Historic Domain Will Not See Athletic Champions of 1929

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 589, 15 February 1929, Page 13

Historic Domain Will Not See Athletic Champions of 1929

Popular League Headquarters Chosen for Track and Field Championships this Year — Pixtvince’s Athletes Afoot and Awheel ivill Assemble at Carlaw Park To-Morrow —Several Prominent Performers Short of Training May Mean Surprises in Some Events —Elliott and Savidan Should Retain Sprint and Distance Titles —Thrills Promised

in Keenly Contested Cycling Events.

At Carlaw Park to-morrow will be witnessed in action the cream of the province s athletes—pounding the track to clinch titles in the Auck-

land amateur athletic championships. Being such a close forerunner to the Dominion championship gathering, which is to bo decided at Wellington next week, and an ideal preliminary in which to choose a representative team, well can :it be predicted to be one of keenly contested events. And thus that soured interest and enthusiasm prevailing among fans throughout the better part of the ath-

j letic season, the result of unsatisfac- ! tory control of the sport, should be vastly sweetened. j Although in the past Auckland has ! pr

duced athletes who have consistntly earned Dominion titles and won their way to victory in international contests, there has in recent years been a lull. Her athletes generally, excepting that one lone star, J. W. Savidan, have been more of the mediocre class. But on last and this season's performances, with a little tightening up in organisation and control, Auckland should once again go to the fore to hold her own. Many of her promising athletes, although not yet fully matured, are showing the stamina and quality of which good athletes are made, and this should be borne out when they are seen in action to-morrow.

Place J. W. Savidan in the classiest set of distance runners in the Dominion to-day and most critics will murmur—the silver is melted and sold. His big victories in the New Zealand meeting and the Dominion’s crosscountry championships, when he outed the once invincible Randolph Rose, and his dogged consistence which has won him honour and fame both in all parts of this country and Australia, makes his name a household word among Auckland’s athletes.

The three and two miles events at to-morrow’s meeting both appear to belong to Savidan, although it is quite possible that he will be closely attended by J. A. Crum and G. Kells.

Crum has been running well throughout the season, while Kells, who lias not been competing lately, has a habit of jumping back into harness quickly and can not be denied the privilege of being a solid member. His best form was shown two seasons ago when he won the New Zealand cross-country championship staged in Auckland, but since then he lias not shown the same good form. After his easy win in the half-mile

“TEN DEAD AGAIN, GEORGE?”— tation after a race. Mr. W. Morton ( (secretary staged at Carlaw Bark last Saturday, Savidan would have bright chances of carrying off this event to-morrow, but with two other big races on hand he has decided not to start. This leaves a trio of handy men in L. C. Barker, j C. M. Olsen and J. *3. Watt, the present holder of the title. Olsen, an ex-Otago champion and present holder of the New Zealand title, made his first appearance after 12 months’ spell last Saturday, when, although becoming done-up and dropping out after thfe first quarter, he gave a brilliant exhibition of his long springy stride and fine style generally. An old athlete who knows all the tricks of the “trade,” he has been known to become remarkably fit in the space of a mere week, and consequently there is certainly n. possibility that he will prove a serious rival for Barker. Barker, however, has only recently got back into training and in his last

-Executive heads of centre in consul- ( president) on right, Mr. G. Metcalfe y) left. start could not be considered ut bis best, although to-morrow he should be 0.k., and certainly has exceptionally bright chances of claiming the title for this distance. Not a great deal has been seen of J. Watt on the track recently, but he packs a deal of stamina and speed at most times ancl will have to be considered. The quarter-mile flat should prove one of the most interesting races of the day. It will no doubt result in a hard tussle among a brilliant trio in Henry, Olsen and Meredith. Henry appears to be the shining light, but a recent leg injury is apt to prove a great hindrance to him, and if this is so, lie cannot be considered, with either of the other two. Meredith has also recently recovered from a slight accident which prevented him from training, while Olsen may even

stand brighter chances in this event than the half-mile. The quarter hurdles will see the present champion. F. Nesdale, in action, and he will most likely find most of his trouble in T. Henry and D. Kerr-Taylor.

Quite a classy bunch makes up Auckland’s quota of sprinters, and both in the furlong and the 190yds dash, the stage appears set for A. J. Elliott, the present champion, who equalled the New Zealand record over the 220yds at a recent meeting on the Domain. V. Walker is in the pink of condition, and is bound to be to the fore, while McCoy and Meredith have both good times to their credit. Meredith will no doubt make a much better showing over the 220 course than over the 100.

So far, only two have nominated for the 120yds hurdles, these being Shirlev and Fausett, the present titleholder, B. M. Murray, not competing. A newcomer in the name of K. Elliott, a hefty policeman, is now in the midst of Auckland’s set of field athletes, and having put the shot 35ft, besides doing something out of the usual with the discus, it can be expected that he will leave D. H. Grant and Co. some-

thing to do. But it lias always taken the cycling events to add real thrill to any athletic gathering, and if such is the case to-morrow it can well be left to the Auckland wheelmen to produce the goods. The distances are over a halfmile, one mile and two miles, and with M. Byrnes, last season’s champion, not competing, Jack Wade will not cause any surprise to quite a number of fans if he monopolises all three. His recent races, in which he has been giving away big starts, and yet winning with apparent ease, mark him as a champion. Next on the list come Nankivell, Whitten, Casey and perhaps the most improved rider of late in Stewart Baird. Nankivell, who hails from Christchurch, managed to defeat both Byrnes and Wade in the New Zealand championships last year, but having spent the majority of his cycling career on asphalt, he is bound to find a big handicap in the grass course, possibly the difference between victory and defeat. Whitten has been on the injured list lately, and there is a possibility that he will not start, providing Casey can set himself in a good position early in any of the

events he will need to be watched, while another who cannot altogether he left out of the picture is C. (j. Galbraith, who has performed remarkably