HERCULEAN BATTLES FOR ATHLETIC HONORS

NZ Truth, Issue 1153, 5 January 1928, Page 12

HERCULEAN BATTLES FOR ATHLETIC HONORS

New Zealand Champions Emerge Triumphant From Stirring Australasian Title Contests MANY CLOSE FINISHES ANFrECORD-BREAKING EFFORTS

AND never has there been such brilliancy of effort and such thrilling

Imagine a race of three miles, twelve times round the park, with two fine runners dogging each other — lap after lap — with grim Intensity to fight out a gruelling last quarter-mile.

Effort on effort, round the bends and up the straight, finally to hurl past the worsted with barely six inches between them.

That's what happened in the

three-miles championship when Randolph Rose showed a remarkable reversal of form and turned the tables on Billy Savidan, the game little Aucklander, who defeated him in Christchurch.

And that is typical of the rest of the meeting, with the difference only that the Australian competitors were left far behind in this event and also in the mile.

But in most of the other races they were very much in it and New Zealand, represented by the strongest allround team ever fielded, had to fight strenuously to capture the shield from the Commonwealth invaders.

The Australian schoolboy "wonders" — hefty schoolboys, in all truth, with height and girth that many a man would well be satisfied with — made a clean sweep of the sprints and middle distances.

Carlton revelled in a strong headwind and flew to victory in the hundred yards, well clear of the cream of Australasian sprinters, including Parker "(Queensland), the holder of the championship, Lane (Victoria), a splendid type of runner, and our own two favorite champions, Malcolm Leadbetter and Charlie Jenkins.

It would be wrong to say that they were outclassed, but they were soundly and decisively beaten.

Carlton had to fight harder in the 220 yards, but he got there by a definite margin and his running shows that with a little coaching and polish-ing-up he is a distinct Olympic .possibility; certainly he is the best Australasian sprinter since "Slip" Carr.

The other youthful champion was Stuart, who carried off the quartermile with ease in good time under the conditions.

The New Zealanders were not so much out-run as out-generalled.

Stuart won the race which was run in lines. When he and Norman tore away from the others down the back straight with the wind dead on their backs, the New Zealanders took things easy and found themselves up against too stiff a breeze when they headed up for home with their opponents yards in front.

Stuart also won the half-mile, but the result was less satisfactory, as three hundred yards from home Olsen (N.Z.), who ran a good second, met with serious and inexplicable interference that utterly ruined his chances of winning.

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Athletic Correspondent.)

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He was passing Norman at the time on the outside and he received a bump that — at a very conservative estimate— rcost him five yards.

Level -pegging with N.S.W. right up to the latter end of the second day made the outlook anything but hopeless, though unpleasantly close for New Zealand's hopes.

However, a surprise and meritorious victory by the young: Dannevirke walker, Walter Lankey, definitely put the silver fern on top.

Lankey was up against Austen, champion of N.S.W. and Australian Olympic representative. .

Austen won the mile with ease, but In the three-miles Lankey stuck to him closely and — though the Australian

made the pace gruelling and several times tried to shake off his opponent — • he found that New Zealand breeds stamina and only succeeded in breaking himself up, so that when Lankey came at him two hundred yards from home Austen could only struggle impotently without increasing his speed and the New Zealander came in an easy winner.

Another great victory for New Zealand was scored in the auarter-mile hurdles, when — with his forcing tactics and stamina — Stan. Ramson ran the title and record-holder, A. Watson, into a state of collapse.

Ramson forced the pace at a phenomenal bat, but the Victorian eventually passed him only to see the New Zealander come again brilliantly in the straight.

Watson battled to catch him, but he simply couldn't do it and he rose at the last hurdle only to fall semi-conscious to the ground at the other side.

The effort had also cost Ramson a great deal and another New Zealander in veteran Frank Nesdale flashed up to snatch a dead-heat as Ramson fell gasping across the tape.

It was a fine performance on Nesdale's part, but the honors of the race must in fairness be attributed to Ramson, who forced the issue and unquestionably caused the defeat of Watson.

Another schoolboy overshadowed the competitors in the high- jump, but this one hailed from Victoria.

He was Davidson and he won the jump and smashed the record with the brilliant leap of 6ft. 2 %in., beating his team-mate and title-holder, Mason, by a fraction. New Zealand's hope, G. Sceats, cleared sft. 11in., but failed at six feet. Brady was out at sft. 10in. In the hop, step and jump. New Zealand was again to the fore and Jack Shirley gave the opposition something to think about when he landed in the pit to the measurement of 46ft. 2 %in. N.S.W., however, was not easily to be disposed of and Ebert bettered it by an inch. This sent Shirley's fighting blood a'soaring and he put in the magnificent leap of 47ft. Bin. The title was his and the previous record was overboard with a splash. In the field events, it was New Zealand all the way, although Queensland, with Eino Keskinen, carried off the pole vault. Peter Munro made a cinch of the shot-put and discus. Bill Harvey carried off the hammer throw, despite Herculean efforts by his team-mate and admirable sportsman, McHolm. Stanley Lay- threw the javelin so far and fast that the Scoreboard officials at the end of the ground started to wonder if it were really going to stop before it reached them — 218ft. 2 %in., said the steel tape when measurements were called. Unfortunately, the following wind precluded this being claimed as a record, though it far surpassed the previous Australasian figures and was very close to the latest world's record. Sutherland wound up the meeting by giving the Queenslander, Keskinen, the contest of his life in the Decathlon, but after a hard struggle he had to admit defeat. He led right up to the last few events, but the pole vault and the fifteen -hundred metres were his downfall.

Still, it was a game effort and provided a fitting finale to a meeting that was entirely satisfactory— both from the results achieved and the splendid sport provided.