From iron-grey clouds a bitterly cold rain fell on 5,324 athletes from six nations. The Communist daily L'Humanite had invited them to Paris' Le Tremblay race track to spread international good will (and Communist Party publicity). The good will had failed to materialize.
Sports editors from rival papers kicked because, they said, L'Humanite approved the entry only of French athletes of the proper pink political complexion. At the field itself 10,006 soggy sports fans, who had paid 10 francs each, groused at the political speeches. There was nothing about the races themselves to cheer them up. In the five-kilometer event,...
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