Halberg And Bannister In Heat Of Games Mile

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27415, 30 July 1954, Page 15

Halberg And Bannister In Heat Of Games Mile

ATHLETICS

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

VANCOUVER, July 28. Murray Halberg, New Zealand’s top candidate for the British Empire Games mile, is drawn to run against the first four-minute miler, Roger Bannister, of England, in the second heat of the biggest event of the Games next Thursday. Another New Zealander, Jim Daly, of Christchurch, the former national record-holder, and Australia’s Olympic representative, Don MacMillan, have also drawn the same heat. New Zealand’s third miler, 19-year-old Bill Baillie, of Auckland, is in the first heat with the world record holder, John Landy, of Australia, the Irish champion, Victor Milligan, and Bill Parnell, winner of the 1950 British Empire Games mile at Auckland. The heats for all the events, where they are required, have been drawn on the full nominations, and subject to revision if there are withdrawals before the events next week. There are 17 candidates for the mile, nine in the first heat, eight in the second heat and the first four in each heat will qualify for the final on the last day of the Games, Saturday week. The draw for the mile heats is as follows:

Heat 1. —J. Landy (Australia), V. Milligan (Northern Ireland), I. Boyd (England), W. Parnell (Canada), W. Baillie (New Zealand), C. W. Brasher (England), J. B. Ailey (Australia), J. Disney (Wales), E. Morton (Canada), Heat 2.—R. Bannister (England), M. Halberg (New Zealand), D. MacMillan (Australia), J. Moule (Canada), J. Daly (New Zealand), D. C. Law (England), E. G. Warren (Australia), and R. Ferguson (Canada).

N.Z. Entry in Half-Mile In the 880 yards, the New Zealander, E. T. Baillie, is drawn in the first heat to run against W. Parnell (Canada), Don MacMillan (Australia), D. Johnson (England), R. Estick (Jamaica), W. Kwateng (Gold Coast) and Cyril Johnson (Bahamas). Baillie is the only New Zealand nomination for the halfmile. In the other two heats there are Victor Milligan (Northern Ireland), and Kevan Gosper (Australia), who has been Landy’s partner and pacemaker in training here for the Games. Landy has withdrawn from the second heat of the half-mile. He said last week that the mile would be his only event at the Games. The first three of each of the three heats will qualify for the final. Yvette Williams will be against tough opposition in her heat of the 80 metres hurdles. She is drawn in the first heat to run against Jean Desforges, of England, and the little Australian, Gwen Wallace. Miss Wallace is lipped as a possible winner of the hurdles, but she was beaten by Miss Williams in Australia last summer. The full field in the first heat will be: Yvette Williams (New Zealand), Jean Desforges (England), Gwen Wallace (Australia), Gwen Hobbins (Canada), and Luella Law (Canada).

The first main in the New Zealand athletic team to run at the Games, Dave Fleming, a protege of the New Zealand Olympic hurdler, Dutch Holland, is drawn to meet Jack Mcßoberts (Canada), D. Lean (Australia), K. H. Olmes (Canada), K. Borno (Kenya), and R. Shaw (Wales). The first three in each heat will qualify for the final. Ken Doubleday (Australia) has withdrawn from this event and will concentrate on the 120 yards high hurdles. Doubleday was a finalist in the 110 metres hurdles at the last Olympic Games. In the 440 yards flat race Fleming in the fifth heat, will be up against P. Fryer (England), A. Amaeodu (Gold Coast), I. Isaacs (Bahamas) and F. Bates (Trinidad). The other New Zealand 440yds candidate, Don Jowett, has drawn the second heat and both New Zealanders will have to run first or second to qualify. The full field in Jowett’s 440 yards heat is: Jowett (New Zealand), J. Rogers (British Guiana), Joseva Sadula (Fiji), R. Harding (Canada), E. Nyako (Gold Coast) and A. Moore Mike Agostini (Jamaica), who is picked as the hardest opposition Hector Hogan (Australia) will have in the sprints, is also nominated for the 440 yards and has drawn the fourth heat. 220 Yards Sprint Jowett is in the first of six heats in the 220 yards sprint and will have to take first or second place to qualify. The field in his heat is: Jowett (New Zealand), L. Laing (Jamaica), H. Nelson (Canada), A. L. Lillington (England), Ben Mduga (Uganda) and Abdul Aziz (Pakistan). In the other heats there are Agostini (Jamaica), Hogan (Australia), Ke van Gosper (Australia), Brian Shenton (England), and Don McFarlane (Canada). The New Zealand men’s 4 by 440yds relay team, Bill Baillie, Dave Fleming. Murray Halberg, and Don Jowett are drawn in the lour team second heat and will run aganst Australia, England and the Gold Coast. The teams are:—Australia: J. Bailey K Doubleday, K. Gosper, D. Lean England: Dick, P. Fryer, D. Johnson -H. Kane. Gold Coast: R. Ampadu, J Quartey, E. Myake and H. Ofori-Nyako In the other heat there will be Canada

Kenya and Jamaica. The slowest team running last will be eliminated to make a six team final. There are no New Zealand entries in the men’s 100yds and 120yds high hurdles and the 220yds women’s sprint.

Opposition for Cyclists The New Zealand sprint cyclists, Colin Dickinson and Les Lock, have drawn tough opposition in their heats of the 1000 metres sprint on the opening night of the cycling next Monday. In the fifth heat, Dickinson is drawn against the brilliant 17-year-old Australian, Dick Ploog, and Markus, of Canada. Lock, in the seventh heat, is drawn against Tom Shardelow (South Africa), who took second place to Australia’s Mockridge and Cox in the Olympic tandem event. There will be four repecharge heats for three riders, two of whom will qualify, and one repechage of the four losers with one qualifying. From the 16 winners heats will be redrawn.

The cycling programme has been rearranged so that the sprint and 4000 metres pursuit will be held on the first night and the time trial on Tuesday night. In the pursuit event, the eight fastest will qualify for the quarterfinals on the second night. New Zealand has one pursuit entry, Neil Ritchie.

jean Stewart (N.Z.), who was third to Joan Harrison (Australia) in the Olympic backstroke final at Helsinki, has drawn the second heat, and Miss Harrison the first in the Games 110yds backstroke. Miss Stewart’s heat of four is Sara Barber (Canada), Judith Symond (England), and Maureen Pitchfork (England).

Jack Dorns, New Zealand s only breaststroke representative, has drawn the same heat as Australias‘David Hawkins, the Empire Games titleholder and Olympic representative. Dorns s heat is: John Service (Scotland), Peter Jervis (England), Dorns (New Zealand), Hawkins (Australia), and Robert Gair (Canada). „ , Neither of the New Zealand swimmers in the 440 yards women’s freestyle, Marion Roe and V/mkie Gnfhn, has drawn the same heat as the titleholder, Joan Harrison. In her heat, Miss Griffin will swim against Phyllis Unton (Wales). J. Wittali (Canada), R Osborough (Northern Ireland) and S Petzer (South Africa). Miss Roes heat is Valarie Nares-Pillow .(England), J. Myburgh (South Africa), Kama Kemp (Canada), and Miss Roe. Auckland s Buddy Lucas in his heat of the 440 yards freestyle, will swim against Graham Johnson . (South Africa), who was second in this event in the 1950 Games. This heat, the first of three, is: John Phillips (British Guiana), Gerry McNamee (Canada), Derek Fowler (Northern Rhodesia), Lucas, Peter Head (England) and R. Johnson (South Africa). Allen Gilchrist, who competed for Canada at the Auckland Games, is in the second beat. _ , , * Lucas has drawn Johnson s neat again in the 1650 yards, which the big South African won at Auckland. The heat is: Gary Chapman (Australia), Gerry McNamee (Canada), James Portelance (Canada), Lucas, Phillips (British Guiana) and Johnson (South Africa). _ , Lincoln Hurring, New Zealand s Olympic backstroke representative, is drawn to swim against John Brockway (Wales), Peter Mackay (Bermuda), and Allan Brew (Canada) in his heat of the 110 yards backstroke. The other two heats include Nick Meiring (South Africa) and Cyrus Weld The New Zealand medley relay team, Lucas, Dorns and Hurring, will compete against Australia, Canada, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Rowing Heats ! The New Zealand single sculls cham- . pion Don Rowlands, will meet Canada’s Bobby Williams in his heat of . the single sculling championship on I the Vedder Canal next Tuesday. The ■ other heat will be between Peter Evatt ■ (Australia), whom Rowlands beat in i the last New South Wales championships, and the English representative, Bob Rand. If Rowlands is beaten in [ his heat, he will have a chance to . qualify for the final on Wednesday. ; The final will be decided among the winners of the two heats and the fastest second.

In the fours, the only other rowing event which requires heats, the New Zealand four from the West End Club, Auckland, will meet Australia in the first heat and Canada and England will decide the second. Again in this event the fastest second will qualify for the final on the following day.

ORGANISATION OF 1950 GAMES

Canadian Officials’ Criticism

DEFENCE BY NEWSPAPER J CORRESPONDENTS (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) VANCOUVER, July 28. Canadian British Empire Games officials, who seem determined to criticise and belittle the arrangements for the 1950 Games in New Zealand to cover gaps and inadequacies here, are meeting spirited, opposition from overseas journalists who were at Auckland four years ago. Doubts and misgivings about press arrangements for the Vancouver Games came to a head today when most of the 150 newspaper and radio correspondents here for the Games had their first official conference with Canadian Games officials. Correspondents who criticised the Vancouver Games teleprinter system of handling results of all events were told that the system was introduced to overcome the “inefficiency and. inaccuracy” in handling results at Auckland. This claim, by Mr Earl T. Squire, head of the communications committee of the Vancouver Games, drew a sharp rebuke from Mr Vernon Morgan, sports editor of Reuters, who was at the Auckland Games and who has been at every Olympic and Empire Games meeting for the last 25 years. Every other overseas correspondent here supported Mr Morgan’s view that the arrangements for handling the results 1 at Auckland were, as he said, fast and ■ accurate.

A New Zealand correspondent s pointed out in a discussion with Canadian officials after the conference ! that in the whole of the Auckland ] Games only one result was confused and that was because the wire ob- . scured part of the result board at the Newmarket swimming pool. Australian reporters who were at 1 Auckland also took strong exception to Mr Squire’s remarks about ineffi- ; ciency and inaccuracy at the 1950 Games. This afternoon at the uni- : versity stadium when they were informed by another Canadian Games official that press complaints about arrangements here were only because “these are the first real Empire Games’” they produced a warm counterblast. They were told by Mr F. N. Rowell, chairman of the Games track and field committee, that the Auckland Games were very small and not to be compared with the Vancouver Games with 800 competitors. Mr E. E. Christenson, representing the Sydney “Sun” and the “Sydney Morning Herald,” said that for efficiency in organisation the Vancouver Games at this stage would not compare with Auckland’s Empire Games four yea:cs ago. “When we arrived m Auckland a fortnight before the Games began, programmes with starting times of all events were ready for us. Here we won’t know until Thursday night whether there is to be an athletics programme on Friday. “In Auckland, we had the results in half a minute and we were told that here the best they can do> is three and a half minutes and probably six or eight. The teleprinter system to handle results is the height of , stupidity and over-organisation. We are even told now that the starter has ; to sign the results,’’ he said. Correspondents, after a two-hour ■ meeting with Games officials today. ; were given one concession—that an at- , tempt will be made to post six placings instead of three in the heats.