Cyril Ellis as the chief hope, but our brightest prospects are in the hurdles events and the 5000 and 10,000 metres races. Lord Burghley. T. C Livingstone-!.earmouth, and F R’ Gaby form a trio of hurdlers ot a collective worth any other country would be glad to possess, and one of them should score an Olympic victory for Great Britain. Gaby is a veteran as hurdlers go. but the Cambridge hurdlers are both voting and seem to go on improving with every race England is rich in cross-country runners, but the untimely breakdown of Lewis Payne, an international champion when scarcely out of his ’teens, is a bad blow K ? rper . and J E - Webster should do well for the Old Country in the longer distance tracks, but we cannot field any man who is n match for Finland’s best on their 192-1 form.