The seven women dropped into crouches, the gun fired, and they were off.
Louise’s toe failed to gain purchase in the cinder, causing her to stumble, but she regained her footing and burst ahead. Everyone was fast. Legs whirred, lungs heaved. Two women were a step or two ahead, and Louise found herself in third place with Mary at her side. A spark took hold inside Louise. She would beat Mary—after all, she usually did. Louise pushed her legs to go that much faster. Just a little farther, push, push, push! Her heart thundered, her lungs were on fire. Each step came faster and faster as she bolted along the straightaway, yet Mary clung to her side, undeterred.
Louise crossed the finish line in a clump of racers. Had she beaten Mary?
Immediately the judges huddled to argue over the finishing order.
In the late afternoon heat, Louise’s thighs burned and her vision seemed to swim. She bent over, resting her hands on her kneecaps as she tried to steady her breathing while awaiting a verdict on the results. She couldn’t bring herself to look at any of the other racers.
Finally a judge stepped from the crowd, a clipboard in his hand. “Congratulations to our Olympic qualifiers. Please let me remind our spectators that since we only measure finishes to the tenth of a second, we can end up with some real close calls, but often judges can detect who crossed the finish line first even when the clocked time is the same. So in first place, Ethel Harrington won with a time of 12.3 seconds; in second, Billie von Bremen at 12.4 seconds; a close third, Elizabeth Wilde, also with a time of 12.4 seconds; and because judges just couldn’t make a firm ruling with this one, we have a rare tie for fourth with Louise Stokes and Mary Carew at 12.5 seconds . . .”
A tie! Even through her joy of advancing to the Olympics, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t been able to beat Mary. She knew she needed to congratulate her, but she just wanted a minute to process her irritation, to put the prickly edge of competition away so she could move on with the excitement of traveling to California. But then she heard a gasp and turned.
Tidye’s face blanched as the judge called her name out last in seventh place.
“But I’m going to Los Angeles, right?” Tidye asked, her voice thin with anguish. “Why are there seven women here? There were only supposed to be six! I earned my spot in this final.”
The man with the clipboard studied his notes again. “There was some confusion in an earlier heat with Ethel Harrington. She stopped running before the finish, but based on her past performances, it was decided to include her. Only the top six will be going to Los Angeles. Sorry, you didn’t make the team.”
In the silence that followed the judge’s announcement, another official stepped forward. “Now see here,” he said, looking at the judge but pointing at Tidye. “This girl made it to the final six, fair and square. Under the rules, she’s earned a spot in the Olympics too.”
Surprised, the sprinters studied one another, then cast a wary look at Tidye.
Again, the judges conferenced, and after a brief conversation, the man with the clipboard stepped forward. “This year we will send seven girls to the Olympics to be eligible for the hundred-meter and relay. Congratulations to all.”
The women applauded, and the onlookers in the stands, listless and tired in this late hour of the afternoon, roused themselves into cheering. Louise wrapped her arms around Mary and Tidye, happy to celebrate the exciting news about qualifying, but she still didn’t understand how the Olympic officials planned to resolve the problem. Why send seven women to Los Angeles for only six racing spots?
THE CHICAGO EVENING STANDARD
July 17, 1932
“A Big Day for Babe Didrikson!”
Lady’s Olympic Track and Field Trial Mired in Controversy
Evanston—In sweltering heat that could have knocked a heavyweight boxer to his back in a split second, a swarm of tenacious lady athletes competed in a range of physical challenges to determine who will continue to Los Angeles to compete in the Olympics. Yesterday’s National AAU Championships served up thrills and chaos in equal measure. Unexpected accidents and injuries and questionable judgments from officials made it a fascinating day from start to finish.
Miss Mildred “Babe” Didrikson delivered on the hype that has surrounded her ever since she began competing in her home state of Texas. She nabbed first-place finishes in the shot, javelin, high jump, and 80-meter hurdles, and fourth place for the discus. A close finish in the 80-meter hurdles also set off sniping when officials initially awarded first place to Caroline Hale of the IWAC and then changed their minds and gave it to Didrikson. When asked about how the day went, Miss Didrikson shrugged off any criticism. “I won this whole thing. Of course, these gals aren’t happy, but I proved that I’m the best.”
With almost 50 entrants, the real drama lay in the 100-meter sprint. Normally six women would have been selected from the top finishers of the qualifying heats and these athletes would advance to the Olympics, but several disputes in preliminary rounds allowed the judges to loosen their rules so seven women sprinters will be traveling to Los Angeles, all hoping for a spot to compete in the individual 100-meter and the four-woman relay team. You don’t need to be a mathematician to count that there are too many runners heading to California so get out your hankies, because some disappointed lady sprinters will be sitting on the sidelines of the Olympics, tugging at your heartstrings, in a couple of weeks.
THE CHICAGO EVENING STANDARD
July 18, 1932
“Girl Olympic Champ Clinging to Life”
Chicago—Betty Robinson, the 19-year-old Northwestern coed and 1928 Olympian who narrowly survived a plane crash on June 28, has regained consciousness and battles to survive. She remains in critical condition at Oak Forest Infirmary with a shattered left thigh, a right leg broken in several places, and a fractured left arm.
After examining her most recent X-ray, Miss Robinson’s doctor reports that once her left leg heals, it will be shorter than her right leg because of the extensive damage incurred by the crash. He says, “A return to running is unlikely, given the severity of her injuries.”
Despite the prognosis, the girl’s father, Harold Robinson, promises his daughter’s spirit is not crushed. “She’s a very determined young lady, and we’re hoping she’ll be up and walking again within the year.”
Miss Robinson’s absence at the Olympics will leave a gap in the competition for new stars to emerge. Her primary competitor, Miss Stella Walsh of Cleveland, who recently announced she’ll be racing for Poland, remarked, “My prayers are with the Robinson family, and I hope for a speedy recovery for Betty.” With everyone’s favorite American lady sprinter fighting to live, Miss Walsh is now favored to win gold in the women’s Olympic 100-meter sprint.
23.
July 1932
En route to Los Angeles
LOUISE AND HER TEAMMATES HAD A BUSY FINAL FEW days in Chicago, filled with preparations for the trip to California. Telegrams. Training. Dinners and luncheons with oyster-colored table linens and silver cutlery. Even though the nation was slogging its way through the worsening Depression, people appeared eager for good news and fervor for the Olympics grew. When the women gathered in the parlor of the boardinghouse where the AAU was paying for them to stay, Tidye untucked a newspaper from under her arm to show her teammates as they lined up for a team photograph.