ATHLETES FOR GAMES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 67, 11 December 1937, Page 17

ATHLETES FOR GAMES

"Jogtrot." )

PENDING TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS CURRENT FORM OF THE C0MPET1T0RS UUWUMi AHEAD TO EMPIRE TITLES

(By

trith a trip across the Tasman to inspire atMetes in the tafals at Wellington on Saturday (Becember 11), competition tvill be as keen, if not keener, than at a national championship meeting. . In many respeets the triel will be Simi&i'' to a national championship, as all the talent of the athletie world will be on hand to contest the honoiJFs.

In paat Empird Games sUccess for the SllVer Fern has not been particularly. conspicuous, bUt it is eonsidered by the critics that in the forthcoming £vefit the Dominidrf has ev£ry chance" of seeufting fii-st placdS iri at least several of the evehts. Ihe Sprinters. There seems tcr be llttle doubt Ss to who of the sprinfers Will attract the selectofs. Quiiin, of Gisborne, fafldng champion oi latt year> and W. J- Fitzsimmons, oi Hawke'S Bay, present 100 yards champion,- seerri ta be the chief contenders. On paper it app'ears that the former has best chance of breasting the tape first, as his times are definitely superior^to anything returned by -the Hawke'S Bay rhan. It is obvious that if the wearer of the biack airiglet Cdfi return anything uncfer ten seeofids for the distance he is comparabie With the best fhe Empire can offer. It is regrettable that B. Tapley, the promising OtcgO rufifief. is not tiidfig an active part this aeason. ■ Over the fuflong A, J. Sayers, of Auckland, goeS fdirly well and there is g distinct pdssibility that he may make the grade it he starts in this evffit in the trifife. He is present quarter-ihile champion, well-krtown for his tefriflc dash nut of the holes. J. D. Carmichael, the Canterbury Universlty champion, has a good chance of fnishing weli to the fore in the field. The Quarter-mile. Competition will be exceedingly keen over the quarter-mile. There are quite a few rrnmers in the cotmtry who appear to have almost eqtfal chances of securing a place when times are compared, but it is generally found that Oii the day things pah out differently. Sayers, .present titleholder, has done 51 seconds this season, but he will have to do better than thit if he i$ to secUre a place in the teOMi. In the recent West coast (N.L) triSs L. Burgess, uiipaced, t an the dlstance in 51 2-5sec., and is cottsidered to be well in the running. He is an unlucky runner, for although he has put up good performances on the local track, he fails to reproduce his form when it comes to "big stuff." T. G. Broadway, of Canterbury, has held the title for the dlstance on previous occasions and in his opening run for the season recentiy clocked in at 5lsec. He is credited with having done under 50 seconds at various times and if he can strike form in keeping with these performances on the 11th will be a hatrd man to beat. H. Tyrie, the titleholder of 1936, covered the distance in 30 4-5sec. on the Caledonian ground on Becember 4. C. Rohlnson, of Wellington, is claimed by his suppprters to have a good chance of securing selection, but their grounds for this assertion appear to be nebulous. He has no finish to see the distance out, a matter that i3 of vital impdrtance in a race of this distance. Half-mile. Boot and Allen appear to have things all to themselves in the halfmile. Allen won the event at Auckland this year in comparatively slow time, but it is remembered that he was not pushed to any extent over the last furlong and went as he pleased. V. P. Bobt, the national record holder, appears to have the better chance of leading the way; home in this event.

The Mtie Erent. After the surprise afforded in the mile event at Auckland this year it is debatable as to how contenders in this event will fare with fhe champion, W. A. Pullar, who returned the almost incredible time of 4min. 14 4-5sec. at the national meetings There is no doUbt that it was the tefriflc effort made by Wilson, of Wellington, who pushed the southerner every inch of the way, that aecounted by the fast time, At the tape the Wellington man was only a matter of inches behind the winner, and it is regrbttable that he is debarred from competition owing to the ruliftg concerning reinstated C. H Matthews, generally considered as a threC-miler, recentiy stepped out over the mile iit 4min, 17sec. at Christchurch. This makes it apparent that Pullar will be called uptm to do his best and it seems unlikely that his plea for exemption from attendance at the trials will be upheld. In the days when the New Zealand champion mile was run in around about 4mln. ?5sec. it could be takeii for granted that Pullar wculd have everything his own way, but with other men in the country capib.'e of breaking 4mln« 20sec. it is & ciflerent thing. It is consldered that Matthews will be concehtratittg his energies. on the three-mile, but after his recent brilliant mile he may think seriously oi the shorter distance. Last season Matthews was hardly recognisable as the man who represen^ed the Dominion at the Olympic Games in 1936. It is hard to account for his falling off, but it may be explaiiied by the contention that every athlete at some period of his career ffilfst spell Up. It is difftcult to comment on form for the three-mile event as it is not known definitely who the competitors will be. Six-mlle Event. It seems that A. R. Geddes, of Otago, is the best six-miler in the country. His recent run at Caledonian Park, Dunedin, when he returned 31min. 33sec. for the distance confirms this. It is unfortunate that C. D. Weller, national harrier champion, will not be a competitor. From the effortless manner in which he won thc title at Timaru a few months ago it appeared that he would be a match for the best distance runner in the country. The fact that he covered six and a-quarter miles over ploughed fields, fences and ail kinds of country in 35min. 30sec. lends support to the contention that he would have been capable of bettering Geddes' time for six miles on the fl&t. Geddes finished second to Weller in the national harrier championship, being some 35sec. back then. Comptcn, of Auckland, recentiy ran the distance in 31min. 55sec. In the north he is thought to have a good chance, but on paper it is apparent that Geddes is the man to be watched. Mackay, of Wellington, has done some preparalion for the event, but it is thcught that six miles is not his distance. G. Bills, 5£ Wanganui, in a tvial held last week, returned 32min 16sec., but conditions were not of the best. J. Riddington is generally considered to be Wellington's chief hope, but from the time he put up a few weeks ago (32min. 16sec.) it is obvious that he will have to improve considerably on this performance to be "in at the death."