Cowboy Sprinter

The nation's newest speed merchant is an 18-year-old, bowlegged Texas cowboy, who guesses he looks pretty funny in a 100-yd. dash. He would rather wrestle steers or score touchdowns for San Antonio's Thomas Jefferson High School (he was the state's top scorer two years ago). Then his coach said that track would help his footballing, so Perry Samuels became a sprinter--and all last year ran a close but chronic second to speedy teammate Charley Parker (TIME, May 15, 1944). This year he pared his 100-yd. time down to 9.5 sec., one-tenth off the world's record.

Last week, at New York Randall's Island Stadium, he stretched his bowlegs in the National A.A.U. Championships.

When the gun sounded in the junior 100-meter (109.4-yd.) final, he bounced off the blocks in front, remembered his coach's repeated instructions to relax, and settled into a ground-eating glide that left the field behind. His time: 10.5, three-tenths of a second slower than Jesse Owens' world's mark. This week Junior Champ Samuels becomes Private Samuels.

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