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After the game, Germany's hockey leader said it was a pity the game had an "irregular ending." Because of snow which frequently interrupted play, the referee suggested a postponement when the U. S. was a goal ahead. After Germany's hockeyists had agreed, the U. S. team, presumably on the ground that the snow gave them an advantage in defending a lead, refused.
When Italy played the U. S., Italian substitutes loudly booed pugnacious U. S. Forward Gordon Smith. Smith accused an Italian of knocking his glasses off, complained to the referee. Italy won, 2-to-1. When the second round of the tournament started, Canada was still overwhelming favorite to win the title.
Figure Skating, Refused admittance to practice on Riesser Lake because it was being used for hockey, British, Canadian and U. S. figure skaters threatened to withdraw. They failed to make good their threat. After the first day's competition in school figures (see p. 39) by men skaters, observers thought Robin Lee of the U. S. seemed a little stage-shy, looked for close competition between Canada's Montgomery Wilson and Austria's Karl Schafer.
Skiing. Of the 1,000 best skiers of the world, at least 950 are Scandinavians. For Norwegians, Finns and Swedes, international competition in the Olympic games is much less exacting than the tournaments which they have to win at home in order to get places on the teams.
Ski-jumping champion at the 1932 Olympics was Birger Ruud. baby-faced Norwegian, whose 5-ft. 5-in. body is muscled like that of a Japanese vaudeville tumbler. In the downhill race, an event never before scheduled in the Winter Olympics and scorned by most Scandinavians who consider downhill racing an effete novelty in the sport they have practiced for centuries, he zoomed down the flank of Mt. Kreuzeck, over the course that drops 3,000 feet in two miles, in 4 min., 47 4/10 sec. It was four seconds better than the next man, Germany's Franz Pfnuer. In the slalom race (see p. 38), Birger Ruud foolishly fell down. Pfnuer made two trips down the course without mishap. His combined score for the downhill & slalom was 99.25. gave him an Olympic gold medal. Another German placed second, Birger Ruud was fourth and Dartmouth's Dick Durrance, who comes from Tarpon Springs. Fla. and is the ablest skier on the U. S. team, got a ( creditable tenth. German satisfaction at this turn of events was increased by the fact that the women's downhill & slalom title, first event of the Games to be decided, went to spry little Christl Cranz of Freiburg.
On skis, as elsewhere, Finns like marathons. As usual, in the four-man relay race, 40 kilometres up hill as well as down at Garmisch last week, the Finnish team finished first.