ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1037, 28 January 1911, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

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OPIE'S ASTONISHING FEAT,

February 11—Port' Nicholson A.A.C. meeting, Basin jßeserve. March j-N.Z. Championships (Christchurch). Triumphant Amateurism, Last Monday was a..very 'satisfactory day for amateurism at Wanganui. Some littlo time -ago • the Caledonian Society's executive, decided upon a - sweeping ;inio'--vation regarding 'the athletic portion of the celebrations'. .This was to do away with tho professional element entirely in the' running events, and- to .substantiate amateur contests in lieu, thereof* It was a drastic change, particularly as amateurism was not, at the time, in the most flourishing of conditions in Wanganui, and somo pessimistic criticism of the society's enterprising step has been indulged

However, tho executive's action was amply justified oh Monday when the Caledonian gathering ,was hold.for the first"timo under the 1 new conditions. The result was a. distinct l success both, in athletics and finance.. In both departments were records broken—on the athletic side in tho 120 yds. sprint, .by E. Opic, the Canterbury champion, and on the financial side by tho "gate," which totalled up to ,£ls nioro than the previous best. Could Opie Really Have Done It? Opie must have been running excellently—far better.than at-the provincial championship meeting at the, Basin Deserve. In tho 120 yds. handicap ho ; is credited with a heat performance that.is nothing short of astounding. He' was clocked to win from scratch in 113-ssec.,. or four j-ards better than 'evens... Accord-: ing to "Whittakers" this..time has only been equalled by H. Geut, an English professional. The best amateur time is 11 4-ssec, .'■ credited t'o'W. Phillips (1882), C. A. Bradley (1893 and 189 i), A. E. Downer (1895), B. J. Wefers (1836), A. P. Duffy (1901, twice), and W. Morgan (1901).. It will be thus 6een that the gravest doubt must.surround Opio's reputed performance. One naturally suspects the distance- and the clocking only to bo faced by the assurance, that, the track was remeasured and found to be 3 inches over, and that four watches agreed in the timing. The Wanganui "Herald" says in its report:—"lf the watches are . to bo believed, two of tho heats- of the 120 yds. flat (amateur) were run in 11 3-5 sec, which constitutes a world's record. Opie's.tiriio, however, ig open to" no disr puto and lie"must,bo.credited .with the' New Zealand'..-record.".;,.'..: Those Wanganui Watches—Were they rjght? . The "Herald's" account of this race is appended in full. It is an event which wo are bound to hear more of in the future when the record comes, up, as it is presumed it will, for endorsement by I the N.Z.A.A.A. Moreover, among the performers appear several Wellington names:—

120 Yards Amateur Handicap.—First heat: V. S. Williams, 4yds., 1; M. E. Stewart, 9yds., 2; J. Goss, 9yds., 3. Also started: E. Pollisev, 11yds. A good start, and a fine race. Won by inches only, a closo third. Time, 113-ssec. Second heat: E. Opie, scr., 1; H. F. Martis, Gyds., 2; F. M'Kenna, 9yds.. 3. Also started: G Keddell, ,9yds.; D. J. Casoy, 9yds.; and F. K. Pcarse, 11yds. , Tho scratch inah got away' nicely, and' running well, cut down hia hold in fine style, just getting up on tho tape. Time, 113-ssec. Third heat: W. L. Dnnri, 6yds., 1; S. Kernohan, 11yds., 2; G. Martin, 12yds„ 3. Also started: W. Smith, 9yds.,- and A. C. Cowic, 12yds. Won by half , a yard. Time, 131-ssec. Final: E. Opie, 1;-M. E. Stewart, 2; H. F. Martis, 3. Time, 12sec. Tho scratch man ran magnificently, and finished brilliantly. Ten yards from home lie did not look to have by any means a winning show, but his final effort landed him a winner by inches. All tho field finished well together, the finish being a very fine one. Tho winner was loudly applauded on his victory. Tho time, 12scc, was registered by four watches, and on tho track being measured tho distance was found to be three inches too much.

Opie's other appearances were in the two 220jds. handicaps. In tho first of these ho won the first heat by five yards in 23sec. According to tho "Herald's" report tho final resulted: "M. R. Stewart, 1; J. Goss, 2; R. Opie, 3. Time, 22 l-ssec. This was a lino race, tho finish being closo and exciting. Stewart won after a good effort by a little over a yard, inches only separating tho second and third men. The time was very fast, tho scratch man's performance being excellent." It certainly was. On this showing it works out as being insido Woodger's NewZealand record of 22 2-sscc, established last year. In tho second 220 yds. event (tho "Bracelet" tho Cantabrian again won tho first heat in 23sec. This time tho final was won hy G. St. V. Keddell, brother of the Australasian champion, in 22 4-ssoc, Opie being third, and W. L. Dunu, secretary of the local centre, second. This looks a lot moro reasonable. Wellington Men at tho Mooting. Several of tho local runners mado tho journey to Wanga'nui. Kitto, the new provincial quarter-milo hurdle champion, was tho only one to hoist a. winning bracket, annexing the 220 yds. hurdles. He also ran third iu the 120 yds. handicap "over tho sticks." ■ Secretary W. L. Dunn ran well forward: lii ono furlong race ho won his heat, and, in the other, he ran second in both heat'and final.- Also ho won his heat in the 120 yds. handicap,

D. J. Casey was another starter, but ho could not get into the places, and ended the day without emerging from the "also ran" list.

A Dark Shadow an the Timing. A prominent performer was M. E. Stewart, the Wellington College boy. Ho ran second off oyds. m both, heat and final of the 120 yds. in .11 3-sscc, and 12sec. respectively, being beaten in each case according to report "by inches." (This, by the way, casts a dark shadow of doubt on the timing.) Ho ran second in one 220 yds. handicap heat, .and won the final off 12yds. in 22 3-ssec, and 22' l-ssec. respectively, ran third in his heat of the "Bracelet" 220 yds. handicap, and was placed second in the two lnirdlo events and the quarter-mile flat. This is to say that Stewart turned out in tnree 220 yds. events, two 120 yds., one 4'loyds. flat, one 120 yds. hurdles, and one 220 yds. hurdles —a performance to be proud of but not one to be. repeated. Keddell showed a nice turn of foot both in the flat and hurdle events. He won the "Bracelet" furlong event, and the 120 yds. hurdles, the latter from oyds. behind in 17 2-sseo.—a sound piece of work—if correctly timed.Canterbury's Shield Chances. The "Weekly Pr-ess" remarks as under in a review of Canterbury's chance of wresting the championship shield from Wellington on March 4:—ln reviewing several of the meetings recently, one cannot call to mind anything likely to cause one to believe that any now stars have arisen in the local atnletio firmament, and with the exception of Opie, the majority of the others are scarcely above handicap form. No doubt several of the older members will be again xji evidence at the fixture, hut allowing for this the selection of the team requires consideration, and it is quite time a decided move was made.

lii tho absence of the crack sprinter Woodger, the 100 yds. and 220 yds. championships should be secured by Opie, who no doubt will regret being unable to meet the Wellington flier. As supports for the short sprints, Sinclair, and probably Cross, • might be worth a trial. Opi« should also account for the 440 yds. championship, as ho is capable, of a fine quarter. Wright also is worth a trial. The latter •is a powerful runner, and with training should go the' half with every credit.

Should Dickson' regain his form of. two seasons back, the. Bed and Black representative has a first-class chanco over distances. I hardly anticipate, that. Guy Haskins will again don the- spiked shoe, as the ex-American , 'vaTsity crack has been off the scene for some time. As to tho other events, no doubt P. H. Stubberfiold will be again measuring strides with tho walkers, and in the probable absence of Kerr and Wilson, would hold his end up. Orbell, Eobinson, and, R : C. Mason should be available for,tho jumps, the two former and Cook or Hamilton may be contesting tho events; over hurdles. We have yet to find a competitor to trouble M'Xay in the pole vaulting, or to- find a Canterbury man likely to secure the hammer throwing, but maybe Do Thier will contest the latter event, and also represent his team in the weight-putting. ■ Those Fine People, the Tasmanians. •From M. E.' A. Brooke, honorary secretary of tho Tasmanian A.A.A., comes a programme and newspaper reports of tho recent championship meeting of his association. Tho championships bavo already been dealt with, but "Mercury's" best thanks are duo to Mr. Brooke for his courtesy.' : A.. glance through the programme book discovered something new* in championship events—a method • that could be followed with great advantage at our local provincial championship meeting. The innovation is the.running off of the handicap and champion distanco events together—that is, all. tho championship aspirants start from scratch while the handicap men take their air lotted marks. There arc thus, unless a scratch man wins, two finishes to. each race of this description, and the big.ad;; vantage is that the events do not' ipso; interest-through, the smallness; of.'• the fields as is tho case'here in t th ! e'"cfi'alh l - 0 pionship items. This is well worth considering. ' Another fact disclosed by tho programme is tho low value of trophies given for the handicap events in .Tasmania, and ,tho excellent fields that enter to compete for them. In each case the value of tho trophy is'published. .In no case was it more than 15s. for first place and 7s. 6d. for second, and in the great majority of events it was 12s. Cd. and ss. They are evidently'good amateurs in Tasmania.