Once Upon a Time in the Vest

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Vol. 3 No. 63 Photos from the Banks of the Seine

Our friend and connaisseur  Jerry McFadden has done the archeology bit at the booksellers along the Seine in Paris and come up with these old photos.   Merci beaucoup, Jerry.

George,
I thought I would send these along to you. I have some more in the same vein but I will send those along next week. 

1. Roger Bannister beating John Landy in the famous Commonwealth Mile in Vancouver in 1954: 3:58.8 vs 3:59.6, which was considered an amazing race at that time. Bannister was the first to break four minutes earlier in May in 3:59.4. Despite losing, Landy still held on to his world record of 3:58.0 set in Turku, Finland, in July of that year. 

2. Bruce Tulloh leading M. Bogy in the 5K during the France vs England match 1960 (?) and then winning in 14:08.1. Note Tulloh's bare feet. The French press, from where this photo was taken, was amazed that someone would run bare feet at this level of competition. 

Hope all is well,
Jerry
p.s. You've given me a new hobby when I am in Paris: Scrounging through those book stalls along the Seine to find old running magazines. 

Photos





Jerry notes that Landy still held the mile record set in Turku, Finland ,  even though Bannister ran him down in the stretch in this race.  This was one of the great mile duals of all time when it happened in Vancouver in 1954.   Bannister retired shortly after this race and devoted his time to medical school and his work.  Landy went on to run in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and win a bronze medal in the 1500, behind Ron Delany of Ireland and Walter Richtezen of Germany. 

I thought nothing ever happened in Turku, Finland after Landy's record,  but scrounging the files last year I came upon this assassination attempt on the Finnish prime minister.  So fifty five year cycles in Turku must be heeded.

October 22, 2012 
A MAN WIELDING a knife tried to attack Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen in the south-western town of Turku on Monday, but was swiftly arrested by police, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Katainen’s security men have apprehended a person who had brought a sharp weapon to Prime Minister Katainen’s electoral meeting in Turku,” said the statement.
“The Prime Minister was not injured and the programme will continue as planned.”
Security guards quickly swooped in to protect Katainen, 41, and removed him from the scene. He returned shortly afterwards to resume campaigning.
A young “dishevelled”-looking man had approached the prime minister to shake his hand, saying he was in a difficult situation and needed help, newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet reported.
“Then the man went down on his knees, pulled out a knife and said something about killing,” photographer Robert Seger, who witnessed the event, told the paper.
Katainen had been discussing taxes on diesel and the taxes paid by the elderly before the incident.
Do you think PM Katainen discussed this event at dinner tonight? GB


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