ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

[By "Memoes."]

THE DEATH OF LAZARO. i August 10.—New Zealand Cross-Country Championship, Wellington. August 24-Wellingtou Provincial Crosscountry Chnmpionship (Palmerston North). Provincial Cross Country Championship, , Apart from tho weather, there was nothing at Palmerston on Wednesday to intcrtero with the First Provincial Cross-coun-try Championship, and the oveut was as i B s,lecess a* «'e all honed it would be. Ino course of five miles was practically .all flat, but the excessive rain was responsible for its being mostly under water. In fino weather it would be an exceedingly easy country . and by no means ideal owing to the absence of obstacles—one creek and two or throe wire fences representing the cross-country side Hntt tho heavy going on Wednesday made it severe enough for oven tho most enthusiastic of our local mountaineers. As to i'Jio race itself, it was keenly contested by seven teams', representing five clubs—Brooklyn Harriers (two), Feilding Harriers (two), Mastcrton Harriers, Palmerston North Harriers, and Wellington Harriers—forty-three runners facing the starter, who dispatched them in am interval between showers, whilo the sun shone forth bravely, albeit n trfle mockingly. Tho following gives the result:— Time min. sec. IJ. Bradbury (Masterton) 32 18 2J. F. Byrne (Brooklyn) 32 43 3W. Pre-Hs (Wellington) 33 4 iL. Cook (Masterton) .' 83 18 SL. Bun-ell (Brooklyn) 33 23 B'W/. Bemiett (Wellington) 33 27 7W. Drummond (Masterton) ... 33 3D BJ. Lowo (Feilding) 33 37 9 11. Pryor (Masterton) 33 39 10 A. Cook (Brooklyn) 33 10 C. Murray, the Brooklyn, crack, ran disappointingly, getting no nearer than tlrrreenth, in 3lmin. 12sec. F. Hodson (Brooklyn) was next, a couplo of yards away. Thirty-one of the 13 starters finished. The team placings were. Masterton Harriers (Bradbury, L. Cook, Hood, Flannigan, Drunimond, and Messenger), 2G points 1 Brooklyn Harriers, No. 1 team (Murray, Hods'on, Burroll, Cook, Byrne, and Smith), 28 points 2 Wellington Harriers (Press, Bennett, Kerr, and Faxringdon), 43 points ... 3 Tho sealed handicaps held in conjunction With, the raco went to J. Lowe, of Feilding, whose handicap was 4min. ssec. H. Pryor (Masterton), with a handicap of 4min. Msae., secured second place, and L. Cooko. (Mastcrta), handicap 3min. '20sec, finishing-third.

"All Hail Jack Bradbury." All hail "Jack" Bradbury, years ago prominent pro.; then prominent amateur middle-distance runner, and now in his old age (athletically speaking, of course). first Wellington provincial cross-country. champion, "Mercury" well remembers Bradbury's first appearance in Wellington as an oniateur. Seven yeais. ago, at tho SliTubb-Duffey meeting, the local handicapper took liberties with him in tho mile handicap, giving him sixty yards from Shrubb. Never was a raco won more easily, tho Wairarapa man trotting home in Imin. 25sec. For the next two years Bradbury was a prominent iigiiro in amateur athletics hereabouts. Then he retired for some four or five years, but when the club in Masterton was revived (principally through his efforts by the way) ho turned out again, and now we find him the best cross-country runner in the province. We, have never had a cleaner amateur than the genial LUastertonian, and to him, ui perhaps greater measure than anyone elsb, is duo .the present position of amateur athloti.es in tho Wairarapa. Nowhere in the province' is this better Tecogniscd than in Wellington, and his win is exceedingly popular , here. Tho surprises of tho raco were undoubtedly the poor running of Murray, and the victory of; tho Masterton team. The Brooklyn cracks form was too bad to be true, and tho selectors of. the Wellington team for.the New Zealand cross-country championship havo recognised this, by pidking him along with Bradbury, Byrne, Burroll, L. Cook (Masterton), atid Prefi, to represent the province. That the Masterton Club, in tho first year- of its existence, should be ablo to defeat the city teams is a tribute to the club's management, and their victory will do th' sport a whole heap of good in the country districts.

After the race, a Email-social gathering was held, at which Mr. Cooper (president of the Manawatu" Amateur Athletic Club) presided, arid when presenting the trophies, thanked.tho'visiting teams for coming so far to compete.. -Mr. W. H. Pollock replied on behalf of tho centre, and Mr. W. H. Bennett for the harrier clubs. At a. conference of country club delegates held, during tho afternoon, rule; governing the M'Villy Shield were drafted, and arc to bo confirmed at- the- next meeting of the Wellington Centre. It is proposed, to hold the first shield meeting at freilding. Marathon Madness, Last week "Mercury" ventured a prediction that, the circumstances' surrounding the recent Marathon Race at Stockholm would lead to inquiry ns to whether it would not be wiso to abandon the affair. This view is; "borne out by messages since received in 'Sydney from America through, the Independent Cablo Service. The "Sun" publishes',a graphic message received in New York the day after the race from Johnny Hayes, tho 1003 winner. Hayes may not err on the. side of restraint, but he certainly makes his point thuss

"In such terrific heat ns that of Sunday the Marathon is a disgrace to civilisation,. Scvtmty-five men drove themselves into a state of insanity, and only 35 were able to finish, most of thorn demented. Tho temperahirn was nearly lOOdeg. "The stories of the sufferings of manj; of the runners aud what they did in their delirium aro too gruesome to bo related. One man is dead and another is dying from tho heat. ' "Lazaro died in a terrible delirium, shouting, "I am the winner!' Tho doctors said ho was suiistruck.' Slavik,'n Bohemian, was also in a very bad state. The American rminers' stamina almost surpassed belief.

"There is a eencral demand among , trainers and officials to abandon tho , Marathon altogether as, an Olympio feature, or else to subject it to euch restraints (hat-fatalities maybe avoided." The Trickle of Olympic Mews, Olympic news is filtering through slowly and not too surely. Further messages received in Sydney show that the favourite i'or the pole vault, Sam Bellah, the, American University s'.udeut and recordholder, was beaten, tho event being won by Babcock {a compatriot) at )2ft. lUin. Also that the,semi-finals of tho 100 metres hurdle race were productive of fine cxhibit'on*. Tho fourth heat was takon by 'Wendell (America), Anderson (England) seemed certain to win, but when he r<iw> at the last jump his foot enught and he came a croppsr. Kelly, of Amerin, won the fifth heat by 12ft. Blakeny (Ensliuid) struck the last three hurdles who'n holding a good winning position. M'Arthur, tho Olympic MaTathon winner, is n type of a'lileto that has hitherto b»Mi considered physically unsuited for this , ela?s of rcre. fn his bno'.c Alfred Shrubb 200s m far as to «nv that no firstclass distance, rminor should weifth even HI ston-s. M'Arthur is twenty-nine years of nee. stand:; 6ft, in his sox, and weighs list.' Gib. hndy who lavs down hard and fasf rule?, and regulation? nb"iit athletic "types" is but laving m> fr-mble for his future—for there i= no ntheltic type. 0-w.''"i(-.nlv fiiM'-r .wivvts of Hi« Olympic G'.mie« cab'"d to Australia t.'tan (r> ?C<jw Zealand. Frdin a Tierusnl i>f (he In tost files one clonus a (rood deal «f intorestin? information, itnd . a few items aro collected here for Domisios readers.

T\. C. Ci'nii; followed nn lii.-s w.in in Hie 1(10 ii'ntros l>y iiniioxiiii; tlio 200 niptros in 21 7-I0?co.—1-I0=cc. imtsiilo tlio Olvmnic record cvtnHifhed l>v A. Halm at (lie St. Louis Olympic Games in ISIO-l. Ho wns folimvi-fl lioiiip liy nnollii-r Anioricaii in D. J.ipiiinratl. with Urn lMnrlif.li runnor. W. U. Applcfjnrtli. in third plnci. Apiiloffiirlh's p?ifovmatLce waft midnubtcdlv_ ornil, for lie linil sumo wonderful srinters arainst him*

There must liavo boon an enormous fiold contesting tliq 400 metres event, as thoro worp 15 preliminary heats, Tho must noticeable feature of these preliminaries was Hie slowness of the times—Msec, by G. Nicol of the Polytechnic Harriers being the. best, while several winners look from 55sec. to SG 3-sseo to cover the distance. The ultimate winner. J. C, Reidpath, was defeated in. his heat by tiro South African Patching, but was evidently only out for a qualifying place. The. final must have been a wonderful race. Reidpath winning by a yard in 48 l-ssec. from Braup., who, in turn, was a yard in front of Lindborg. Braun must have been oho of tho unluckiost competitors at the gathering, for in (he SOO metres he fought Meredith right through, collapsing close to tho tape. A. N. S. Jackson, turning out for the final of the 1500 metres, must have felt i, stranger in a strange land, for against him were no fewer than seven Americans. His win under the circumstances was a highly meritorious performance. Ho was probably helped in his weord-brcaking run by tho tearing tactics of tho Americans. Ho established another record by being tho only Englishman to secure a. ur3t in tho track events. The World's Wonder Man, What a wonder Hannes Kplchmainen must bo! After winning his heat ho ran away with the final of the 5000 metres in llmiii. 3G 3-ssec, being followed home by Jean Bouin (France, anil O. W. Hutson (United Kingdom). Fire thousand metres is 188 yards mow than three miles, and en route the winner must have smashed Alfred Shrnbb's three-miles record of 14min. 17 2-sscc. by throe seconds or more.. Tho 10,000 metres (G miles 376 yards) also went to the Finn in Slmin. SOsec. J. J. Keeper, a Canadian, was second, and an Italian—A. Orlandothird.

G. Goalding'6 time in the 10,000 metres walk was 4Gmin. 28 2-ssec.— nothiuu wonderful, against G. E. Laser's 45min. 1(1 sec, for GJ miles, which is G4 yards further than Gouldinc hnd to ro. Lamer, too, it misht bo mentioned, put up this tirao vrhon oontesting a raco which extended beyond seven miles. Very full information was cabled as to winners and seconds of heate in tho H O i.i me J rcs , hu^ IM . nut the only news of tho final is that tho thvpo-plnocd men were Americans. England's chief lepresentabves, G. E. L. Anderson and Blakeny, had hard luck in the semi-finals, botn falling when holding winninK uositions. For the first time in maiiy a lone day Balph Bom met defeat in the shot putt, a, compatriot in P. J. M'Donald putting the implement 50ft. 4in., which iconstitutes, an Olympic record. Rose hnd his revenpo m the all-round shot puttins— that is, tooth r]>ht and left hand. I As usual, America had her own \iay in the pole vault, Babcock, of Cnlifo'ruia University, winninc; with 12ft. llJin. A. L. Gntherson, -with a wonderful'leap of 24ft. llin., -won tho broad iump—only Jin. behind P. O'Connor's world's record. l. Though wo are informed that Platt Adnius, of New York, won tho standing hipth jump with a leap of sft. 4in., notlune has come tliTOUßli' Tegardinu the running. , high jumo. _ Evidently Horino was not in ono of 'his record-breaking moods, else the news was sure (b have leaked through, Death of a Great, Runner. On ,Tune 8, at Edinburgh, the death took placo of A. E. Downer, tho celebrated runner. Downer, who was only 41 years of age, was born at Jamaica, and educated in Edinburgh—Watson's College, and Edinburgh University. Ho started running in 1890. A few years since ho caused a irrcat pensatioii by winning the Scottish 100 yards, 220 yards, arid 4JO yards championship- in oiio afternoon. In Jfay, 1895, ho ran 100 yards at Stamford Bridge in lOsec, 120 yards in 11 2-ssec., and 200 yards in 19 i-s?eo, At Hampden Park, Glasgow, he once covered 300 yards' in 30 3-ssec. Siwponded by the Enriish Amateur AtTilotio Association in 189G, ho afterwards Waved a big part in the professional ranks.'"AtPdwdcrhall Grounds, Edinburgh; he ran J284 yards in 12 2-ssec, and it was claimed on Ids. behalf .that at Cardiff;he:covered 350 yards in 3G l-ssec., but thn performanco was not. verified. In February, 1897, he ran 400 yards at Bolton in 44 4-ssec. His matches with E. C. Bredin and ollwru will )>e woll remembered.