ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

Usi MsaramiJ

riXTUEES. To-day—Civil Service A.ft.C. meeting (Basin Ecscrve). Fobruary 26.— N.Z. Championships (Auck- ., land). .-; ; ; '- March 2—llanawatn - Opening March S—W.A.A.C. and comCarnival (Palmerston North). bined meeting (Basin Ecserve). March . 12—Pctono A.A.C. mooting; Vjotoria College A.A.C. meeting. March 19.—C.Y.M.A.A.C. Meeting. Unless the public haa suddenly bst its zest for amateur, athletics the. Civil Service Clnb's gathering to-day should be quite as much a success. as was thei itcent provincial championship ■ meeting. At time of writing all the winners of the championship honours have announced their intention of competing. Local members''of the Wellington- team for Auckland will .be seen in. action for tho last time before the big New Zealand meeting, and Tnll he making to-day's racing their winding-up "goes" over their various distances. Woodger, is a ! member of the Civil Service Club and should be right at the top of his form, and as the. handicappera have set long limits in the sprint events, he should be stretched, out to do Bomething sensational, in the way of times. Hubbard,' .that very sound performer, is another Civil Service clubman, .with- Duncan, should be the nearest back-marker to' the sprint champion. Hcfler, .Fitzgerald. Cashman, Evensen, IJ. Wilton, -J. >F. Wilson, M"Kay, Leslie, H. T. Thompson and "Co. will bo out—those of - them . that have boon selected, in tie touring party ■ for Auckland with their honours - thick upon, them, and the, others determined to put forward their claims to inclusion also and that in no'undecided fashion; -

Last Wednesday the W.A.A.C. held its second evening meeting for tho season, and a very -successful little-'affair it proved. The - attendance iof the public was more than satisfactory—quite five or six. hundred spectators putting in an appearance,-1 They : were well - rewarded by; the racing .provided. Good 'fields turned out—about thirty starting in the 100 yds., fourteen; ; in the - quarter , mile, eighteen in tho mile, and half a dozen in the two' mflle walk. In the sprint ,event, A. T. Duncan was virtual scratch on 2}yds.,,. the limit'-';being;. 11yds.—these : maris eventually providing, the. first and .'second.'iinMn.'in .thei;final.' Three heats were run as preliminaries, the. first being won by Evensen off ,7yds.,' with Duncan second.- Evenson-'.ran'. very strongly and apparently has put a lot on to his paco this >" Season—a' factor : : that will tellto his .advahta'go in his. journeys, over the, fences 'in Auckland.: ' Tho time- was 101-ssec. '..' ■ In' the next heat the limit man,' J. W. Ifuir, bolted off his,; 11-yd. ;.mark;-'and-tbough pursued closoly :by J. F. Wilson, was never ' headed, winning by two feet in 101-ssec. ! The last , of the heats fell ■ fc> Overend, whoso recent performances -have got him back 3yds. from the,limit. He won, from Cunningham, who, started from ■ GJyds. — IJyds. worse. -; Again v, . The timing every, indication of a closp "go" in the final, and so. it proved.: Mr. W. H.' Pollock,'who officiated. ,aa; starter ini lien, of Mr.' Leslie, -got 'the Bix men .'away in good order; and ' at- : .the nice was anybody's. Duncan was running - very well from the; back, ;.Muir ;was : making.',the best of, what. was .'left' of his. 11yds. .Btart,; and : the middlo .markers'. were',' all' abreast like. a'''c6r 7 ponjl's guard.. Duncan . got' up and up, and at 93yds. 'had ;his chest- past the '.field, and'Muir; only'a foot ahead. - Here the limit .man, made,a, do-or-dio,. effort, and-just earned the tape by a bar® six inches in lOsec. dead. .;

Duncan's run," of lOsec'.. "from' the':2Jyd. matk,. pluf ! '(M' whifth; he' was ; beaten, ; is; perhaps tho best that he , has yet shown us. and, although discounted slightly .by ; a southerly wind, is a smart performance;:;^-ITnless''tho: handicaps lor , to-day. have boon • recast' , on. runiung. ' tho' Victoria College man must be right: in- the 100 yds. During tho''.voile the. writor noticed ' that.; Woodger nas being asked■ to stand him up- iyds;' This suggests ;a ;littlo' sum 'in proportion. If Duncan;' can run. • 100 yds, i off. 2J/ds. in lOsec.' ;oh' Wednesday with - a southerly wind, in what time will Woodger require 'to'rnii it to-day-to win;,with Jjunuin on 4yda.? :■ ; . The quartor-milo-was a good race, although .the.''actual" performance was not' brilliant. . 'iJY' : Wilton' and J. P. Wilson: were both on scratch, but - the former elected not to start,- in,-view of to-day's proceedings. Tho limit . was 32yds.- Cords' off 30yds. took charge.right away and madoi no secret of his disinclination to hob-nob with the rest of the field—tho. field-passing; the sentiment along by evincing a' strong desiro to keep clear of the back-markers' company. The first of tho rear division to show up was Dunn, : who ' put in a ivery : strong ' run along the back stretch, Wilson etill being at the back, >t this time, and ;Carde . still in the: van. Kitto was holding a good position at half-way, and,' on eniering' upon .the., home 'turn,"was beginning 'to ,'mov'e. up 'on; the oulside. Cardo. still had the lead, hut was failing, Dunn' ' had •fallen' back' after his effort,; and Wilson at this stage had got among his', field; and was working ' up' for a strong fii ish. : . .At; the entrance to the- straight; :Cunninghame suddenly jjut in a strong bid onu, coming along. with: one of, his' old-time rushes, got among ' tho .leaders. : ,lutto/ meanwhile, had got closo up, and, halfway down the straight, made a good run that -put "him in front of Carae, 'who shortly after succumbed 'to Cunninghame, and . this: was ; tho order yhomo—Kitto, Cnhninghame, and Carde; ; Kme, 53sec. 'Wilson finished fourth very" strongly, but liad lort too much ground in - the -early" stages of- the; journey to make 1 up in tho run'home. ■■ ; v '.'.'-'--V 1 - ;'.

; The mile run (was rather marred by the too-generous treatment of • Frank Wilton and'K. T. Thompson by the handicapper. :As,it turn'ed-'out, Heffer; -the man, would have been required to break tmin. 30sec..'t6 win—^too riiff a,task on a cold evening with a'sharp breeze; This soon'became::apparent to Heffer, so he "contented: . himself ,-. with .. mating the occasion one,-for a training "run, in; view of his :■ engagement to-day, covering, tho distance at a comfortable . 4min. - .ISsec. gait: Frank Wilton started off 60yds., and; Thompson off ; 95yds., - and the race soon resolved itsslf. into a duel between theso two. ". '

; Half-way round; the last lap Thompson had a foot or so to the good.. ,This advantage Wilton got: back.'iri*.tho straight; but-, tlio; Marathon, man' came again,,, and a'neck-and-neck race nij the homo stretch men straining every norve, and, .inch by inch,-the Marathon winner, drew away ; until a final effort, over the' last five yards,, brought 'down the verdict—"Thompson by a foot!" \V.' Johnson, off 110 yds., was third, Heffer' finishing, pulling up, fifth or sixth. The two-mile: walk was productive , of a disappointing surprisefor the publio and a lesson for our provincial champion. However, to begin at the beginning. , M. Tracy on 320 yards, and Cashman and Fitzgerald'.both oil .soratclv provided the boundaries for the handicap.;,-/ At ..the gun the scratih men sot a clip that could,only have had one other conclusion than the aotual result—tno • breaking up of.one,or both.,,At tho,end of the first quarter • both' were gonig at a terrifio gait,-and tho : action of both was doubtful enough to -, warrant a caution : from tho judge, Mr.', 3?l«ming. lloss. ''Fitzgerald, warned -by. previous experience,' and," perhaps with a little more "head," immediately took a pull; and became, moro circumspect. . Cashman, on.'. the other hand, perhaps over confident on account of his ohampionship performance being ■ passed;.-' persisted in, the . error, of 'his -ways, wij:h'.tho result ftwt, as he passed' '.tho judge again on; th<) third round, ho was disqualified. ; ; . This naturally .was very disappointing to tile, public, but Mr. Boss was undoubtedly' right.' Moreover, Cashriian will profit by the 'exporience." No ono would ,think of accusing Him of any intention of "pointing" or of endeavouring to gain any unfair advantago when he ."breaks." It is simply '.that-lie does not know when ho pusses tho lino of demarcation between a fair walk and an illegal one, and an experience like tho one under notico is just .tho thing required to show him. whero he' errs. ,Mr. Boss gave him a practical demonstration of his error on tho ground, pointing out that his gait at best was of , the short and'jerky order, and apt'.to

got ruled out of 'order at any time unless the strongest attention was paid to the "straight knee" ■ condition. On Wednesday his knees were not locked, hence a spring from toe to heol; and consequently the disqualification. In conversation with "Mercury" afterwards, Mr.. Eoss stated that, on Saturday week, Cashman kept just within the border of rectitude, but that, on this occasion, he overthe boundary. Hence there is no inconsistency in tho judge's action in passing him once and pulling him off on another occasion, .-

As for the. race, the want of a pacer and the lesson learnt from Cashman's experience told against Fitzgerald's chances of catching his mon. For a while Tracy, walking far better than is his wont, led and, at about halfway, Marshall, off 230 yards, took, charge, and won comfortably from Traoy 'in Umin. 24 2-ssec. Thompson, using his usual dogged methods, was third, and Fitzgerald fourth. The6cratch man's time was 15rain. ssec.

Harry Kerr has:notified the authorities that he intends making an onslaught on the three-mile walking . record at Auckland next' Saturday. l'our old-tiine champions are turning out- for 1 Auckland at the championship meeting, viz., W. H. Madill, shot anil hammer : thrower, "Dare" Wilson," walker, and C. C. Laurie and E. Mackay, poleyaulters. The first-named two are Australasian ex-champions: and their fresence will give quite an old-timo avour to tho meeting.

Lost week "Mercury" referred to tho Manawatu Club's -first annual meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 2. Tho programme, which , follows, is: a really good one arid several. of this Wellington championship team have decided to call in at Palmerston on the way back from 'Auckland., Heifer and Harding definitely decided to compete. Entries close on .Wednesday, next: with D. -M. Robertson, honorary secretary, box-', G8 Palmerston North. Tho events and trophies are:—looyds. Handicap,>E3. and £1; 220 yds. Handicap, £3 and JJI; 440 yds. Handicap (ladies' bracelet), gold .bracelet, and gold bracelet; 880 yds. Handicap, £3 and il; One Mile Handicap, £3.and >61; 120 yds. Maiden Handicap, .£2 and £1; ,120 yds. Hurdles, £2 and il; 100 yds. Primary Schools' Handicap, gold medal and silver medAl; 100 yds. Secondary. Schools' Handicap, gold medal and silver medal; Relay. Race, .k gold medals; Obstacle race;' trophy and. trophy; High Jump, il and 10s.; Long Jump, ,£1 and 10s.;.One Mile; Walk, JC2 and, : The programme ■ for the ' combined meeting of the Wellington Amateur 'and Port Nicholson Clubs is, also to hand and . the. . list;': is • appended. ,• Entries .close on February 26.,;; Events are:— 100 yds. Hdndicap; 220 yds. Handicap (ladies' bracelet);MOyds, ; Half Mile' Handicap; One': Mile Handicap; 50yds. Invitation Scratch Race; One Mile Waiting Handicap;' Two' Miles Walking Handicap;' 220 yds., Hurdle Handicap; Long' Jump Handicap; High Jump Handicap; Putting 161b. Shot Handicap; Pick-a-back Kiting the King; -100 yds. Inter-College C/iainpionship; High' Jump Inter-Collcgo: Championship; 220 yds. Put lie :i Schools' Championship; Obstacle Race for Boys; One iMilo and a Half Stooplechase Handicap. There'are 'two conditions in this, programme that ' competitors/should noto carefully, 'namely :—, (a) ■ There . must be four competitors for each, event or no competition; seven or. no second prize, (b) No member is eligible to compete unless his annual subscription has been paid. • '. It 'is a long .time: Binco. an . item: of 'athletic intelligence; has, caused tho same stir as did tho: cablo bringing the news of "Jack" . Donaldson's; lOOyus. run .of 9jsec. Like his opponent in tho race in which-this wonderful time was (allegedly): recorded, Donaldson is an Australian.. He hail# from-.Stawell.i.Victoria.Tand last, season went'over to South Africa under .the aegis of Mr. Rufo Naylor,. the.smart promoter, likowiso an Australian, who, made,A..B..Jostle's name one to conjure with and, who, took a fancy to Donaldson after hearing of 'the day's work that first stomped him ,<as a likely; world-: beater. ' This was at Easter time two, yeara ; ago . when'. ho ran'. in ' the - 130yd5.,. 220 yds;, and MOvds. . In: the first ; dis;.tenco ho ran . off 6yds. and won,, heat, semi-final,' and final, the last-named in.ll :i-SMcV and final of the 220 yds. also fell to his share, as .likewise .did the . 410 yds., the latter being .. 'put away in .'sosec., ~ andi this. on' a. rough ■ gaudy, track :at Bendigo. Since - then -he was credited, on;, Juno'' G, 1908, with running; 128 yds.-, (less' 3 inches, by ' which margin' ;he was beatci)Mn,-12sec. ,Since, he-has been in South" Africa Mr. Nay lor has boomed; him/to 1 the'_ siies.v and .he lias, earned : the soubriquet' -of ' "The Blue Streak" by . his wonderful performances. Of these,! perhaps ' the' most" sensational one of late was ..put up/at Port/Elizabeth last month. when' newas .timed. to do 120 yds. in 11 l-ssec. Tho raco referred to .in tho cables—his' latest exploit—was rim at the Stadium, Johannesburg,, and, according to. the articles of . agreement, . was to: have been , for a sweepstake of JE2OO each 1 ■ for nom-: inators, with:.\ ,£IOO added, and the"world's 100 yards championship." There wore, to have been' three starters—Postle, Donaldson, , and the American, C. E. Holway;: who recently vbeat :Pdstlo in Wales. If Holway ""started he must" have been outpaced, as he is not mentioned, and, as' for the time.'recorded—well,, one can only wait, further..particulars, and, in tho meantime, say "perhaps." _ The fact of the timing being in eighths, instead of tho conventional fifths,' seems to have been a puzzle to many. This, is accounted for by the fact that the latest: watches are subdivided - into sixteenths,' and are used for whippet racing, cours- 1 ing, etc., and aro supposed to be absolutely the last thing in the watchmaker's art. Of course, a lot will depend on how, many watches'- there' were, and who held them. If held.by the management, whose; interest it is to boom the performers,. then the; record should get no; "hearing" at all, nor, will it, 1 if, as in the recent case; in England when Postle was beaten over 220 yards by: N. Cartmell allegedly in 21:2-ssec., there was only one timekeeper. But in any case it does ■ not really matter-much, as.thero is no governing body to inquire into,' authenticate, or register such a performance. Being a professional recordiolder.' nowadays • is like being a' professional•champion. .Onerunner (or his' manager) says ■he is world's champion; same other runner 6ays .the first : mail' isn't because h® ft-h® second man) is, .both . write to. the papers about it, and everyone,is, satisfied. . Still,-there can be no doubt that Donaldson is a great ,runnel-one. of the greatest. That ho can beat Postle, by two'and a half yards'ovor 100 , yards, is .proof of that, 1 ; without 'the .time. True, Postle has been beaten of . late both , by Holway .and Cartmell,/ the Americans, and ,it . will 'be remembered that; he' has been running straight on end for "about 'four'.years, almost without..,a .spell,; :so he must be "staling" somewhat. Nevertheless, up till this run of Donaldson's, his 9i seconds has. been unbeaten, the nearest to it being the same. Donaldson's 9 • 9-16 sec., which: performance, however, did hot. get a favourable reception from the experts! . ' •

. Apropos of Postlo's recent form, an au'.thority writes in summing up the chances .for this'latest match?—" After years of studying Postlo's:, running, I .have:, concluded that 100 yards.is one of his worst distances.-.' Tho Queenslander- runs.-tho first GO yards with one breath and at a terrific pacoj, he then takes a 6econd breath, and'while 1 doing so from CO to 90yards ho is losing ground. From 90.yards •ho makes anothor spurt td .about 130 yards, at. which. distanco I reckon him harder to I>ent than at 100 yards,. although Postlo himself thinks different. Postle would lead Donaldson by ono yard in'the fiTst 40, and would hold his start to 60 yards, but from then to 90, tho 'Streak would be travelling mnoh the faster, and would more than malto up llio leeway." • ."Mercury" has been asked often of lato as to Mv B. Ward, nominated for. ■Wellington in tho sprint championship events' at Auckland. Ho is a New Plymouth runner—a protpgd of L. B. Webster's, .who speaks very highly. of him; in fact, ho expects him to win the quarter and to givo Woodger a "shako" in the 220 yards.' Ward is being sent by the New Plymouth Club, and ono can only hope that ho will prove to bo as good as his sponsor says lie is. Says tho "Otago Witness": "Though the Davis-Wheatley tour through the Dominion is off, there is just a possibility that J. L. Davis will bo a competitor, at the coming Now Zealand championship meeting, lie having written to tho Now Zealand Council that ho might bo coming over to that meeting. With Murray, and 1 Davis in form, tho 410 Yards Hurdles should bo ono of. tho most . interesting events at tho meeting. In the i2O Yards Championship tho only hurdlor wo have I capablc of extending Davis , is j Keddell, i and it is doubtful u ho is quits good I pnough to defeat -fbo -.Victorian.""- "• -

Where the southern scribe got his information from is not apparent, but in any case ho has.been misled.. No such intimation as reported has been received by the New Zealand AAA., and, unfortunately, there is absolutely no possibility of Davis being present in Auckland. . Mr. W.. G. Talbot, honorary secretarytreasurer of the N.ZJIA-A., will bo present at tho championship meeting in his official capacity, and, in addition,the governing body will be represented by Mr. C. E. Bridge. The' latter official has been appointed -by tho Auckland Centre to act as track judge for tho meeting.