Warmup for the Big Meet

The sun shone on Des Moines, but Philadelphia wallowed in rain and mud. The weather thus helped hang a big questionmark over the year's first major outdoor Olympic track & field warmups--the Drake and Pennsylvania Relays.

In Philadelphia, most fans assumed that Milers Don Gehrmann, Fred Wilt and Warren Druetzler would run a three-way duel while the rest of the field watched their spikes. But Gehrmann and Druetzler proved no mudders and, though Wilt sloshed along valiantly, Purdue's Denis Johansson, 23, splashed past the leaders on the last lap, all but floated across the finish line to win by 10 yards over Wilt. Johansson's time (4:18.2) was understandably slow. The real rub: Purdue's Johansson might easily repeat or better his performance at Helsinki this summer--and, as a Finnish citizen, he will be running for his own country.

The Drake Relays offered some consolation to America's Olympic mile hopes. The University of Kansas four-mile relay team set a U.S. college record (17:15.9). In the process, the team's flying anchor man, Sophomore Wes Santee, turned in a spectacular (but unofficial) 4:07.5 mile. Next day, as if to prove it was no accident, Santee did it again, ran his mile .1 sec. faster to help his distance medley (440, 880, 3/4 mi., mile) team set a meet record. The question, Gehrmann and Wilt to one side: Could Santee have beaten Johansson, rain or shine? The answer may be important in the Olympics.

Philadelphia's slush permitted no record-smashing, but Princeton's Albin Rauch won the 400-meter hurdles in 53.3 sec., a time that would look good even under blue skies.

Other record-setters at Des Moines: P: The University of Kansas' Bob de Vinney, the 440-yd. hurdles in 52.4 sec. P: The University of Illinois' Dick Reynolds, Lawton Lamb, Stacey Siders and Henry Cryer, the two-mile relay in 7:31.6.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.