ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1535, 3 September 1912, Page 7

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

THE THAMES RACE^

HOW BARRY W ORE ARNST OUT.

ALL THE INCIDENTS

FROM,PUTNEY TO MORTLAKE.

Interesting and very full accounts of the struggle on the Thames between Barry and Arnst for tho sculling: championship of the world are to hand by the mail. The account given Wow is that the London correspondent of the Sydney "Daily Telegraph." The narrative runs as follows:— '"■■■■ '' '■

) ■ Although Barry had the worst, of the writer in the race, the conditions'suited him a lot better than they did, the Mew Zealander, for Barry knows the Putney to Mortlake course of the Thames under all. conditions, and they;vary a.'great deal: It was on this'course that tho Cambridge boat sank-in'March last in the annual oight-oar race against Oxford, and . the. conditions on the day of the race between 'Arnst and Barry recalled those of the day •when"' the 'Cambridge boat sank. ,' ,

A strong breeze, bloving down. the river against tile, tide, churned the water into wiut&cresfced waves at certain places. Barry; is more accustomed to these conditions than Arnst, and, as he is an experienced waterman as well as a scientific scalier, it was less of a labour for. him , tcr drive his boat-through the waves, than it-.was for the New Zealander. .'

. ■■This' fact .was apparent in tho earlier ■part of the race, when Arnst had tho .letter water; but it was doubly apparent iri the last' mile, when, owing to the bend in- the river; both' scullers crossed over to the Middlesex side,, arid Arnst had: the worse of the water. The Englishman, owing to his skill as a waterman almost as much, to his. line oarsmanship, was able to keep in touch with Arnst when conditions were favouring the New Zealnnder. The water was bad for both, and it was worse for the Englishman, but his experience, of rough water helped him to minimise the advantage Arnst reaped from fceeping'.in close to. the Surrey bank: But when, the time came for Arnst. to plough through the choppy water, while Barry had the protection of the Middlesex'.. Bank; , lie could not stay with, the Englishman in spite of. his enormous physical strength.' Barry went aVay from him easily, and Arnst, after falling far behind,, made a magnificent effcrt to catch' him. . . ••■' .'■■.' ■■"■-■.

• It was a hopeless effort, but it showed what a' splendid soortsman the New Zeahnder is. Ho,went ou-until he was completely exhausted. Ho had rowed himself out, and had come to a standstill hpforo Harry reached the winning-post. A few moments 1-ate'r lw picked up his sculls and completed the course. "■• .. . ■

. .. '• .... The Start. , ■ The race started from , stakeboats a little Wlow Putney Bridge. Barry was. first to appear,, and Avnst kept him waiting. A few minutss. It Was raining at the time, ond there was some sympathy with: the. Englishman at being kept, waiting for the start, which expressed itself in the form of-banter when" Arnst appeared. -The depay had been caused by the Now Zealander finding that tho handles of his sculls were '«. bit."soapy:"; Ho seiit them Track to the TMatshed to r have them attended to. When he. tried'them again. Us,was still dissatisfied, and sent them back a second time.

The start was by,mutual consent, nn<l the men got away together. Contrary to expectations,:tlio Englishman; who i? nsunlly.slow in getting away, pulled a faster stroke than Arnst, and led at the,end of the first minute... Barry, le.d .off at 18 for the fJTsfbalf-minure', and..il2.;fqf;th.e."mmiiite, compared with Artfst's'l7:''awr : 111. 'JSrnst sooii wippd'<vjtvthefeidl and-put-ting Tiis • weight _■ :fnto his .- work secured a 'lead-' 'of a "length/' He increased , > this" '"by '' another : threequarters of- a lcngth.'bU't by that time Barry had decided notito'let .him get-any, further away. ' ,

:■■' ■ ■'■ ..; Chasing. Arnst. : He went after Arnst, and'-at the mile post had caught up iialf a length. Arnst tried to shake him off, but the Englishman crept up closer to'•him.i.and both Ehot imer : ' Hemmersmith Bridge with of a length between them. But.iip !to this stage tho water had been comparatively Smooth, though by no means in : an ideal state for the Tace. , . •'■..'.■' : Arnst, who had won the toss for position,'had chosen the Surrey side. He had slightly better water than his opponent, but' Barry had somo advantage from the tide. ■' . •'■':'■ ■ Each boat was followed a few feet behind by.a.cutter rowed by eight men. In the bow of eneh.:cnttcr wasa fat man in nn overcoat, who was piloting one of tho scullers, telling him how to steer to make the best course, and to keep out of the choppy water. "Bozzy" Phelps, a boatbuilder at: Putney, who is a well-known Thames waterman, was piloting- Arnst from the cutter behind the New Zealander, and "Tom" Green, n* familiar a figure to the Thames rowing men, did similar duty for Barry. ' There . were many excited and enthusiastic supporters amongst the spectators on the banks nnd \in tho steamboats following the race, but the most excited and enthusiastic,.individuals 'were Phelps and Green. The spectacle of two , 'short,' stout men—whoso stoutness was increased by overcoatspitting in the bows of the narrow cutters, waving theirhands as they shouted hoarse f warnings of encouragement to their charges, added to-the race as a spectacle, ■if.not to its picturesqueness. --, ■ - ./ ■' ■

: Barry's Method. Barrv has'won his races in much tho Bamo way. • Ho is a splendid stayer, but not usually fast at the start. . He lets his opponent take the lead, and'if the latter does not get more than a couple of lengths ahead Barry feels tolerably safe in being able to overtake him and beat him in the last mile. His plan with Arnst'was not to let the New Zealander'get too faraway, and when his supporters saw him gaining on to Arnst, and reducing the lead before half the distance had been completed, they felt confident that he would win. After passing Hammersmith Bridge Barry drew level, but Arnst spurted and established . a' lead. Barry again chal-. lenged him, and not only drew level, but passed ■ his opponent by a ciunrter of "a length. The -boats- were only about 10 yards apart, and the -soullera-looked acro.=« at each'other at every . few strokes to fcs bow the ether was taking it. As they entered the Chiswick Reach—where the water was particularly, rough—Arnst drew level and went ahead. . Tfc -was- part of his- pilot's duty. to. keep . Arnst out a' little from the bank, so as to give Barry an extre-moly bad passage through the water; hut, in spite of this handicap, the Englishman, who wa« rowing splendidly,.. was never more'than a length and a half behind. It was apparent that.-Arnft had- to labour very hard to keap ahead,..and that Barry's 'easy Rtyle. had enabled him to kmi comparatively fresh. ;,. •, ■ ■ • : .-, Arnst Left Behind, ' The f(iic;tion uppermost in the minds of the supporters oj Arnst, after, half the course had been 'covered, wa< whether hs coulfl hK the distance. He was obviously feolin? the strain, but he had established :i reputatiun for strength and stamina. - When the scullers shot across the river for the Middlesex bank in order to make tho best u.-e of the bend, thu f|'nc.ition wai soon settled. This, part of the courie to the flni.«hing post gnvn Barry more favourable water, and he made the most, of it. Hr «oon.drow Ifvel with Arnst, and .pawod him. The latter ploughing his way through the white'.raitfxl waves, tried' to hang on to his opponent, but Barry put on a spurt, and won had a lead of a couple of lengths. Arnst could havo got quieter water by going in behind Barry, but as this would have necessitated his coming out again whsn the wanted to challenge the leader, he kept his own course. Before"Birnes.Bridge,.was reached, the race was practically over; ■ Arnst was tirde out,'but"he-kept on gamely. Barry shot past' the' bridge six lengths to tho , good. Arnst looked round to see if he had any chance of catching his opponent. It. was practically hopeless, but Aβ tried,

Ho quickened up , to 2S, and reduced the lead to less thaw throe lengths, though it was partly oil sufferance, aa Barry maintained mcrols , an even paco. The spurt clea:ticd out the game New Zoalandor. Ho stopped rowing, and his head fell forward. Barry, SO yards away, passed the winning post, ainid enthusiastic cheers.

Arnst picked up his sculls and rowed the rest of the distance. Barry pnddled over to-him. and shook hands. Arnst was overcomo at his dofoat, mid, Barry patted him on the back.

LEAGUE FOOTBALL,

THOSE ALLEGATIONS

"SCENES" IN" AUCKLAND MATCH.

(By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, September i.

There seems to have bean some very rough play in tho Northern Union match an Saturday, when Auckland defeated tho Liffht Bhies. The editions of the evening papers on Saturday did not mention it, but the "Herald" states as follows:— Play was fast and fcenerally very interesting; but in tho second half, the game ■was .completely marred by unsportsmanlike play. Sorao of.the players resorted to illegal tactics, and at times. disgraceful scenes were witnessed. Fists were flying in the scrums, itnd time and again when a man was tackled with the ball, the tackier, not content, -with downing his man, would rub his head in the mud, or give him a gentle ; reminder with his fist ;. ■.....■■

On ond occasion'two forwards were'engaged in a'bout of fisticuiffs In the ocntrfc of the field, but, strange to say, the incident escaped the'iwtice of tho referee. A linesman, however, noted the. occurrence and, on' the referee being informed of what had happened, BiiTgie, of the New South Wales team, and 'Mitchell (Auckland) were cautidned! The warning, however, hnd little efffct as, in the very next sci'iinv two of tlio ■ players should have' been ordered off fdr foul play.,

Near the einil of the j<?ame Curran, the Auckland c?ntre-t.h'reo-riuarter,'. tackled Dean in front of the press table, and the Sydney man :lmmedintel',v turned on his opponent/and"struck him on the face. The Sydney lnnn was sent off tho field, being subjected' to a hostile demonstration from the. crowd: as. he returned to the dressingroom. Another Sydney three-quarter should have been sent off at the same time for striking an Aucklander who attempted to null Dean off Curran.

The crowd was. now so worked up that many hundreds invaded the field, and. at one' time,, it, looked as if there would have been a. riot. ■

In fairness to tlui local men, it must be said that tliey ware not the aggressors, and it was noticeablii even that, on many occasions, they, were! slow to retaliate when punched and kicked. The visitors aecusej the local men of obstruction,, nnd one version , of the troubl'f; on Saturday is that,..when the referee failed to. penalise Auckland for illegal play, the visitors gave up playing foot'ball and "played the' man" instead. The advertisement ' which the League game will get out of the. match will not be a good one, and the local executive 'is to be sympathised wiilli, as, throughout the season, an honest .attempt has been made to keep the play locally free from any' objectionable practices.. The New South Wales' players Iwivo styled them-selves-"missionaries.." but it is sincerely to be ■ hoped that therei will be no very wide dissemination of tbe> doctrines which some of',them propound. \ . THE CHRISTCSUBCH TEAM. (By Telezraph.—Pre>e Association.! Chrjstchurch, September 2. The team to represent Canterbury, against : tha New ' South Wales -League players is as follows:—Stevens, M'Phail, Mitchell, Hardingham, Kruise, Stokes, Bussell,' Sbanks, Auld, Shadbplt, Morris, Campbell, Pearce. Of these, seven have represented Canterbury- on various occasions in the Union game,.. ...'',- ■ -, '•.■•.: :

ROQlJ^^Q^:

COLLEGIATE SCHOOLS MATCH. . (By' Telegraph.— Prill- Association'.) Auckland, September 2. •'The Nelson College Eugby fifteen met the- Grammar School to-day, the match .ending in a draw—9 points all. .The visitors scored three unconverted tries, and three penalty goals were kicked for the. Grammar School.

LADIES' HOCKEY.

MATCHES.OF SECOND ROUND. The following are the matches and dates of the second round under the auspices of the .Wellington. ladies' Hockey Association:— . • . '- Sehior .Matches. .' ■ September- 21.—Syrens v. College ' Old Girls A; St. Augustine v. Petone; Ramblev A, a. bye. ' . • September 28.—Syrens v. Rambler A; St. Augustine v; College Old Girls A; Petone- Ladies, a bye. • October 5— Syrans t. St. Augustine; Rambler v. Petone Ladies; College Old .Girls, a bye. . . October 12;—Syrtns v. Petone; Enmbler A v. College .Old Girls A; 8t: : Augustine,a bye. October I!>.—Rambler A v. St. Augustine; College Old Girls A v. Pe.tono; Syrens, a bye. Junior Matches. September 7.—Rambler B v. Potoue District High School; Girls' College v. Rata;'Hero rhjni v. College Old Girls B. September 14.—Rambler B v. R-ata ; Petone- District' High School v. College Old Girls B; Girls' College v. Herewhini. September 21.—Rambler B v. Girls' College; Petonc District' High School v. Herewhini; Rata v. College Old Girls B. September 28.—Rambler B v. Herewhini; Petone District High School' v. Rata; Girls' College v. College Old Girls' B. ' October 0.-Ramble-r B t. College Old Girls B; Petone District/High School v. Girls' College; Rate;, v. Hwewhini. . •

AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

IDEA OP INTEREST. ATHLETES FROM PACIFIC COAST. Mr. William. Unmack, of San Francisco, lias written to Mr. R. Coombos, president of the A. A. Union of Australasia, expressing the opinion that Australia has all tho material necessary for making world-famous athlete, the only thing necessary to develop these latent talents is first-class competition,, and someone capahie and ablß to show tho men just how to get the best, out of themselves, whether it is sprinting, hurdling, jumping-, weight events, or what not. Mr. Unmack, who is an active official of the. Pacific Athletic Association makes a very interesting proposition, to wit, the tour of Australia and New Zealand by a team , of ' American champions chosen exclusively from the Pacific Coast. " ■ ■ Such a team would probably.include the following men:— Running high jump— George Horine, of Stanford University and Olympic Club. ,■'■.- Running broad jump—Fred Allen, of the Hnivewity of California; Sam Bellsih,, of Portland. Shot ciml hammer—Ralph Rose, of the Olympic Club. Hammer throw—K. Shnttnck, of the University of California. Discus ami jnvelin—S. Bellah, Halph.Roso, nnd K. Slinltut-k. 120 yards hiirrtlf--—Freil Kelly, of, the UniVcrMty of Southern California. 410 ;i if'l 860 ynrcl.s-t-OlnreiiCP Edimmdson, of the HoiiHlo Athletic Club. One mile and 2 miles—Walter M'Clure, of the Multnomah Club, Portland. Sprint-!-!. Courtney, of tho Seattle A.C.. and Fui Woods, of the University of California. — .Goorse Horine is the holder of tho world's record in the running high jump, with ii leap of Gft. 7in., nnd was placed third in this event at Stockholm, h.ivitta jumped himself stale long before ho left New York. Ralph Ro'o and Fred. Kelly are.Olympic | champion?.

BOXING.

RUDD IN WINMXG FORM. The fact that "Ernie" Zanders, th« ti< cently-arrived' American . midoUe-weiiht,.

was to make his first appearance against "Bill" Rudd, attracted u largo crowd—botween 201111 and MOO—to tho Stadium on August 'U (says the Sydney "Kelcree"). Rudd, though a strong follow and heavy punchor, had so far failed to ninkn good in the minds of tho public, who lomi'i liberal his recent defeat liy "Tory" Ki-ili-r. and the summary manner in which "Pat" Bradley dealt with him. ■

Euild has every physical essential for the game, and should have boon much more successful; but (here was something askew somewhere. However, it may bo different from now on.

From nlmosf the moment "Rudd and Zanders put their hand* up there was only ono in it. Zanders used his left to score points, and liis I'eefc were, here and there, nicely at work. Kudil kept him on the move, and there- was no steam at all in the American's attack,' which was more of a defensive than an aggressive nature.

So littlo did tho snorts at the ringsidn think of Rudd'.s chancp, through brine impressed by the fact, that Zanders had como all the. way from America under special engagement, also the published statements that he was in lino for world's middle-weight supremacy, that mnny of them laid as much as 8 to 1 on tho visitor. In a few words, Rudd completely overwhelmed tho enemy. From first to last he never lost confidence a moment,' and Zanders was beaten in tho third round.

Zanders is a very nice sort of person, who would'make friends anywhere, but he cannot be referred to a.s the real goods from a fighting point of view.

MOTOR-BOAT RACES.

A WIN FOR AMERICA. By Telosraph—l'r«sa Association—Oopyrieht ■ New York, September 1. America won the first , motor-boat race of the international series, Mr. Blaekton's Reliance tho Second beating the British challenger, Mr. Mackay Edgar's Mapleleaf. . The time was 48min. 29sec—a world's record. The Marquis of , Anglesey's Moua was third. . .

SCULLING CHAMPIONSHIP,

PEARCE'S DEPOSIT COVERED. Bj Telecranh— Press Association-Coprrieht (Rec. September 2, 9.10 p.m.) Sydney, September 2. Pearce has baen advised that Barry has covered his deposit, and is willing to row him in May'for the world's sculling championship. I'earce is willing to row in May. ilia whole stake has been guaranteed.