GREAT HURDLERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 997, 13 June 1930, Page 7

GREAT HURDLERS

LORD BURGHLEY SETS BRITISH RECORD PAST AND PRESENT Lord Burghley established a British amateur athletic record at Stamford Bridge last Saturday when he went over the 120 yards hurdles in 14isoc. Burghley’s 14Asee is a long way better than the best New Zealand time. Away back in pre-war days, the late Gerald P. Keddell registered 15 3-10 sec. These figures stood for many years, until Harry Wilson, and latterly 17. AY. Lander, reduced them to 15 l-ssec. There arc many who think that had he been given the chance, Keddell wolud have upended the mighty Kranzlein, American introducer of the striglit-front-leg style of hurdling. In this year, 1930, that idea is neither here nor there. Keddell, against whom the writer played Rugby football in his later years, has long since crossed the Line for the last time. Tlie present generation knoweth him not, but even Roger Lander, who clipped off his Dominion record on the smooth turf of the Auckland Domain in 3 927 might have met his match against the far-striding Southerner. In any case, in hurdling, as in most field events, we are a long way behind world class. We can produce natural sprinters of the class of George Davidson, and an occasional fields event man of the calibre of S. A. Lay, but in most highly specialised events, we lag far behind the carefullj 7 -coached Americans. Their best hurdler—in fact, the best the world has ever seen—was Earl J. Thomson, who won the Olympic title eight years before Burghley, and followed it up, stale as he was, by placing to his credit in Britain a record on grass of 14 4-ssec.

Thomson's best time was 14 2-ssec. Apart from his Olympic title and world’s record, lie goes down in athletic history as the originator of the straight-back-leg style of hurdling. It revolutionised the hurdling of his day. just as Ivranzlein’s made obsolete the still more old-fashioned bent-legged methods of a quarter of a century ago. Early in the present century, George Smith had no superiors in the British Empire as an exponent of the old style of hurdling. Before him (Xew Zealand never saw* him at his best) was Matt Roseingrave. Were it possible to bring all these old-timers together against the best of the post-war cracks, Thomson and Burgh ley included, with tlie proviso that they should have two seasons’ coaching in the modern style of hurdling, there is no saying who would win. No field sport has undergone such a radical change in methods as hurdling.