TRACK AND FIELD

Evening Star, Issue 22457, 30 September 1936, Page 4

TRACK AND FIELD

athletic news and notes [By Pistol.] October 3.—lutorliouse girls’ sports, at the Caledonian Ground. October 22.—Otago Boys’ High School sports, at Carisbrook. October 23.—Technical High Sciiool sports, at Carisbrook. November 7.—Secondary schools’ athletic championships, at the Caledonian Ground. ATHLETES’ RUGBY PROWESS. Several of Otago’s best known athletes made their mark on the Rugby field during the winter season, the most notable, of course, being J, 51. Watt, who won All Blacks honours and became the favourite of Dunedin crowds. Watt has not won a New Zealand title on the track, but he went vqry close in 1934 at Wellington, being beaten by inches by T. G. Broadway in 50sec. He has held New' Zealand University titles over 220yds and 440yds, and is the present quartermilo champion. His performance in winning this event was a really remarkable one, because ho had returned only a short time before from the Rugby tour of Japan. Watt has it in him to achieve great things on the track, and he has held several Wellington titles. W. A. Black, Otago’s other wdng, is not so well known on the track as Watt, but he is a good all-round athlete. A more than useful sprinter, he is also a good long jumper, and his running activities have quickened him up on the football field. The New Zealand 100yds champion, 18. Tapley, showed great promise as a wing three-quarter for Southern, and should improve further next season. Herb. Smith, who was injured after playing three games for Otago, is a well-known sprinter in professional ranks, and ! H. A. Steel, the promising young •'■.University wdng three-quarter, 'is the holder of the Otago University 100yds and 220yds titles. And there are probably others. INTERHOUSE GIRLS’ SPORTS. The annual interbouse girls’ sports, conducted by the Y.W.C.A., .is always looked forward to by competitors, and exceptionally, keen contests are expected .at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday, when this year’s fixture , will be held. Not the least interesting feature will, be -the grand march past, and, as there are some 14 teams taking part, it should, be a - most colourful spectacle. A varied and interesting athletic programme has been arranged, andj if last year’s, meeting may be taken as a criterion, there , should be some yery good performances. ■, SU PPO! RT J FOR MA R ATM ON.Already the proposal by the Otago Centre that it should conduct a Marathon in October of next year as a trial for the Empire Games has met with keen support from a number of local distance men, and, if the New Zealand Council is prepared to sanction the race as a trial, good support is also anticipated from the north. There will be no difficulty in selecting a true Marathon course, and, properly organised, there is no reason why such a race should not be a real success and aet as a great stimulus to distance running. With 12 months’ notice of the race, intending competitors would have ample time to arrange their training accordingly, and there would be little likelihood of half-trained men taking part, a happening which would do more harm to the sport than anything else. As soon as advice is received from the council as to its attitude towards the project, the proposal wall be further considered by the centre. THE SPRINTER'S DREAM THE 9SEG 100 “ Some day an American sprinter will come along who will run lOOyds in 9sec.” This was the astounding prediction mad© by Larry Smyder, coach of the rising young negro star, Jesse Ow’ens. Those are not idle words, but represent the belief of one of America’s most successful coaches. Asked if he thought Owens was going to he a champion sprinter, he said, : “ Sure, he is going to give me a great reputation as a coach.” A group of sprint enthusiasts who have had an intimate knowledge of the champion American sprinters, their characteristics and their performances over a period of years, think that when the 9sec man appears he will he a composite of Yoshioka, Frank Wykoff, Charley Paddock, and Eddie Tolan. That is, he will be able to start as fast as the Japanese 1932 Olympio sprint representative, gather like Frank Wykoff—that is, reach his maximum speed within the first 20yds—wall have a driving finish like Charley Paddock. and the competitive heart of Eddie Tolan. . „ , , Yoshioka, of Japan, m the final of the 100 metres sprint at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, started out of his holes at full speed and jumped into his stride immediately. This enabled him to lead that wonderful group of international stars by three yards at halfway. However, he did not possess the necessary qualities to carry through to the finish, and consequently w'as beaten out of a place. Ho did nob worry Tolan, who knew the boy had not the strength to finish as he st&rtcd« Dean' Cromwell, head track coach of the University of Southern California, thinks that Wykoff had the ability to reach his maximum speed faster than any sprinter lie ever saw'. According to Cromwell, Frank reached his top speed at 20vds. Many sprinters do not attain their greatest speed until they reach 40yds, and that is too late for "the perfect sprinter. Paddock was especially famous for his finishes, and seemed literally to hurl himself at the ta Th‘o pictures of the finish of tho 100 and 200 metres at_ the Los Angeles Games give a splendid idea of the competitive heart of Eddie Tolan. He and Ralph Metcalfe arrived at tho tape almost together, but the great competitive finish of Eddie gave him the verdict by 4in. . . , .. The correctness of the judge s decision was substantiated by the moving

pictures of the “ camera eye,” which was placed at the finishing post. When on his way to Australia Eddie had; a workout at the University of California, and Brutus Hamilton _ said he did not think there was a sprinter in America who could beat Tolan over the last 40yds, , It is over that last stretch in highclass competition that proves whether a sprinter is a great competitor or not. That Eddie showed he has a great competitive heart was demonstrated in many a hard-fought _ race against the greatest amateur sprinters of the world. On the Mark. There is a possibility that L. C. M'Lachlan, former New Zealand mile track champion, will bo in Wellington during the coming athletic season. He is at present in Hawke’s Bay, where he was transferred from Dunedin (says a northern exchange). A. R. Wilson, the Wellington provincial mile track champion, will be turning out again this season (says the Wellington ‘Post’). There was some talk of his retiring, but he is keen to win a national title before he hangs up his shoes. Wilson, it will be remembered, defeated the New Zealand Olympio representative, V. P. Boot, in the Canterbury-Wellington interprovincial contest last summer. He is just the type of runner who might have done well at the Games at Berlin in the 5,000 metres. Being a former professional, however, he is debarred from such a competition, though a loophole was found in 1932 to enable C. E. •’Don ” Evans, once a cash athlete, to run at Los Angeles. The annual meeting of the Otago Centro will be held on Monday, October 19, and with many of the track and field men sorting their gear out it is to be hoped the centre’s Sports Committee will make an early announcement of the date for its first evening meeting. The Otago Boys’ High School sports will be held at Carisbrook on Wednesday, October 22, and the Technical High School sports the following day. The Otago Centre will stage the Otago and Southland secondary schools’ championships on Saturday, November 7, and the Secondary Schools’ Athletic Committee already has the programme well in hand. , This meeting should give the season a great start, as the competing schools include Southland Boys High, Southland Technical, Gore High, Otago Boys’ High, Dunedin Technical, M'Glashan College, Christian Brothers’ High, Waitaki Boys’ High, and St. Kevin’s College. Alf. Price, who ran second to H. J. Tyrie in the New Zealand 440yds championship at Carisbrook last season, is undecided yet as to whether he will be a starter this season. Price has had a long and creditable career in Otago athletics, and was a member of the team at the New Zealand championships at Wanganui in 1930, which included J. E. Lovelock. He has held both Otago and Southland titles, and is a runner who at all times has been a real credit to the sport. When beaten by J. E. Lovelock in the Olympic 1,500 metros event, the American, Glen commented; “It was a wonderful race. Of course, I was sorry not to have won, but Lovelock’s sprint in the finishing stages was too much for me. I just couldn’t run that fast.” Lovelock s world record time was 3min 47 8-10 sec, as compared with the former mark of Bill Bonthron, of 3min 48 8-10 sec, put up in 1934. Cunningham’s time or 3min 48 4-10 sec was also below that or Bonthron, and Becali’s time was 3mm 49 2-10 sec. A. San Romani, who finished fourth, did 3min SOsec; Dr 1. Edwards, in fifth place, did 3mui 4-10 sec, ami J. C. Comes . (Great Britain), who was sixth, did 3mm 51 4-lOsoc. The first five all broke the Olympic record.