RECORDS BROKEN ON FIRST DAY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26030, 6 February 1950, Page 9

RECORDS BROKEN ON FIRST DAY

empire games

Miss M. Jackson Equals Best World Time For 100 Yards W. H. NELSON WINS OPENING EVENT FOR NEW ZEALAND From Our Own Reporter AUCKLAND; February 5. highest international standards iTh opening of the track and field section of the Britnr«»vin^? lre f* ames at Eden Park yesterday. Records set at Tankon f? mes w ere broken frequently, and Miss Marjorie wmdd j 7 ou " g Australian sprinter, twice equalled the world record for the women’s 100 yards.

w ? rst w * nner °f the games was a New Zealander, VV. H. Nelson, who won the six miles event. day made for record breaking. At the start of the afternoon there was a light south-westerly breeze, but it died away before the athletic programme began. The weather was rather cloudy but very warm, and the track hard and very last. As the time for the opening ceremony approached the ha<l SWelled to about 40 > 000 > Presented a gay

In the finals decided to date, Australia has been the most successful country, with three first placings, two seconds, and one third. New Zealand has a first and a third, Scotland two seconds, one of them a tie, Nigeria a tie for second, and Canada one third.

The women’s world record for 100 yards of 10.8 seconds, established by the Olympic champion, Mrs Fanny Blankers-Koen, of Holland, was equalled, by the 18-year-old Australian runner, Miss Marjorie Jackson, in winning her heat and the final. This was one-fifth of a second better than the New Zealand record and one-tenth of a second faster than Miss Decima Norman’s Empire Games record. J- F. Treloar, of Australia, equalled the British Empire record for 100 yards of 9.7 seconds in his heat. He established fresh figures of 9.6 seconds in his semi-final, this also equalling the New Zealand record set by Treloar at Christchurch and Auckland during his tour of New Zealand in 1947. In the final Treloar again clocked 9.7 seconds. Another games record was made when the Olympic champion, John Winter, won the high jump at six feet six inches, equivalent to his winning height at Wembley. Winter also broke the New Zealand record of six feet five inches which was established by V. Perasalo, of Finland, at Auckland, during a tour of the Dominion in 1935.

In this event J. H. Borland, the Christchurch Boys’ High School, Otago University, and New Zealand champion, who was beaten out of second place on a count back, cleared six feet five inches, -which was a fresh New Zealander’s best performance. It was one inch and three-quarters higher than the figures Borland established at Christchurch two years ago, a remarkable effort for a man whose height is only five feet eight inches. The 440 Yards Hurdles Duncan White, the Ceylonese athlete who finished second in the Olympic event, made new Empire figures for the 440 yards hurdles when he won his heat in 52. P seconds. White’s time was actually better than the officially recorded Dominion mark, which stands to the credit of J. M. Holland, at 53.8 seconds, but Holland has a performance of 52.6 seconds established at the recent New Zealand championships awaiting recognition. Holland’s time in the second heat of 53 seconds was also faster than the officially listed mark. These new records were all approved by the referee, Mr A. C. Kitto, and several other athletes in winning their heats achieved times that were better than the former Empire Games records. They were Miss Shirley Strickland (Australia), who did 10.9 seconds in a heat and semi-final of the women’s 100 yards, and Miss V. Johnston, of Australia, who registered 11.1 seconds in .her heat and semi-final. W. H. Nelson, of New Zealand, was the first athlete to mount the' victory stand. Nelson’s win by a good 20 yards in 30 minutes 29.6 seconds was accomplished after he had run one of the greatest tactical races of his career. His time was only 15.1 seconds outside C H. Matthews’s Empire Games record, and 30.2 seconds slower than his own New Zealand record. Nelson’s Win The most exciting race of the day was the six miles, won by Nelson from A. Forbes (Scotland), and N. Taylor (New Zealand). Not before in New Zealand athletics ha§ such a big crowd been worked to the pitch of enthusiasm which was shown while the runners were doing their last four laps. P Collins (Canada), Nelson, Taylor, C. Louisich (New Zealand), A. M. Merrett and J. S. Davey (Australia), and Forbes were making the running at the end of the first two laps, and a solid pace strung out the field of 13, with the veteran, J. T. Holden (England) last. At the end of a mile the pace slackened and the field bunched, but then Nelson took a lap from Davey, Taylor, Collins, Merrett, and Forbes, and the leading bunch quickly put a break of 30 yards on the leaders of the next division which was headed by Louisich. A. H. Chivers (England) put in a great burst, and at three miles he joined the leading division. With a mile and a half to go, the spectators got wildly excited, and when Taylor dropped out Forbes raced up to challenge Nelson. The pair cut at one another, with Taylor dropping back. On the twenty-second lap. Nelson and Forbes were out in front with the two Australians and Taylor losing ground. Nelson opened up a break of 20 yards on Forbes, and with a lap and a half to go, Taylor, who was 30 or 40 yards behind Forbes, came to life again and put in one of the most sensational finishes seen for many a day. With Nelson 20 yards ahead of Forbes and running as strongly as at the start, the crowd focused its attention on Taylor, who was making up ground at every stride. His long-sustained sprint over six furlongs was /carried on right to the tape, and he just failed to reach the Scotsman. Forbes, who struggled to the finish a very tired man. Nelson eased up towards the end, and the finish beI tween Forbes and Taylor was so close that each was credited with the same “Nelson’s running was a big improvement on the form he had shown m the New Zealand championships at Napier, and he was something like the Nelson of before the Olympic Games. His light, free stride was in marked contrast to some of the others, and his relaxation when running made his work appear easy Forbes put up a fine race after being with the leaders all the way. Taylors Sinning was what he has usually shown, and all who saw him at the New Zealand championships at Lancaster Park last vear will remember his sensational bursts from the rear to the front of the with another drop back. Why he dropped 50 vards behind the leader to-day with two X £ to go is hard to understand, t'JfS it still harder to understand how £2 cami to put in a sustained sprint lor six furlongs at the finish of the race.

Taylor appears to be a great runner without any well-conceived idea of running a race. $

The Sprints In the two sprints, the 100 yards and women’s 100 yards, Australia almost scooped the pool. John Treloar, who has become bigger and stronger than when he was in New Zealand before, put up three sterling races. In the first heat only the Nigerian, K. A. Olowu, was faster out of the holes than Treloar, who took charge at 50 yards and won with something in hand from C. Parker (New Zealand) and Olowu.

A. R. Eustace (New Zealand) was slow to begin in his heat, won by Pettie, but he finished at a rate that seemed to give him a chance in the final. P. Henderson (New Zealand) showed brilliance in taking the second heat after being beaten, at the start by de Gruchy (Australia) in 9.9 sec, and the young Canterbury runner, K. Beardsley, did well to get third after doing 10.2 sec in the heat won by G. A. K. Gordon (Australia). In the first heat of the semi-finals there were two recalls when de Gruchy and L. C. Lewis (England) broke, and after a great race Pettie got up to beat Henderson on the post in 9.Bsec, with de Gruchy inches away third. Treloar, who was next to the quickest to begin in the second heat, took charge at 60 yards and was going away from the field as he crossed the line. In this heat Treloar outclassed his field and won in the manner of a champion from Gordon, with Parker just qualifying for the final. The final ended in a comfortable win for Treloar, who won by two yards from de Gruchy, with Pettie getting third place in a photo finish from Gordon, Australia gaining three of the first four places. Treloar’s best time is 9.ssec.

Much had been heard and written on the fine performances of the 18-year-old Miss Marjorie Jackson, who had twice beaten the Olympic champion, Mrs Fanny Blankers-Koen, in Australia, and she proved that her form had not been overrated. When the field went away Miss Jackson was first to straighten up and was two yards in front at the end of the first 50. From then on her stride seemed to lengthen, and she went through the tape with yards to spare from Miss S. Hardman (New Zealand) and Miss A. Shanley (Australia). Miss Shirley Strickland (Australia) had an easy win in the second heat in 10.9 sec after leading all the way from Miss S. Cheesman (England), who got a photo finish decision from Miss C. Malone (New Zealand), both of whom did 11.6 sec. In the third heat Miss V. Johnston, (Australia). beat the two New Zealanders, Misses R. Dowman and D. Packer, in ll.lsec. The first semi-final was just as easy as the heat for Miss Jackson to win. She left with the gun and raced away from her field to win decisively from Miss Johnston and Miss Parker in 10.9 sec and for the second time Miss Strickland did 10.9 sec to win the second heat easily from Miss Shanley and Miss Hardman. Miss Jackson had her hardest race in the final when she beat Miss Strickland and Miss Johnston by several yards in 10.8 sec, equalling the world's record for the second time. Again she flew out of the holes and was a yard ahead at half way. She was doing her best at the finish. Miss Strickland was second, just ahead of Miss Parker, each recording llsec. Miss Jackson is the greatest woman sprinter produced in Australia. She has the perfect temperament, stays in her place till the gun goes, and goes straight into a long, low stride that covers a lot of ground. The High Jump John Winter (Australia), who employs a modification of the ordinary scissors style, cleared the bar at 6ft oip at his first attempt in the high jump, but when he attempted 6ft Bin he failed in his three attempts. J. H. Borland (New Zealand); Alan Paterson (Scotland) and the spectacular J. C. Majekodunmi of Nigeria each cleared the bar at 6ft sin to equal the old New Zealand record. Like Paterson, Borland uses the western roll and this was easily his best performance, Paterson has been previously credited with 6ft 7in. Paterson and the Nigerian beat Borland for second place in the count back. White’s Fine Hurdling The heats of the 440yds hurdles provided racing worthy of an Olympic event and afforded evidence that the final would produce one of the most keenly fought contests of the meeting. Duncan White (Ceylon) pulled a muscle in the leg some time before he arrived in New Zealand, but showed no signs of the disability when he won the first heat in the new Empire record time of 52.8 sec. He hurdled faultlessly most of the way, but faltered at the last hurdle and then seemed to ease up to win by five yards from G. C. Goodacre (Australia), who beat his team mate, R. R. Woodward, for second place in a photo finish. Holland had an eVen easier win in the second heat, moving up very fast from the start and finishing 10 yards ahead of K. L. Doubleday (Australia) in 53sec. New Zealand’s second string, D. G. Steward, hurdled very well in the third heat until he came to the last obstacle. He won comfortably by eight yards in 54.45ec from H. Whittle (England), G. V. Gedge (Australia) being third. 4 Th.e Half-mile The two heats of the 880 yards were both won in fast times, and there are all the prospects of a stirring final. The most impressive form was shown by the brilliant Englishman, H. J. Parlett, who won the second heat fairly comfortably from J. W. M. Hutchins (Canada), the winner’s time being Imin 52.1 sec, a second slower than the late V. P. Boot’s Empire record. Parlett moved freely all the way and finished strongly. A feature of the first heat was the failure of the Olympic runner, D. M. Harris, wno carried New Zealand’s hopes. Harris led over the first lap from the Canadian, C. W. Parnell, but then dropped out. The latter forged ahead entering the second lap and looked an easy winner until the former New Zealand junior champion, N. T. O. Wilson, who is a first-year senior, unwound a great burst over the last 100 yards to finish only two yards behind Parnell. Both Wilson and Simpson ran the fastest half miles of their careers. In the following results the abbreviations used are - —Can. (Canada), Eng. (England), Aus. (Australia), N.Z. (New Zealand). Cey. (Ceylon), Nig. (Nigeria), Scot. (Scotland), Mai. (Malaya), S.A. (South Africa), Rhod. (Rhodesia). Results were:— 100 Yards (First three in the heats qualified for the semi-finals; first three in semi-finals qualified for the. final.) First Heat.—D- Pettie (Can.) 1, Eustace (N.Z.) 2, L. Lewis (Eng.) 3. Time, 9.4 sec. Photo finishes. Second Heat.—P. Henderson (N.Z.) •1, W. de Gruchy (Aus.) 2, J. Archer (Eng.) 3. Time, 9.9 sec. Photo finishes. Third Heat.—A. Gordon (Aus.) 1, B. Shenton (Eng.) 2, K. Beardsley (N.Z.) 3. Time. lOscc. Yard: photo finish. Fourth Heat. —J Treloar (Aus.) 1, C. Parker (N.Z.) 2, K. Olowu (Nig.) 3. Time, 9.7 sec. Equalled Empire Games record. Three yards; inches. First Semi-final.—Pettie 1, Henderson 2, de Gruchy 3. Time, 9.Bsec. Photo finishes. Second Semi-final.—Treloar 1, Gordon 2, Parker 3. Time, 9.6 sec. Broke Empire Games record. Two yards; yard. Final.—Treloar 1. de Gruchy 2, Pettie 2, Gordon 3. Time, 9.7 sec. Equalled Empire Games record. Yard; photo. 100 Yards, Women (First three in the heats qualified for the semi-finals; first three in semi-finals qualified for final.) First Heat.—M. Jackson (Aus.) 1; S. Hardman (N.Z.) 2, A. Shanley (Aus.) 3. Time, 10.8 sec. Equalled world record. Four yards; photo.

Second Heat.—S. Strickland (Aus.) 1, S. Cheeseman (Eng.) 2, C. Malone (N.Z.) 3. Time, 10.9 sec. Beat Empire Games record. Seven yards; photo. Third Heat.—V. Johnston (Aus.) 1, R. Dowman (N.Z.) 2, D. Parker (N.Z.) 3. Time, 11.9 sec. Equalled Empire Games record. Yard; inches. First Semi-final.—Jackson 1, Johnston 2, Parker 3. Time, 10.9 sec. Broke Empire Games record. Two yards; yard. Second Semi-final.—Strickland 1, Shanley 2, Hardman 3. Time, 10.9 sec. Broke Empire Games record. Three yards; inches. Final.—Jackson 1, Strickland 2, Johnston 3. Time, 10.8 sec. Equalled world record. Two yards; inches, 440 Yards Hurdles (First three in- each heat qualified for the semi-finals on Tuesday.) First Heat.—D. White (Cey.) 1, G. Goodacre (Aus.) 2, R. Woodward (Aus.) 3. Time, 52.8 sec. Broke Empire Games record. Two yards; photo. Second Heat.—J. Holland .(N.Z.) 1, K. Doubleday (Aus.) 2, G. Lubb (S.A.) 3. Time, 53sec. . Six yards; three yards. Third Heat.—D. Steward (N.Z.) 1, H. Whittle (Eng.) 2, G. Gedge (Aus.) 3. Time, 54.45ec. Yard; yard. Six Miles W. H. Nelson (N.Z.), 30min 29.65ec, 1; A. Forbes (Scot.), 30min 31.9 sec, 2; N. Taylor (N.Z.), 30min 31.9 sec, 3; J. Davey (Aus.), 4; A. Merrett (Aus.), 5; A. Chivers (Eng.), 6. v 880 Yards (First four in each heat qualified for the final on Tuesday.) First Heat.—C. Parnell (Can.) 1, N. Wilson (N.Z.) 2, D. White (Aus.) 3, C. White (Eng.) 4. Time, lmin 52.25ec. Two yards; inches. Second Heat.—H. Parlett (Eng.) 1, J. Hutchins (Can.) 2, S. Booysen (S.A.) 3, C. Simpson (N.Z.) 4. Time, lmin 52.1 sec. Yard; two feet. High Jump J. Winter (Aus.), 6ft 6in, 1 (broke Empire Games record); J. Majekodunrni (Nig.) and A. Paterson (Scot.), 6ft sid (equal), 2; J. H. Borland (N.Z.), 6ft sin, 4. on a count-back; P. Wells (Eng.), 6ft 4in, 5.