ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1948, 3 January 1914, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

[By Mercury.] THE VISIT OF THE AMERICANS. Janu.irv 3.—Tho Americans at Wnnganui. January B.—The Americans at Pnlmerston. January 10. —Tho Americans at Auek- ' land. Local Mooting a Financial Success. The bin meeting, , its performance!:, and its disappointments has como and gone. -For two years those at headquarters waited for it, while successive councils and that grand enthusiast, William Uninaek (some time of Queensland, now of San Francisco) worried themselves almost to distraction in the endeavour to collect as representative a team of American athletes as possibleno light task_ when it is remembered that the finances limited the number to four men and a manager. Among those unable, for, reasons of their own, to make the trip were such stars as Forrest Smithson, Georgo Horine, Ed. Beeson, tho late Ralph Rose, John Paul ..Tones, Hannes Kolehmainen, and Fred Jvelly. But our visitors eventually came, they did their best, 'and so far as Wellington is concerned, they have gone, though there is a bare possibility of a reappearance hero on their return from Australia. It only remains to review tho meeting. First of the meeting. Let it be frankIv admitted that in itself it was not tho unqualified success we all hoped it would .be. Financially it was a success though the gate was not within some scores of pounds of that realised when the Australasian championship meeting was held at the Basin Reserve in 1911, even though the weather conditions for the Athletic Park fixture wero better. Athletically, the meeting was also a success in that it was productive of good competition (though the fields were comparativelv email) and good performances, but of this more anon. Badly-Drawn Programme. Tlio public disappointment was not due to the quality of the snnrt witnessed, but was occasioned wholly and solcIv by the. drag between events. This was inevitable though tho fact was not recognised beforehand bv the powers that bo. Never have officials frorlfd harder before the' actual days of the meeting than the members of the joint council and Centre Executive and its various sub-commtfees ; never have any officials strove harder on the day of a meeting than did Mr. Arthur Marrvatt and Mr. J. C- Cusack, but . battling against a< badly-drawn programme they were beaten'from the beginning. On tho two days there wero but 37 items on the programme (bents and all included) on the first day (reduced to seventeen bv the striking out of the Invitation Half-mile), and nineteen on the second dav (reduced to eighteen bv tho fact that the quarter was run in one.heat on the first day). Of these items, eleven were field events, including the exhibitions of discus and iavelin throwing, which by further misfortune took place with no other everts foing at tho same time to engage the. interest of that large percentage of the public, who were ill-placed to see these field events. Truth to tell, tho Park is far behind tho Basin Reserve as a ground for the public. At the latter place the field events can he got off right under the eves of all spectators, stand and outside patrons alike; At tho Park it is possible for onlv ono section to. get a close view. Allowance should .have been made for this. Who Was This Unknown? But turning to tiie men who did things, Parker, of course, must receive first mention. Looking back a few weeks to the time when it became known that Iloseiiburger had. declined the trip, and that Jiis substitute was G. L. Parker, of Stockton,' it' is amusing to recall tho blank astonishment that settled on all and sundry connected with the. lour at this end. Who was this Parker, this unknown,. "Unmack's last hope" ? Resignedly, wp all looked to the other members of the team to carry him with* them, and by their own performances to make up for his shortcomings. How resignation turned to hope with tho news of his performances at tlio l'ortola Festival just before leaving, his fine run on the Basin Reserve the day after tho team's arrival, and his splendid feats at Christchurch and Invcrcargill is now a matter of history. It now remains but to make tho amende honourable to William Unmack, and to congratulate Parker on his performances last Friday and Saturday. With Duffey, Opio, and Woodger we have seen somo line sprinters in action here during tho past ten years, but, on actual form, Parker is the king of them all a I. the hundred and tlio furlong. It is not possible .to point to any three performances by anyono in these parts during the past ■fifteen years equal' to his hundred and furlong on Boxing Dnv. and his 120ydr. on Saturday last, and of the three it is hard to say which was tho best. In the hundred lie showed 1 magnificent dash. Getting off well .but not better than the rest of the field—for ho is liot a flier out of the holes—Parker, striding up against the wind in grand style, was gding great guns at fifty. Drawing on his field gradually, lie was still a yard or two behind at eighty when lie startled everyone by fairly hurling himself forward, and his finish was the best ever scon here. Some idea of the power of his running may bo gained from tho fact that he took nearly forty yards in which to pull up. Again in the furlong his dash up tho straight some eight yards or so ahead of his field was something to remember. Of that disastrous 120 yds., in which breaking down 15 yards from the tapo ho staggered homo • a winner 'in 11 3-ssoe., magnificnt time, oven allow*mg for the strong breeze behind him some little comment is necessary. To "Mercury," as well as to others at the finish, it seemed that Parker, on catching Pool, attempted to slow up so ns to avoid banging into the rails about twenty yards beyond tlio finish, which he had just managed to avoid in his heat—run 4yds. slower. Parker, however, states himself that lie did not attempt to slow up, and that, his leg gave out of its own nccord. There, is not tho slightest doubt, however, that the race should have been started well back against the rails on the north end of tho ground, in order to prevent any nossibilitv of accident. Tho result of tlio accident is .that Parker will lo laid up for a week or two at least, and the chances are that ho will bo unable to strike his best form again during the tour. But ono thing is clear —that on Friday and Saturday last ho was running well enough to hold his own with any amateur on the truck to-day. Tt may be many years before we see his equal in these parts. Gaughey, With the Shot. Despite his "crocked" knee Caughey showed classic, form with tho shot, his best effort of 44ft. 3in. being accomplished with tho ease and precision of a champion. You budding shot-putters, note tho little time ho wastes balancing at tho back of the circle, tho quickness of his jump forward, tho speed of his "change," tho whole-hearted way ' in which he hurls his wholo body round to propel the implement, ils high (not'too high) trajectory, and the full follow through. Note this last point particularly. Do not stifle your action iimnrdiatelythe shot lir.s left your arm. This leads to a habit of unconsciously preparing for the sudden stop before the shotleaves the hand. As a hgmme.r-thrower, Caughey was handicapped last week by his knee, but even at his best bo dons not appear to , bo as naturally gifted for this game as

M'llolm. Shot-putting and -.'hammor-' thron ing are almost as distiuct;as sprint and distance-running, and though many' men have won championships-■ at.-ihoUi.: (and out here this is nsually-.the case)-' yet when we get among the absolutechampions wo lind that OOi't," putters.; such as the late Ralph Rose and, I'. J. M'Donald, do not worry {about; hammer-throwing to any great extent'-: Nor do tho "hundred and eighty feet-" crs," such as Flanagan and*-M*'Gr.ith : ; among tho hamnicr-throwers.' achieve' greatness "-with the shot. Them is specialisation even in these events. • Templeton's Daring. Choked up with a cold, and with hisankl(?s bound up to .keep, him 011."liis' feet, Templctou, by his performances, l ' made one wonder what he ie really cap-, able of. Not the least interesting fea-| tore of his appearanco was his daring when trying to win the liijjh jump on Friday. -TJie last of his opponents went' out at sft. Sin. Templeton then had to clear feet to win. The average, athleto would liavo nursed himself taking the rise iu single .or at the most two inch sessions, with a keen oyo*on" second place, as well as first. Not so Templctou,. Six feet he asked ■: for straight away, and though ho failed in his three attempts, it was only-by the' thickness of his knickers as it were. Similarly, in tho ■ pole vault- 011 the second day. When M'Kenzie went out at 10ft. 6in. Templctou asked for lift. Bin. straight away, and it is "Mur-; cury's" opinion his pole . had stood the strain of his testing he would have cleared it. His exhibition in this event was delightful, for not once did he'look liko bringing the bar down. The most .-striking feature of his vaulting, however, is the clean manner of his clearing tho bar. Even our champion, "Len" M'Kay, seldom got the correct position. After clearing tho bar, and before falling, 110 was moro or less in a half-and-half position.- That is to say, side 011 to the bar, instead -of looking down 011 it. Templeton, 011 the other hand, is at right angles to his pole, looking down 011 the bar. The sc-eret of achieving this position lies 110 doubt in the sliding of the bottom hand up tho polo until it meets tho top hand. With both hands apart as our vaulters keep them, it is impossible to face the bar before parting with the pole. The contests between Templeton and Kcddell were to some extent disappointing. In their heat of the hundred and twenty Keddell got a break of about, a yard and a half at tho start, which lie kept till tho time of his falling. Templeton appeared to be labouring, his hurdling being anything but free. On the second day, in tho seventy-five yards,Templeton rose to his best form, and it is worthy of note that his 0 4-osec, in his heat equals the world's best for this distance. His failure to win the final is not surprising,. considering the too liberal handicaps (riven to Dovle and Stagpoole. Power's Gamcnasa Applauded. When Power was beaten fully forty yards in the thousand, it seemed nt first glanco as if he were as far as ever i from his best form. But an analysis of tho time disproves this. The winner, off 75yds., won in 2min. losec., tho fastest thousand ever run in New Zealand, and within 3scc. of tho world's record. Power's time was 2min. 20 4-ssec., which is actually a New Zealand rccord. On tho second day, while his condition lastfcd, ho ran a splendid race in the niije, in the first two laps of which ho caught all but the limit man. White beaten at tho finsh, 110 gained rounds of applause for tlio sheer gameiiess with which lie struggled 011 to the bitter end, though fit to drop three hundred yards from home. He has miito recovered his notion, and "Mercury" does not remember having seen a better style than his for a middle distance runner, legs and arms carrying him straight forward, and his stride taking in a. bis,'stretch without any suspicion of overstrain. Ths Local Talent. Of the local talent let it be said at once that, though not as numerous-as it has been and should be, it is far from being mediocre. Take the snriiiters, for instance. Duncan and Mark, though not in tho same class as_ Parker, are well ur> to tliu average of New Zealand champion sprinters. Oil present running there is not the slightest doubt that Mark is moro than a match for I Duncan, his superiority in the furlong \ being particularly pronounced. Though j Duncan is not as well as he was at the championships last year, Mark has im- j proved beyond -recognition at the huu- | dred and'furlong. 011 his showing against Wilton in the . three hundred, 1 however, ho is either not yet fit to run a quarter, or eiso lie Ims gone elf at this , distance. "Jimmy" Wilton raii a good race in the quarter 011 tho first day, but was askpy to give away too much, and in additnji the wind pulled him up. The most pleasing feature of the sprints so far as our local men are concerned was the promise ot a return to his best form by "Morry" Pool,.who has been under a cloud over since his brilliant win in tho provincial furlong championship two years ago. By tho tinie our championships ron around again ho will bo u still' proposition for both Duncan 11 ud Marie. Another, who showed more dash than for a year or two, \Ms Hubbard, who fairly ran away with the three hundred. Hubbard had hard luck in the 220vds. -fiasco, since by mischance lio was actually giving Parker a start. Adams ran a splendid race in the 300 yards, finishing faster than anything elso ill the race, and his win m the Consolation was well deserved. 1-lis staying power seems to -be 011 the improve, probably owing to his occasional runs at half a mile. Of tlio uo.'icts, Avery Morris, and Gaudon showed very promising form. Tho two liv-jsidcni ran line races in the quarter and Thousand respectively. Hall, winner ui tlio mile, who stood down two years ill order to bo reinstated,'is just beginning to got back to his old form. His break a way from Power three hundred ;. aids from home was a splendid piece of judgment. A. Hudson ran a splendid two miles, his Omin. 52 l-ssec. from Wjds. being equal to about lQmin. for tl'm full distance. Tho University .'-rack is much faster than- last year,- and seems to stay just as well, but ho should take a warning, and not rac-e so umch. "Darkey" Bvrne is 011 the'improve, his run in the mile and a half stooolochase being particularly good. "Winning easily, he ran under tho tape, Histoid ot breaking it. He was rightly disqualified, but., in view of tho fact that no 0110 had a chance of heating him, a special prize might bo given him. A Word to the Croakers, To those who croak about tho deterioration of our athletes, "Mercury' would point out that 110 centre ,'ii Now Zealand has' ever had at the one time such a bunch of good hurdlers as Wei-liugt-on's present tcaiu fetagpoo c, Doyle, Tait, M'Kcnzio, HalHgan, and Messenger. Thero is practically nothing between Stagpoole and Doyle over tho shorter distances, but at the charter Dovlo is the best of the bunch. Of Keddell let it bo said that our ohampioll, great though he is, is but a shadow of himself as_ he appeared st the j Australasian championships two je.ars | ago. Physically, lie seems weaker, in action ho is scratchy, and his oM pace is not there, while his fencing has lost its certainty. 111-health has tee cause of all this, and surely in his own. interest the champion—the S"oatcst; 120vds. hurdler ever- produced in Alls*; tralasia—will make tho present season his last. Nothing is more pathetic than that a champion should linger.•••!•. to be beaten by second-raters. 'I be walks were noticeable for tho surpr'siiigly-good, 'form displayed by the winner, nor. who has come back with n veil-; Rcance. Another old-timer who .came' out to make up a field was T; Mestori, who had not competed for some years.; His sporting spirit deserved a' betterwurd. Still another, who competed, at'tho meeting, was J. W... Hcenaß^-who.;

I; Lurjjptl out iii liie'thniisWd yards; after I { lieinu; nKiC'tire'inen' for'live years; H;s • i performance-was- in'.-keeping .with tint, -of others who liiive atit-it!|>L<;il tl;o Jim | J.ofFrid's^. Si v rs;' ■ i ■ .lbr»t to: tla''VK'a]i;c!;.?i.:l)osvoy"or-.: Cham- :j - ;pioiwDavo:Ca I weli.'and tliorki;i-il: 1 y ; .tjuVVicd his phi.'- in. j thejeam lor Melbourne; : It"])!' li-is hot! j g()od :a^;^\ : or. : : 'riio ; • ; lilit. .'ill'.: in thr pole. v.iu'tj. ; 1 Bsmiett's -Wit.- 4iii.. iii ,; he /hup, s-IV p, \ aHd<jutrip,siiidi 4 Jl^Hblinj ; I the hatumi'r. .Ir anything, is needed.to | demonstrate'tho ' htOp ■ : aliori!'.''(l :.l'.v the. ? Ainorican-inet iipcl"of: : iv>r6V.Edinii' : ri ; .)!ol'o'T(iiv! 'i tlio polo.;«it. is supplied;]* -MlvonzioV vaulting "on'i Sa.turdapi:l'Sf %pviousijv he:: \ had, never; dono... : bc-ttpr tlian..Slit,. Sin. ? lionii(?tt S.is>'i iVttho^l'uri.ii ill orj;a -.1 i"i p o'J; Dnnediii "in February; if he .can only' ie- -v peat- his' 43ft^^Hp^gcnia}jPiit i ctori|<>^ : -;a*;i;yeryf finevallj.;. round athlete, his winning:performances' ': this soasonibeingfgairiedyii: sueh : ;.widely.; cliffc-roHt.:ev6n.U: i .:as:j7uyds'S;aiM ; ;44pyds.; . flat, the shot .-putt, and'the hop, stop.' ■ .and •Imuch'l'; hotter than' Tie did at though;]? 131ft.;-is far''irom , 'bsing'a / biid\li'atrimcr..l; throw','. He;has beeii,.training,too.hard;, : '|- and should spell for a.few weeks. ;