All week long, New York sportswriters filled their columns with conjectures about Josef Barthel's chances of breaking Gil Dodds's indoor mile record of 4:05.3.
On the eve of the Millrose Games meetand its famed Wanamaker Milethe Madison Square Garden box office was turning away business. The track fans were considerably more excited than 26-year-old Josef Barthel. Luxembourg's 1,500-meter Olympic champion (and record holder) was more concerned with his Harvard postgraduate studies in sanitary engineering. After classes, on the day of the meet, Barthel finally got around to hopping a train in Boston, and reached Manhattan just a few hours before...
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