PEDESTRIANISM,

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2505, 31 March 1881, Page 2

PEDESTRIANISM,

The Melbourne “ Sportsman ” of Mar. 16, contains some interesting particulars of the Timaru champion’s exploits at the Hippodrome on the previous Saturday. The match O’Connor v Cann of Geelong was for the Gatehouse Champion Belt. Excitement run high, as, in the event of Cann being successful, he would have become the permanent holder, having won the belt twice before. The men went away with the rapid dash for which they arc both celebrated, but we are sorry to say Cann’s style of walking was not considered fair by the judge and referees, and he was accordingly disqualified. Fortunately, however, in the interests of true sport, the men continued walking, and ultimately victory fell to O'Connor by less than a yard. Baker, Edwards, and other good authorities present characterise the race as one of the fastest seven-mile contests they ever witnessed, and although we were unable to find anyone who had taken the exact time, the general average was between 53 and 54 minutes. O’Connor, therefore, is at present the holder.

The Gatehouse Champion Belt is a massive piece of work. In the front are three silver shields—the middle one embossed with the figure of a pedestrian and the other Uvo with the emu and kangaroo, and lion and unicorn, respectively. The fastest time on record for a mile is 4min. This was accomplished by Lang and Richards, at the Royal Oak Park, Manchester, the men running a dead heat.