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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1963)
SPORTS Wouldn't Quit By JOSEPH N. BELL At 28, this "senior citizen" of U.S. track is showing the youngsters and the state-supported Red athletes what old-fashioned American self-discipline can accomplish "We don't kid ourselves about the work involved," he says. "We either do it or we give up those rosy dreams of records, It's as simple as that" The "we" Beatty refers to includes the members of the Los Angeles Track Club, a unique organization which may be the device that leads tho United States out of the jungle of bickering among the crotchety old men who control and, some would say, strangle amateur athletics through out the country. The Los Angeles club was formed by runners and track buffs to provide competition and coaching for a half-dozen American distance runners who wanted to train under the most advantageous conditions for the 1964 Olympic Games. The key man in this setup is the coach: a track magician named Mihaly Igloi, who left his native Hungary after the 1956 revolution and brought his top distance runner, Lazlo Tabori, to the United States with him. Beatty was a senior at the University of North Carolina when he first met Igloi. The great coach was training Tabori there for a few months, and Beatty thought that he might like to train under Igloi someday, too. But winning his degree took precedence over running at this stage in Beatty's life. When he packed away his spikes after his last college race, he didn't intend to get them out again. Following A hitch in the Army, Beatty settled down to learn the restaurant business. Then came the Philadel phia meet and Jim knew what he had to do. He quit his job and headed for California, where Igloi was coaching at a private club. Following Igloi's rugged training rules, Beatty improved remarkably, running his first sub-four-minute mile in May, 1960. A week later, he set new U. S. records in both the 3-mile and 5,000-meter races. He was beginning to know himself and his capabilities. "I have better than average speed," he says, "and better than average stamina. There are faster runners with better stamina, but not too many with both." Beatty easily won the 5,000 meters in the Olympic trials in 1960 and then returned to Charlotte and married his home-town sweetheart Jim took Barbara Ann to Rome with him for the Olympics, but he won no triumphs for her. He injured his foot and failed even to qualify for the finals. He was desperately disappointed, and one of the major driving forces in his life since then has been to show the people of Europe that Americans can run the distance races. He already has proved his point several times. In 1961, he captained a team that toured Europe, ending up in Rus sia. He ran the mile seven times and won every race. Last year V.i :epeated this succession of triumphs, climaxing a tour through Europe with a 3 :56.5 mile in London, the fastest mile ever run by an American. But these triumphs are just warm-ups to Beatty. His sights along with those of his teammates at the Los Angeles Track Club are set on the 1964 Olympics. Since 1961, L.A.T.C. members have carried the United States to near-ascendancy in distance races. Beatty is the star of the show, but he gets stiff competition from Jim Grelle and Bobby Seaman. Both men were pushing him a year ago when he ran the first indoor mile ever recorded under four minutes, and Seaman was in there again when Beatty broke his own world record last month by running the in door mile in 3:58.6. It looks as if there will be more glory ahead for both Beatty and the United States. At 28, he seems to be getting stronger and better every day. He's a small, well-proportioned, dark complexioned man who weighs in at 127 pounds and eats as if he had no worries about his weight. His blue eyes glint with humor, and he has an easy-talking, easy going Southern way about him that gives little hint of his zeal until the subject turns to track and his eyes become earnest and intense. "We want to show the world that Americans aren't soft that we can work and train hard when we set our minds to it" Jim says, "and we want to prove that we can do it with men who earn a living and work full time. Jim gets congratulations from wife Barbara after another victory. He holds the world record for the indoor mile. "We also hope the Los Angeles club can set an example other communities will follow. In the U. S., athletes find it almost impossible to continue' training after they leave school because they haven't the facilities or the backing. Six months before every Olympic year, we start trying to do something about it. This simply doesn't work. "Our athletes can give a top account of themselves only if they are able to keep in training all the time and this means the development of club teams similar to the one we have in Los Angeles. Only in this way can we get good coaching, training, and competition." Beatty has become man with a mission. For his coun try, he wants supremacy in distance running. For himself, ' he seeks two triumphs: to win the Olympic 1,500 meters for the United States in the 1964 Olympic Games and to beat Australian Peter Snell's 3:64.4 world record in the mile. Chances are very good that Jim will do both. Are you using . the most modern way to relieve hemorrhoids? Yea cam be rare wltk The PAZO Formula la conyeelent mspocHory form ... most modern way ie ahriak hemorrhoid Uarae without rargery. Here's why . . . nMUUtXN IN FORM. PAZO suppositories are people. Handy to carry in pocket or purse, simple to use wherever you go. Stainless, pure-white . . . no messy applicator, no messy stains. 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