Ruhr Stadium, Bochum, Germany, August 26, 1928
The shot put summer of 1928 was intense. At the end of August, Sergeant Emil Hirschfeld became the first man to shatter the 16-metre barrier. In Bochum, Germany, on his third attempt, he achieved a new world record of 16.04 (52-7½). Hirschfeld had already started the competition with an even 16.00 (52-6), which itself would have surpassed the previous world record held jointly by Hirschfeld himself and American John Kuck.
Bochum's fast track favoured sprinters. Hubert Houben, who had vied for the title of Europe's fastest man for several years, defeated Arthur Jonath, the future Olympic bronze medalist from Los Angeles, in the 100.
In the 200, sprinters benefited from Bochum's long, gently curved track. Olympic bronze medalist Helmut Körnig won with a world-leading time of 21.0 seconds. Hubert Houben finished a tenth of a second behind, and Jakob Schüller was two-tenths back. American Roland Locke, running in his final competitions, was beaten by the Germans.
Perhaps 0.2 seconds should be added to the Bochum 200m times to make them comparable to results achieved on tracks with standard curves. In any case, the trio of Körnig, Houben, and Schüller occupied the top three spots in the 1928 world rankings. In the all-time standings, Körnig moved into first place.
Emerson Spencer, who had a tough time at the US Olympic trials, continued his successful German tour. In Bochum, he secured victory in the 400 with a time of 47.8, just as he had in Berlin. World record holder in the 400-metre hurdles, Morgan Taylor, this time had to observe the pattern of Spencer's spikes from behind. Hugo Leistner, another American who had a difficult time at the trials, sped to victory in the 110m hurdles (14.8). Compatriot Weems Baskin finished about two meters behind.
Leistner's desire to compete in the Olympics was so strong that he stowed away on the American team's ship to Paris, hoping for a chance to compete. Well, the invitation meets on the Old Continent provided an opportunity to showcase his abilities.