ATHLETICS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22344, 7 March 1938, Page 15

ATHLETICS

* , EMPIRE CHAMPIONS IN ACTION CANTERBURY AMATEUR TITLES OUTSTANDING JUNIOR PERFORMERS The Canterbury amateur athletic championships have seldom been more happily conducted nor more keenly contested than they were on Saturday on the Lancaster Park oval. The meeting was notable for the appearance of the Empire champions, V. P. Boot and C. H. Matthews, who drew one of the largest crowds on record for a provincial meeting, but more significant was the general advance in the standard of competition among the junior athletes. Junior runners and the younger ones among the seniors were responsible for a succession of astounding performances. With apparent ease they recorded times which a'few years ago would have won acclaim for senior champions, and which even now would frequently win provincial titles. Particularly was this so among the younger distance runners. It may confidently be said that Canterbury has several potential Lovelocks among its juniors. The day was warm and fine, and the track dried fast after the rain of the day before. The athletes were honoured with the presence on the oval of Sir James Leigh-Wood, president of the British Empire Games Federation, who acted as referee. Champions Win Matthews and Boot won their races easily, giving the crowd some glimpses of the brilliant form that carried them to the front at the Empire Games in Sydney. Boot recorded Imin 55 4-ssec for the half-mile—two seconds outside his New Zealand record. Matthews in the three miles returned 14min 19 3-5 sec, running very easily. This figure was 12 3-ssec outside his national record. Each of these races was notable also for the performance of the second man. In the half-mile O. Waters, the voung Canterbury athlete who won the mile on the Friday evening, went with Boot for a considerable part of the journey, and finished 12 yards behind him, running strongly. E. J. Johnston, former Otago athlete, followed on the heels of Matthews for a long way and received warm applause when he finished 220 yards behind him, in time which must have been inside 15 minutes. Judges’ Mistake An unfortunate error in judging marred the sprint contests. G. C. Gordon won the 100 yards by a clear two feet from the national champion, W. J. Fitzsimmons, thus creating one of the surprises of the meeting. Reporters in the press benches had already written down their comment on Gordon’s victory when the judge astounded the crowd with the announcement that Fitzsimmons had been placed first, in 10 2-ssec, and Gordon second.

There was an uproar from the spectators, some of whom hooted the judges. It was regrettable that Gordon was not given the title which he fairly won, but it is reassuring to know that at the national meeting next week a camera will set down on record the undisputable facts of placings at the tape. Fitzsimmons scored a fine victory in the 220 yards. Gordon was close on his heels, but Fitzsimmons took a clean-cut victory with an advantage of nearly half a yard at the tape. His time was 23sec. The quarter-mile drew a field containing some promising younger runners. The familiar faces of the older quarter-milers were conspicuously absent. E. D. Queree, the Sydenham Club’s entrant, was the likely winner when the field lined up. He drew the outside lane and was running strongly into the straight, but when the held straightened up A. W. Lohrey, of Technical, had an advantage, and he carried on to finish a yard ahead of Queree, recording 51 2-ssec. Hurdlers and Jumpers C. R. Bradwell (Technical) had an easy win in the 120 yards hurdles and was second to the Empire Games representative, A. T. Anderson, in the 220 yards event, run in 25 4-ssec. Anderson was an easy winner from J. D. Nelligan (Canterbury) in the 440 yards hurdles, returning 55 4-ssec. H. W. Wilkins (Technical), was again the most successful field athlete, retaining all three jump titles. His figures this year were; High jump, sft BJin; long jump, 21ft 3jin; hop, step, and jump, 44ft 6£in. D. Herman (Technical) won both the javelin and putting the shot titles. There was a crop of young champions among the juniors. The sprinters were headed by a South Canterbury athlete, J. Sinclair, who won three titles, two sprints and the quarter mile. He was yards ahead of his field, running with a powerful, determined stride which carried him to the tape in times giving promise of big things for the future. His figures were: 100 yards, 10 4-ssec; 220 yards, 23 4-ssec: and 440 yards, 52 l-ssec. Schoolboy Miler

A junior of greater promise still is D. Shaw, of Ashburton. A schoolboy, he won a well-judged mile in 4min 32 l-ssec, time which only a year or two ago would have won him the senior title. He was clearly superior, running in second place most of the way and coming on with a powerful finish to race past C. Dickie, of Technical, and win by 12 yards. Shaw is a potential New Zealand champion. On the Friday night Dickie had beaten Shaw in the half-mile, run In 2min 3 l-ssec. Dickie is another athlete of great promise. The women runners turned out in force. Two new events for them, the

high jump and 80 yards hurdles, made their programme a fairly heavy one. Miss D. Strachan, Empire Games representative, narrowly retained her long jump title from Miss S. Oliphant, another South Canterbury representative, but she was clearly beaten in the 100 yards by the well-known Sydenham competitor, Miss K, Callinan. The best of the women’s performances was Miss Oliphant’s 12 l-ssec for the 80 yards hurdles. She hurdled in Ijne style and was only one-fifth of a second outside the New Zealand record. Detailed results were as follows: OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 100 Yards (New Zealand record, 9 4-ssec; seven holders; Canterbury champion, •G. C. Gordon, 10 l-ssec)—W. J. Fitzsimmons (Sydenham) 1, G. C. Gordon (Sydenham) 2, R. A. Rodgers (South Canterbury) 3. Time, 10 2-ssec. Gordon won by a clear two feet, but Fitzsimmons was given the decision. 220 Yards (New Zealand record, 21 3- W. S. Bainbridge; Canterbury champion, J. B. MacFarlane, 23sec) —Final: W. J. Fitzsimmons (Sydenham) 1, G. C. Gordon (Sydenham) 2, R. A. Rodgers (South Canterbury) 3. Time, 23sec. Won by two feet. 440 Yards (New Zealand record. 48 4- S. A. Black; Canterbury champion, T. G. Broadway, 49 4-ssec) —A. W. Lohrey (Technical) 1, E. D. Queree (Sydenham) 2, D. Brown (Sydenham) 3. Time. 51 2-ssec. Won by a yard. 880 Yards (New Zealand record, Irnin 53 4-ssec, V. P. Boot; Canterbury champion, V. P. Boot, Imin 56 l-ssec)—V. P. Boot (University) 1, O. Waters (Canterbury) 2, R. Hurst (University) 3. Time, Imin 55 4-ssec. Won by 12 yards, with third man another 15 yards away. Three Miles (New Zealand record, 14min 7sec, C. H. Matthews; Canterbury champion, C. H. Matthews, 15min 16 2-ssec) —C. H. Matthews (Technical) 1. E. J. Johnson (Westonian) 2, C. Dickie (Technical) 3. Time, 14min 19 3-ssec. Won by 220 yards. 120 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand record, 15sec, P. F. Sharpies’; Canterbury champion. C. R. Bradwell, 16 l-ssec) —C. R. Bradwell (Technical) 1, J. J. Lee (University) 2, N. E. Lane (Old Boys) 3. Time, 16 4-ssec.

220 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand record, 25 2-ssec, P. F. Sharpley; Canterbury champion, E. P. Newburgh)—Final: A. T Anderson (University) 1, C. R. Bradwell (Technical) ,2, J. D. Nelligan (Canterbury) 3. Time, 25 4-ssec. Won by a yard, with a yard and a half between second and third. '

440 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand record, 55sec, A. T. Anderson; Canterbury champion, A. T. Anderson, 56 4-ssec—A. T. Anderson (University)!, J. D. Nelligan (Canterbury) 2, N. E. Lane (Old Boys) 3. Time, 55 4-ssec. Won by six yards. One Mile Walk (New Zealand record, 6min 27 2-ssec, F. H. Creamer; Canterbury champion, F. W. Dukes, 7min 4 4-ssec) —F. W. Dukes (Sydenham) 1, L. G. Brown (University) 2, K. Stanton (Old Boys) 3. Time, 7min 7 4-ssec. Won easily, with two, yards between second and third.

High Jump (New Zealand record, 6ft Sin, V. Perasalo, Finland; Canterbury champion, H. W. Wilkins, sft 91In) —H. W. Wilkins (Technical) 1, R. G. Stead (Technical) 2, R. G. Mehrtens (South Canterbury) 3. Heights, sft 81in, sft 7in, sft Sin.

Hop, Step, and Jump (New Zealand record, 50ft lin, J. P. Metcalfe, New South Wales; Canterbury champion. H. W. Wilkins, Technical)—H. W. Wilkins (Technical) 1, J. Ramsay (Rangiora) 2, A. G. Humphries (Technical) 3. Distances, 44ft 6iln, 43ft 9in, 42ft llln. Pole Vault (New Zealand record, 12ft 3in, E. J. Winter, New South Wales; Canterbury champion, N. W. Mulvey, lift Sin) —W. Kane (Canterbury) 1, N. B. Manssen (University) 2, L. Wooles (Presbyterian) 3. Heights, lift 041n, 10 ft Ojin, 10ft 6in. Putting the Shot (New Zealand record, 51ft 6Jin, H. P. Rothert, United States; Canterbury champion, D. Herman, 39ft HJin) —D. Herman (Technical) 1, R. J. Bain (Old Boys) 2, C. W. Bromley (Old Boys) 3. Distances, 40ft 21n, 37ft 3in, 36ft 81n.

Throwing the Javelin (New Zealand record, 218 ft BJln, M. Sippala. Finland; Canterbury champion, D. Herman, 145 ft 6iin)— D. Herman (Technical) 1, L. Pearson (Technical) 2, R. G. Mehrtens (South Canterbury) 3. Distances,-148ft 3iin, 135 ft liin, 132 ft 3Jin. Inter-Club Relay (New Zealand record, 3mln 34sec, Canterbury; Canterbury champion, Canterbury, 3min 41 4-ssec)—Uni-versity 1, Sydenham 2. Time, 3mln 38 4-ssec. Inter-Club Championship—Technical. 60 points; Sydenham, 35; University, 34; Canterbury 16; South Canterbury, 15; Old Boys, 10. March Past—Technical 1, South Canterbury 2, Westonians 3, University 4. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 100 Yards (Canterbury champion, T Armstrong, 10 4-ssec)—First heat: R. Thompson (Westonian) 1. A. Boyd (Sydenham) 2. T. Barber (Canterbury) 3. Time, Usee. Second heat; J. Sinclair (South Canterbury) 1, P. O’Neill (New Brighton) 2, M. McCausland (Canterbury) 3. Time. Usee. Final: Sinclair 1, O’Neill 2, Thompson 3. Time, 10 4-ssec. Won by two yards. 440 Yards (Canterbury champion, E. D. Queree) —Final; J. Sinclair (South Canterbury) 1, M. McCausland (Canterbury) 2, W. Christiansen (Technical) 3. Time, 52 l-ssec. Won by five yards. One Mile (Canterbury champion, D. Lyons, 4min 36 l-ssec) —D. Shaw (Ashburton) 1, C. Dickie (Technical) 2, F. C. Allen (Technical) 3. Time, 4min 32 l-ssec. Won by 12 yards. 220 Yards Hurdles (Canterbury champion, A. Dini, 27 2-ssec)—First heat: C. R. Bailey (Technical) 1, C. Nixon 2. Time, 30sec. Second heat: M. C. Crequer (Technical) 1, C. Stanley (South Canterbury) 2. Time, 29 l-ssec. Final: Bailey 1, Crequer 2, Nixon 3. Time, 30seo. Inter-Club Points—Technical 65. New Brighton 25, South Canterbury 15, Ashburton 8, Canterbury 6, University 5, Old Boys 5, Sydenham 3, Westonian 2. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS 100 Yards (New Zealand record, 11 l-ssec, K. Martyn, T. Kench, I. Campbell, D. Lumley; Canterbury champion, B. Stewart, 11 3-ssec) —K. Calllnan (Sydenham) 1, S. Ollphant (South Canterbury) 2, D. Strachan (South Canterbury) 3. Time, 11 3-ssec. Won by a yard, with a yard and a half between second and third. 80 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand record, 12sec, R. Tong; event not previously held in Canterbury)— First heat: S. " Ollphant (South Canterbury) 1, R. Hughes (Technical) 2, A. McKlllop (University) 3. Time, 12 2-ssec. Second heat: N. Orchard (Technical) 1, J. Clark (Technical) 2, A. Pegg (Canterbury) 3. Time, 14 3-ssec. Final: Ollphant 1, Clark 2, Orchard 3. Time, 12 l-ssec. Won easily. Inter-Club Relay (New Zealand record, 50sec, Auckland; Canterbury champion, South Canterbury. 52 4-ssec) South Canterbury A 1, South Canterbury B 2. Westonian 3. Time, 51 4-ssec. Won easily. Long Jump (New Zealand record, 18ft 21n, E. R. Munro, Auckland; Canterbury champion, D. Strachan, 17ft Biln) —D. Strachan (South Canterbury) 1, S. Ollphant (South Canterbury) 2. M. Murray (Technical) 3. Distances, 16ft 1021n, 16ft 9in, 15ft HJin. High Jump (New Zealand record, sft Oiin), E. M. Forbes; event not previously held in Canterbury)—S. Oliphant (South Canterbury) 1, H. McAuly (New Brighton) 2, T. Scott (unattached) 3. Heights. 4ft SJin, 4ft 41n, 4ft 2in. HANDICAPS 100 Yards—First heat: A. C. Bond (6Jyds) 1, H. V. Rhind (6yds) 2. Time, lOsec. Second heat: R. Blackett (4£yds) 1, N. A. Smith (81yds) 2. Third heat; S. Fuller (6yds) 1, K. S. Jameson (51yds) 2, Time. 10 l-ssec. Fourth heat: F. O’Brien (6yds) I, G. D. Armishaw (Byds) 2. Time, 10 l-ssec. Final; O’Brien 1. Armishaw 2, Bond 3. Time, 10 l-ssec. 880 Yards—J. Patterson (75yds) 1, W. J. McDowell (60yds) 2, L. C. Richards (85yds) 3. Time, Imin 56 3-ssec. Women’s 75 Yards—First heat; K. Callinan (scr) 1, L. Brooks (4yds) 2, M. Le Page (71yds) 3. Time, 8 4-ssec. Second heat: T. Valentine (51yds) 1, M.' Hall (71yds) 2, N. Pullin (61yds) 3. Time, 8 4-ssec. Final: Valentine 1, Brooks 2, Callinan 3. Time, 9sec. POLICE ATHLETIC CARNIVAL NEW ZEALAND SUCCESSES IN SYDNEY (DIUTED PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Received March 6, 8.30 t?.m.) SYDNEY. March 6. At the police athletic carnival at the Sydney Show Grounds, on Saturday. Constable S. G. Stenner won the 100 yards championship of Australia and New Zealand, from the New Zealander, Constable W. Fulton, by inches, in lOJsec. Stenner also won the 120 yards handicap hurdles. The New Zealander, J. McCarthy, won the police mile walk handicap from scratch, in 7min 31sec.