Sport: Trial by Fire

For months the climax had been build ing. Every meet seemed to produce new headlines, new records, new prodigies. Under challenge, the veterans slowly sweated their way back to top form. Last week 221 teen-agers and oldtimers, the finest group of trackmen in U.S. history, met for two days at Palo Alto, Calif, to struggle for the precious places on the team that will go to the Rome Olympics this August. "The competition will be the best it has ever been," predicted U.S. Olympic Track Coach Larry Snyder. "It has to be."

It was. From start to finish, the two days of internecine battle produced a level of competition every bit as intense and gripping as the Olympics themselves. The brutally simple conditions of the meet guaranteed drama: the first three men in each event made the team; the rest did not. It made no difference if the losers were national champions, previous Olympic gold-medal winners or world record holders. Key survivors of Palo Alto's long trial by fire:

¶ The high jump bar was at 7 ft. 3¾ in. when Boston University's John Thomas, 19, kicked his right leg at the sky, and bellied over to break his own world record by 1¾ in. "I don't know how high I can go," said Thomas later. "I'll let you know some other day."

¶ In the 100 meters, Oakland's great Ray Norton, 22, came from behind with his long, driving stride to finish in 10.4 sec. and barely beat out Villanova's Frank Budd. A tie for third made team mem bers of Paul Winder of Morgan State (Md.) and Duke's Dave Sime, the hard-luck star sprinter who pulled a muscle in 1956 and did not make the Olympic squad. In the 200 meters around a turn, Norton again rallied to win going away in 20.5 sec. to tie the world record.

¶ Clearing the barriers in graceful stride, Ohio's Glenn Davis, 25, whipped through the grueling 400-meter hurdles in 49.5 sec. to better by 0.6 sec. the Olympic record he tied in 1956 while winning a gold medal.

¶ Scissoring frantically through the air, Tennessee A. & I.'s Ralph Boston three times broad-jumped more than 26 ft., the boundary of greatness in the event, finished with a mark of 26 ft. 6½ in., just 1¾ in. short of Jesse Owens' world record. "I still haven't got my run down perfect," said Boston. "If I hit it right, I might get that record."

¶ Still shaking off the effects of a cold, University of Oregon's Dyrol Burleson, 20, easily moved from back in the pack on the second lap to take the lead in the 1,500 meters, turned on his famed finishing kick to open up a safe margin over Oregon Teammate Jim Grelle, casually glanced over his shoulder in the stretch and won as he pleased in a slow 3:46.9, a full 4.7 sec. off his best time.