Tuesday, July 16, 1968
THE SUMMER SESSION KANSAN
5
Wallace on sports
New records mark Olympics
By DON WALLACE Journalism Camp Reporter
Records are made to be broken, but how long can man continue to set them?
Common sense tells me there is a limit to how far a man can jump, how high he can vault or how fast he can run. But is there a limit? The times have been getting lower and the heights are getting higher with each Olympics. Barriers thought impossible to break 20 years ago are being breached in ordinary competition.
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Will man ever run the 100-yard dash under eight seconds? Three sprinters recently were timed in the 100 meters at 9.9 seconds, breaking the old Olympic record held by Bob Hayes. Conceivably, if these three represent the United States in Mexico, the Olympic record could be lowered to the 9.9 they are capable of.
In 1964 the standard of 10.2 was broken by Bob Hayes when he did a 10 flat. The important thing to note here is the Hayes' effort in Tokyo was one-tenth of a second better than his personal best of 10.0 While a comparison may not be justified, these three runners—Greene, Hines and Smith—could be pushed by the competition to a 9.8 clocking in the 100 meters.
This is comparable to running the 100-yard dash in 8.9 seconds. The world record is 9.1.
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The jumping events are different from the running in recordbreaking potential because high jumpers and pole vaulters have a tendency to perform poorly in the Olympics.
In the high jump, Brumel of Russia won the '64 Olympics with a jump of $7^{\prime} 1 \frac{3}{4}$', breaking the old record by $3 \frac{4}{4}$'. Brumel, however, holds the world record with a leap of $7^{\prime} 5 \frac{1}{2}$"—a full $3 \frac{3}{4}$' higher.
This year in the Olympics, Brumel may not equal his personal best, but a host of U.S. jumpers should give him stiff competition. In later meets, he will probably do much better than in Mexico, simply because of the intense pressure there. It should not be a surprise for a high jumper to top the 7"7" mark by the 1972 games, but the question of how far a high jumper can go is still hard to gauge.
The pole vault shows the most rapid improvement, largely because of the improvement of poles, track runways and techniques in jumping.
The old Olympic record of 15'5" was shattered in 1964 by Fred Hanson with his $16^{8\frac{3}{4}}$ vault; Hanson, however, has done 17'4" in other meets. This year Bob Seagren and Paul Wilson both have been aiming for the 17'8" mark, and coming very close to success.
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The long jump is easier to predict. Ralph Boston and the Russian Ter-Oversnesian have both hit the 27'5" mark, and Lynn Davies of England and Bob Beamon of the United States have topped the 27' mark. More distances like these can be expected, now that the 27' barrier is being so decisively broken.
This steady increase in distance will continue, and I see a 30' jump relatively soon, although not before the 1976 Olympics. In 1972 the world record should be close to the $28^{\mathrm{m}}$ mark, a prophecy I justify with the natural tendency of athletes toward improvement.
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Reasons for the improvement of performances have been discussed by scientists, dieticians and manufacturers of athletic equipment.
Certainly food and equipment will play a big part, but what about the man?
Sprinting is an ability that is governed by natural speed and oxygen intake. The more oxygen a runner can take in, the longer he can sustain long bursts of speed like those needed in the dashes. It is almost impossible to increase oxygen intake beyond that which is normal for each individual's body, and speed is something more frequently born with than acquired, so training can only improve to the fullest ability a sprinter has.
In the field events, equipment and training will be the factors that influence improvement, but a general increase of speed in the pole vault and broad jump should have a dominant effect on those performances.
Youth should also affect pole vaulting and sprinting, for the old Olympic record in the pole vault of 15'5" (1960 mark) has been broken by many high schoolers, while again in California there were five 9.5 second and a dozen 9.7 second sprinters in the 100-yard dash, and two 440-dash men whose times were under 47.5, a time that was good enough for qualification for the '64 Olympics.
Kansan photo by Richard Viets
FOILS COUNSELORS
Fighting for possession in the Camper-Counselor Basketball game is Collis Temple, science and math student, as counselor Ken Wiley gapes. Campers won, 70-61.
Dormitories display pop art
By JANET WYSOCKI
Camper's rooms have gone camp. Throughout the dorms lodging campers of the Midwestern Music and Art Camp, one can find all sorts of para- phernalia decorating the walls, bulletin boards, radiators, desks and pipes in an otherwise dull room.
Even venetian blinds haven't been overlooked. In one window
of Lewis Hall an American flag has been arranged on the blinds.
ALONG WITH American flags on windows, psychedelic paintings have been painted directly on the window, words acknowledging the cities campers are from, and stained glass windows, can be seen from all over the camp.
coms, and in place of drapes, posters of the Statue of Liberty and Shirley Temple in a flying suit are suspended.
Paper flowers growing from radiators, peace signs on inter-
Posters are still by far the most popular of room decorations. Everything has been hung. Prints of Aubrey Beardsley, reproductions of the New York Times, personality posters and psychedelic posters are not uncommon to dorm rooms.