A FINE CAREER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 494, 30 March 1933, Page 3

A FINE CAREER

miss norma wilson PROMINENT DOMINION ATHLETE RETIRING FROM TRACK. REVTEW OF PEIRFORMANCES. Eight years ago Miss Norma Wilson, the well-known lady athlete whose retirement from the track and approaching marriage to Mr. Ted Morgan, New Zealand representatiye in the welterweight boxing section at the O'lympic Games in 1928, is announced, began to take an interest in running at a time when lady eompetitors were not* as numerous as they are to-day, and since then has twice risen to be the first lady sprinter ruxmer in the iDominion. Early in her career when Jackson Scholz, the famous Ameriean and Olympic champion sprinter, was in Gisborne competing at a club meeting, he watched the ladies' race that was on the programme, for running events for women were still in the experimental stage then. After the race he pointed to the winner as she trotted back to pick up her coat where she had left it ia,t the .starting mark and declared, "Some day that kid will be great." The girl was Miss Norma Wlson and she has since demonstrat■ed the truth of that judgment. Rise to Distinction. As early as 1926 Miss Wilson began to forge ahead and make a name for herself. In that year in Wellington she tied with Misss R. Manttan, the champdon, for second position in; the 100 yards. The following year she beat Miss Manttan. About the same time in Wellington she ran 50 yards in 6 2-5sec., which was the world record then, and covered 100 yards in 11 2-5see, which was also comparable with the best that was being done in other countries at the time. In the field of athletics women were then coming into prominence, and an appeal led to the introduction of women's field and track events at the Alympic Games in 1928. On her performances it was impossible to overlook Miss Wilson when the New Zealand team was being selected, and accordinigly she was sent away to Amsterdam. Actually she was not as successful as it was at first thought she would he, and did not get further than the semi-finals in the 100 metres

event, won by Miss Betty Robinson, a remarkably versatile girl athlete from the U.S.A., in 12 l-5sec. In England, however, Miss Wilson showed a return to form and ran 120 yards in 13 l-5sec., a world record on a grass track. She also won' an invitation international dash at the famous Stamford Bridge ground. Despite the reputation for speed that cinder tracks have, Miss Wilson was unable to do much good on them and preferred the igrass. Quite ia.part from the measure of her running sucOess, however, her appearance at the Olympic Games definitely established women's running as an accepted part of athletic sport in the Dominion. Miss Wilson's Come-back. Suffering from staleness from running too much, the Gisborne athlete went off her usual form and in the 1929-30 season was beaten by Miss T. Keneh, of Wellington, at the championships. Next season the 100 yards was won by Miss E. Martyn, of Christchurch, and Miss Wilson retired from the sport until late this season. It_was not, until she began coaching the ladies' relay team of the Gisborne Amateur Athletic and Harrier Club' for the Annie Holden Cup relay race, which took place in Hawke's Bay, that she made up her mind to go on the track again herself in the 75 yards

and 100 yards events, although she had done scarcely any training, and from there she went on to the Wellington championships, where she aga.in was successful. In Wellington she began a period of. serious training and then went on to the New Zealand championships in Christchurch. There she won the ladies' title for New Zealand for a second time, after a two years' spell from the track, proving herself to be the fonemost lady runner in the country. Against an extremely strong wind she registered 11 2-5sec. for the 100 yards, and won comfortably from Miss Kench, last year's Olympic Games representative. From Christchurch Miss Wilson went to Blenheim and from there to Wellington. At the last-mentioned city she ran her last race and returned to Gisborne on Monday last. It is to her credit that this season she has not yet been beaten in a scratch race, a very meritorious performance. At one stage this season in six starts she had six wins. Interviewed this afternoon, Miss Wilson said that she would be leaving for Wellington on Monday next and had definitely retired from the sport.