Mile of the Century

For two years U. S. sport fans have been reading about Sydney Wooderson, a bespectacled little London solicitor. Within 22 months the 125-lb. Briton had smashed the world's records for the mile, the three-quarters, the half-mile and 800 metres. Last week at Princeton's Palmer Stadium, 28,000 U. S. foot-racing enthusiasts got their first squint at England's beloved "Leather Legs." After two refusals-with-regrets, he had accepted Princeton's invitation to run on its super-fast track against U. S. Miler Glenn Cunningham in its famed Invitation Track Meet.

To make a race of it, Princeton officials had invited three other milers besides Wooderson and Cunningham: Archie San Romani, Elaine Rideout and Chuck Fenske. The 28,000 spectators who had come to witness the ballyhooed Mile of the Century breathlessly watched Wooderson, with his tip-toe stride, go out in front. He had predicted that he would not only break his own world's record (4 min., 6.4 sec.) but Glenn Cunningham's indoor record of 4:04.4* as well. At the first quarter Wooderson was still setting the pace, but his rivals were close at his heels. At the half, he had not yet made any attempt to pull away from the field. Rounding the last turn, Fenske and Rideout started to pass the little Londoner. Crowded, he stumbled on the curbing, lost his stride, waddled down the stretch like an old hen while all four of his rivals flew past him. Chuck Fenske won the Mile of the Century. The time: 4:11.

* Indoor performances are not recognized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

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