Track Authority Predicts U.S. Success at London World Games
The article discusses the predictions of top track and field authority Maxwell Stiles concerning the upcoming London World Games. Stiles, based in Long Beach, California, emphasizes the challenges in selecting the U.S. Olympic team for the event due to uncertainty surrounding the participation of other countries, specifically mentioning the potential absence of Soviet Russia. Key details include the timeline for selecting athletes, which began after trials at Northwestern University on July 9, 1948. Stiles notes that reliable information on athletes' abilities is complicated by the impacts of World War II, but selections were made from a comprehensive evaluation of over 1,000 athletes. The article highlights previous successes of Stiles in predicting Olympic outcomes, especially during the 1936 Berlin Games. He calculated team points based on an unofficial scoring system favoring the U.S. to lead, with Great Britain and Finland following.