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BINGHAM ELECTED HEAD OF OLYMPIC TRACK COMMITTEE

To Supervise Track and Field Events Entered by United States in Berlin Games in 1936

William J. Bingham '16, director of Athletics and Physical Education, was elected Chairman of the American Olympic Track and Field Committee on Saturday by the Olympic Sport Committee in New York. Mr. Bingham has been urged to take this position before, but formerly he would only serve as a member of the committee.

The fact that he has accepted his election shows the deep interest which Mr. Bingham has in all athletics. As chairman of the committee, it will be his job to supervise all the track and field events in which the United States is competing in the Berlin Games in 1936. Further, he will have to arrange for the housing and care of the American athletes at the games, a task requiring a great deal of time for a non-paying, honorary position. Mr. Bingham's election to this committee puts Harvard in a close connection with the games.

Mr. Bingham was at New York last night attending a meeting of many of the officials on Olympic committees and could not be reached to ascertain any of this plans for the next two years before the athletes go to Berlin. The arrangements for the competitive choice of the athletes to represent the United States will require a great deal of attention, and the job will necessitate extensive planning and the cooperation of athletic directors all over the country.

Mr. Bingham's career has been one of interest and his rise has been rapid. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy from 1908 until the fall of 1912, when he entered Harvard. At school he was known as a half-miler, and on coming to Harvard he continued his school record as a track man. In the fall he was manager of football and also served as cheer leader for several years. During the war he joined the American Field Service in the French Army, and then shifted to the American army on her entrance into the war. He was track coach at Harvard in 1921-22, and later he was appointed Director of Athletics.

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