ATHLETIC NOTES.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9325, 28 January 1896, Page 2

ATHLETIC NOTES.

» *• Weekly Press and Rsferee." [Br Vaultkr.] W. A. Low looked mc tip on Tne3day. He was en route to Westport, whence he has gone for a month or so as relieving officer for the Union S.S. Co. While in Westport the little champion—v.'ho was looking well, though he was not. quite right after his return home—could give amateur athletics a push along by making an effort to form a club. Who" knows but. what there might be a champion in Westport. After seeing the baro results as cabled, of the Australasian Meeting " Prodigal" in the Sydney Referee wrote :—" I must confess to being surprised at the easy win scored by Now Zealand in the second Australasian Championship Meeting, although after the cable had informed us that H. W. C. Bigg 3 had broken down I knew all hope of our winning had gone. Still, the last thing I desire to do is to make excuses, and let mc here acknowledge our defeat at the hands of better men, and offer warm congratulations to the winners on the decisive victory acheived. For one who was groping, as it were, in the dark, my ,selections of last week were not so far astray. In the 100 yds and the 220 yds Cartwright was my fancy, and the champioa amateur sprinter of N.S.W. and Queensland added Australasian honors to his already long list of successes. In the 440yda I fancied one of the Maorilanders, and one (Low) I cannot say whether Cartwright started in this event, but rumour has it that he did not. To get second proves that C. Campbell is a good quartor-miler. I hear that this is the Toowong ped's best distance. In picking Corner to win the half I made no mistake, but the time was slower than I anticipated. My first error was in the mile, in which I awarded first place to Corner after a rare go "■with Bennett. The cable tells us that Bennett won in the fast time of 4min 28 3-sth sec, but thenajnes of the other placed men are not given. Anyway, someone must have shifted Bennett along to make such time, and I expect we shall find Corner was the man. Not getting a run with Biggs for the three miles put mc astray a second time, but Bell's time of 15min 44 3-sth sec isjvell within Biggs' compass. This breakdown was a bit of bad luck for New South Wales. ... In the walks I placed Goodwin before Creamer in the mile and after him in the three miles, so vraa only partially successful. Creamer must have been in good form to win the double, but I expect to hear Goodwin kept him going all the way. '• I anticipated that in addition to winning the races Cartwright and Comer did annex, •we should score in the Mile and Three Miles flat and the Mile Walk, and the loss of these upset my calculations. So far cable reports are exceedingly meagre, and perhaps it will be best to wait for full details by the mail before commenting further. Still I cannot but offer my congratulations to Cartwright and Corner for their sneeessf ul efforts. Billy Cartwright 13 a lad in whose athletic career I have taken, and continue to take, a lively interest, and he has won his way to

the front by strict attention to training, abstemious habita and mode of life, and by his gainencss and determination. He is a modest, unassuming young fellow, and we are all proud of him. Again, I must no* le; the occasion go by without paying a hign tribut-o to the skill of Wβ brother, j< rod Cartwright, who, both in Queensland and Now Zealand, brought him to tho post m the pink of condition. As for Ensie Corner, there is no occasion for mc to add much, if anything, to tho many words I have penned in the past. A quiet, gentlemanly man, r, sonorous opoonent, and one of the gamsst fellows who over put on a spiked shoe, Ernie is much liked and respected wherever ho is known. " Young Bennett, of Dunalin, has developed into a raro distance runner, and I shall watch his athletic caroqr with great interest. His club mate, W. A. Low, who won? tho " quarter" in 51 3-sth sco was, 1 should say on that go a warm favourite for the " half." If 54ft llin was the best W. C. Rhodes can do with the weight wo should have not boor, so far behind with J. W. Tayior, who. at tho Friendly Societies' Sports, put 34:t lOAm, but then we knew Taylov had no chance with cither McCormaekor It. Martin with tho hammer, find it wa.* also looked upon as a certainty that MeCormack would compete in the weight event. Had it been known here that MeCormack would r.ot compete I am sure Taylor would have been considered to have a chance against anyone else. And he improves daily too." When "Prodigal" had the full details of the meetings baforo him ha would, no doubt, be surprised to find that Corner cut. up so badly in the mile and that, far from the Sydney man shifting Bennett nlong, the latter simply lost the visitor and had no one in front of him in the last lap. Cartwright, of course, started in the quarter but ho was no match for Low at tho distance. 1 can endorse " Prodigal's" remarks about Cavtwright's bearing and siy, too, that, lie was a favourite with those he mot in New Zealand. There's no doubt about Bennett, he is "a rare distance runner." With regard to Rhodes' put of 34ft llin and what " Prodigal" says. of course,the Wellington representative put, a week earlier, at the Now Zealand Championship Meeting 35ft 9in, but the weather was so filthy on Australasian day, that nothing would have surprised mc. "Rhodes can do much better I understand than he did on Jan. 4th, when, too, Louisson's second, 34ft 4in, was behind his last year's winning put. But the lot of it is, as I said in my notes on that meeting, poor putting, and I don't fancy New South Wales has yet produced anyone as yet capable of putting down McCormick, though, as I said last week, they have soino policemen now who are giving promise with the weight and hammer in Sydney. The N'.apier correspondent of this journal wires :—This year the coming sports gathering o? the Hawke's Bay Caledonian Society promises to bo a highly successful one. Already a number of outside athletes are here, and training for both cycling and running events is going on briskly on the recreation ground. C. D. Morpsth, the well-known Wellington amateur long distance runner, was married to Miss Eino Pope, second daughter of Mr J. H. Pope, of the Education Department, in Wellington, on January 14th. At a mooting of the Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club, held on January 13th, four active and seven honorary members were elected. It was decided to hold the next sport 3 meeting on the Wanganui Caledonian Society's ground on Thursday, February 27th. J. M. Ryan, tlio English Champion High Jumper, was born in Ireland in 1871, and when only sixteen years old lie cleared sft 9in, aud at eighteen and a half years he did 6ft He has held the championship of Ireland for tho past five years and of England for two. He is the holder of the English, Irish and Scottish records. Last season he broke the world's record by a quarter of an inch, clearing 6ft 4£in, but it wa3 subsequently lowered by Sweeney, the American. Ryan docs not train, but he leads a quint terataorate life. Hta weight is 133t 21b and his height is sft lO^in. Australians (says a Melbourne writer) have recently been doing some sterling performances in the way of club-swinging for 24, 25, and even 26 hours continuously. So much for strength and stamina. In London the amateur weight-lifter, W. Prance, on November 27 achieved some marvellous feats of strength, despite tho fact that tho muscles al his right arm were palpably strained. To commence with he raised weights of 631b. in each hand five time 3to arm's stretch above the shoulders. Then he took a dumb-bell of 90£lb with the right and one of 901b in the left, and lifted them simultaneously four times. The next feat constituted a world's record for amateurs. It consisted of raising a weight of 101|lb in the right and 101£lb in the left hand to arm's stretch above the shoulders three times. The record stood at 961b in the right and 941b in the left, and Prance smothered tho previous beat with ease. Last year, at the same place, the amateur champion beat all previous performances by raising 1121b with each hand, and he pnt this in the shade by hoisting lOljJlb and 101£lb thrice without, apparently, the smallest difficulty. Needless to say the appkuise was terrific. Then came another little surprise packet, Prance wiping out Levy's reputed record of a double-handed lift of 1121b by raising 115|lb (right) and 1131b (left) as though he enjoyed it. Prance next put up 1411b with both left and right, aud then beat world's records by raising 153i1b three times with right and once with the left. At 1751b ho also created a world's record! hoisting tho weight three times clearly. Lifting the latter weight with the left hand once ho beat record by 151b, and then a successful attempt was made with the 1861b. Prance put up 19321b, and although a slight objection was raised, the judgee were agreed that the hoist to arm's stretch above shoulders had been fairly accomplished. Afterwards Mr Prance gave a very fine exhibition with bar-bell 3, and—lying on his back—toyed with weights of 2001b and2l2lb. Ho subsequently kept time to a waltz tune with a 401b bell in each hand, and was loudly applauded at the end of a fine and interesting entertainment.