SAVIDAN WINS AGAIN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 757, 2 September 1929, Page 13

SAVIDAN WINS AGAIN

THRICE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPION GREAT RACE AT DUNEDIN ('Special to THE SUN) DUNEDIN, Today. j For the third time in succession in j tlie New Zealand 10,000 metres crossj country championship at Wingatui on i atu rdav, j. w. Savidan, of Auckland, i em onstra ted in no uncertain fashion that he is easily the outstanding distance runner in New Zealand. Besides having won the mile and three-mile flat titles thrice, his *vicin Saturday’s race marked his third successive win in the Dominion cross-country event—a performance that lias never previously been equalled; the next best being that of J. Beat son, who won the race in 1912 and Savidan, after Saturday’s race, was ranked by prominent judges as being

as good as any cross-country men of the past, and the way he set out to make his own pace after the first halfmile had been covered was worth watching. II e opened up the gap on the first hill and thenceforth tlie rest of the field saw only his heels, and sometimes not even that.

even LlliAt. was equally at home on hill and flat —and there was plenty of hill-work —and the only man to foot it with him on ploughed land was J. J. Morris (Otago), who finished second. Morris was lying third or fourth the first time round, but he reduced Savidan’s lead the second time round and finished second, 150 yards behind Savidan, the winner’s time being 38m 12 2-ss, and Morris’s 38m 355. ‘•UNBALANCED TEAM” Savidan employed his usual long, loose stride all the way, and Morris also ran very freely. Morris was not so good on the hills as Savidan, and the Aucklander also held a slight advantage on the flat. It is worthy of mention that the last time the pair met Morris finished second to Savidan, that being in the New Zealand mile championship in 1927 at Christchurch. A. Barclay (Wellington), who finished third, was well placed all the way, and so was J. Sheppard (Wellington) who finished fourth. A. L. Stevens (Wellington), fifth, and P. 11. Francis, the former English marathon champion, who also represented Wellington, was sixth. He did not have the pace of some of those ahead of him, but he certainly showed the staying power. Wellington put up a good performance in winning the teams’ race with 18 points, Otago being second with 28. Auckland did not have a wellbalanced team, and apart from Savidan and Witten they finished fairly well back. Witten was fifteenth in the individual championship, and showed that he should make a good cross-country man with more experience. The Can- . terbury team ran very disappointingly, and its champion, J. G. Barnes, was not in the hunt after the first halfmile, this being due probably to the fact that he was suffering from stomach trouble, which caused him to withdraw after one round of the course had been covered. A VETERANS RACE J. W. Tapp, of Otago, a former champion, was another disappointment, and finished eleventh. He ran well below form, especially on the hills. The 39-year-old C. W. Frye (Otago) ran consistently well throughout and finished fourteenth.. He represented Otago as far back as 1910, and was the champion in 1920. Detailed results: J. W. Savidan (Auckland), 38m 12 2-ss, 1: J. J. Morris (Otago), 3Sm 355, 2; A. Barclay (Wellington), 38m 48s, 3; J. Sheppard (Wellington), 38s 555, 4: A. L. Stevens (Wellington), 38s 575, 5; P. H. Francis (Wellington). 39m 0 4-ss, 6; E. C. Brown (Otago), 7; F. Silver (Wellington), 8; L. W. Logan (Otago), 9; J. H. McLaren (Otago Individual), 10; J. W. Tapp (Otago), 11; E. J. Johnston (Otago). 12; H. C. McCarthy (Wellington). 13; C. W. Frye (Otago), 14; F. L. Witten (Auckland), 15; A. D. Kane (Canterbury), 16; R. M. Bauer (Canterbury), 17: S, Andrews (Auckland), 18; G. Austin (Canterbury), 19; J. Don (Otago Individual), 20; J. Crum (Auckland), 21; A. Park (Canterbury), 22: J. D. Pascoe (Canterbury), 23; L. C. Barker (Auckland), 24: A. H. Eyre (Auckland). 25. J. G. Barnes (Canterbury), and B. A. Bauer (Canterbury Individual) did not finish. McLaren’s and Don’s placings did not count for the teams’ race, and those who finished behind them went up one place in the. count for points. Teams’ Race. —Wellington (A. Barclay 3, J. Sheppard 4, A. L. Stevens 5, P. IT. Francis 6). 18 points, 1 ; Otago (J. J. Morris 2, E. C. Brown 7. L. W. Logan 9, J. W Tapp 10), 2S points. 2; Auckland (J. W. Savidan 1, F. L. Witten 14, S. Andrews 17, J. A. Cruml9). 51 points, 3; Canterbury (A. D. Tvane 15, R. M. Bauer 16, G. Austin 18 and A. Park 20). 69 points. 4.