Dale shatters 400m records

Press, 10 February 1986, Page 26

Dale shatters 400m records

By

ROD DEW

A superb 46.98 s victory in the senior men’s 400 m final by Darren Dale (Basclk New Brighton) was the high point in a day of outstanding competition in the Fresh-up Canterbury track and field championships at Queen Elizabeth II Park yesterday. The time was the thirdfastest recorded by a New Zealand athlete in this country, and puts him well within reach of the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games standard of 46.045. It also obliterated the existing Canterbury records for both senior and junior grades. Dale, aged 19 and still in junior ranks, previously held both the Canterbury electronic senior and junior records at 47.215. The same time, until yesterday, stood as the New Zealand junior record. Of special significance

was the beating of the Canterbury hand-timed record of 47.15, set by the Commonwealth Games sprinter, Trevor Cochrane, 12 years ago.

"It has been a while coming,” said a delighted Dale, recalling that his personal best 47.21 s time was set when he was 17. "The first 200 m was a bit fast, but I finished strongly. Now that I have run under 475, I know I can do it again.” Dale and his coach, Mr Andrew Tweedie, have yet to decide whether Dale will contest the senior 400 m championship on the same track in March or, as he has done in the past, restrict his activities to junior competition.

“We haven’t talked about it yet, but I think I will probably run in the senior event,” he said. Second in the 400 m final was the man who won so well last season, Paul Cuff, who was this

time running by invitation. He now lives in Auckland. Although slighty in the shadow of Dale’s great performance, his 47.78 s run was an excellent effort. Third place went to the 400 m hurdles specialist, Wayne Paul (Papanui Redwood), in 48.015.

On Saturday, Dale demonstrated his considerable basic speed with a narrow victory in the senior 100 m championship in 11.01 s, narrowly beating the runner favoured to win, Dougal Cockram (St Andrew’s College). “Dougal has been beating me all season in the 100 m, so I am very pleased,” Dale said. He described the 100 m crown as “a bit of a bonus.”

Next week-end, Dale will attempt to win his third senior championship in the 200 m. Cockram, who won the junior 200 m championship in 22.275, will probably prove the

main threat, although there are several other young sprinters who could feature if they elect to move into senior ranks.

Late yesterday, Dale was named the New Zealand Permanent Building Society "Athlete of the Day.” On Saturday, the award went to the outstanding 27-year-old Canterbury sprinter, Bev Peterson (Technical), for her Canterbury record run of 11.74 s in the women’s 100 m championship final. This clipped one-hundredth of a second off the record she set a decade ago and suggests that she is building up for her best ever season.

Peterson recorded a personal best 200 m in Wellington of 23.995, recently, and is very keen to improve on her second place in the national 100 m final last season.

The Commonwealth Games standards for the two sprints are 11.54 s and 23.545, so a modest improvement in the national championships is all that is needed for a trip to Edinburgh. Phillip Clode (University) won the senior

1500 m championship final with a very relaxed and well-judged performance. The defending champion, Colin McDonald (Technical) led into the finishing straight but Clode had too much in reserve, sprinting past for a comfortable win in a personal best time of 3min 43.05 s — by 4.55. McDonald, the topranked 1500 m runner in New Zealand, settled for second in 3min 43.60 s and a former champion, Michael Gilchrist (Technical), was third in 3min 445.

Clode, who comes from Whakatane but has been in Canterbury for the last three seasons, was elated by his win. “It was very fast. I got a real lift when I realised the pace was on, and I quickly adjusted to it.”

This was only Clode's third 1500 m race this season, and he freely admits that his selection for the Countrywide grand prix circuit was an enormous help to him. Aged 19, Clode has improved his personal best for the distance by 10s since the start of the summer, and now he is looking towards the qualifying time of 3min 39s for the Commonwealth Games.

“I have been thinking about this for some time, but now I have the confidence to go out and do it.” Clode’s coach, Mr Bob Grieve, was quietly confident about his athlete’s chances before the race, and his judgment proved correct. The win would not alter the season’s main target, he said. “The New Zealand championships had always been the main aim.”

The final was set up for a fast time. Martin

Falkner (Technical) took the field through the first lap, in 51s, and then Gilchrist, whose main events are now the 5000 m and steeplechase, maintained the pace through the next lap. Gilchrist was still in front at the bell, but the pace had dropped slightly. McDonald sprinted to the front on the north bend and Clode chased him down the back straight. Gilchrist was still in touch as well. Off the final bend, McDonald looked to have the race in hand but half-way down the finishing straight Clode challenged and the defending champion had no answer.

Later, McDonald said that the race was probably about a second too fast for him at this stage. “I have been running well, but I didn’t quite have it today. Phillip was the better man on the day. But it will come back. Give me a couple more weeks of hard training ...” The B grade championship also had a surprise winner, the Commonwealth Games marathon contender, John Campbell, from Invercargill. Running in flat road shoes, he won in a worthy 3min 58.455.

Sue Bruce (New Brighton), showing no effects of her tough 3000 m race the previous Wednesday, won the women’s 1500 m title in grand style. She took the lead on the second lap, and gradually forged ahead of the rest, crossing the line in an excellent 4min 23.235.

The runner-up was Mary O’Connor (University) in 4min 29.30 s with her club-mate, Anne Marie Tweedie, claiming third place in 4min 30.845.