ATHLETICS Nine Records Broken At National Meeting

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28531, 10 March 1958, Page 10

ATHLETICS Nine Records Broken At National Meeting

(From Out Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, March 9. Nine record-breaking performances during the two days of the New Zealand senior athletic championships at the Recreation Ground, Lower Hutt, marked the meeting as one of the most successful held in New Zealand. Not all the records were made in championship events. Three of the seven records set yesterday were made by women athletes.

The performances did little to ease the selectors’ problems. They may be embarrassed by a wealth of material available for the Empire Games at Cardiff.

The seven records set yesterday with the existing records in parenthesis were:

M. Rae (Auckland), 100 yards. 9.6 sec (national record, 9.6 sec, resident 9.7 sec), 220 yards, 20.9 sec (21sec); D. Norris (Auckland), hop, step, and jump. 50ft Bjin (50ft 2|in); Waikato (B. Clark, J. McLaren, K. Gilbert, R. Hiskens). four by 440 yards relay, 3min 17.6 sec (no record, standard set 3min 20sec); Miss N. Singer (Wellington), women’s 75 yards, B.2sec (B.4sec); Miss M. Stuart (Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay), women’s 80 metre hurdles, llsec (11.2 sec women’s 100 yards, 10.8 sec (10.9 sec In addition best championship performances were set in the 880 yards, one, three, and six miles, and the shot put.

Auckland by winning 15 of the 23 events dominated the meeting even more than it did l&st year when it won 11 titles. Canterbury gained two titles. Peter Wells rose to the occasion like a true champion and retained his high jump title with 6ft sin—his best jump of the season. The other title was gained somewhat unexpectedly in the 220 yards hurdles by P. Cates, of Ashburton, who won in 24.45ec —his best time ever. Best in Empire M. L. Rae ran superbly for two fine wins in the sprint events. He was clearly in a class of his own. He was a little unfortunate that the following wind was a little over the permissable maximum of 6ft 6in a second and ruled out his 100 yards record of 9.6 sec but he had ample compensation in the 220 yards, for which his 20.9 sec is expected to gain recognition. The latter time is .Isec faster than the national record set by the Olympic champion R. Morrow two years ago and 3sec faster than the resident record of 21.2 sec, which Rae shared with D. R. Batten.

Rae’s 220 yards time puts him into very distinguished company and, on last year’s world rankings, moves him into third place for a race run around a bend and makes him the number one athlete in the Empire at the distance ahead of M. Agostini (Trinidad). Later in the four by 440 yards relay, Rae showed that if he were to give the quarter-mile the same attention as he has the sprints he could also be the country’s best over this distance. He was timed at 48 seconds for the distance. Although L. R. Mills (Auckland) dominated the shot put with a best championship, performance of 50ft 4in the other competitors reached a higher standard than ever before. The second place put of 47ft s|in by the Southlander. L. Heenan, would have won all previous titles, except in 1957, and the third man R. J. Harris (Wellington) with his 46ft 2|in would have won in all but two years.

New Zealand spectators generally show little enthusiasm for field events, but this was not the case yesterday with the hop, step and jump and the javelin throw, in which only inches separated the first two men in each case.

The jumping was consistently good with the shortest distance being 47ft lOin, though Norris had two no-jumps. After the first round, Norris took the lead from Roy Williams with 50ft lin, just 1| inches short of the record. In the third round, Williams got to within 3|in of this and on his final jump he appeared to have the event won when he cleared 50ft 2|in. Still to have his last jump, however, Norris was equal to the occasion and reached out to 50ft 81 in. In the javelin, D. Cosh (Wellington) his his best distances with his second throw and it was not until two throws later that the defending champion, M. Hahn (Auckland) threw his winning distance of 202 ft lljin, seven inches better than Cosh. This was the first time two men have beaten the *2ooft mark in a national championship and although the standard still lags behind overseas performances there are now four men in New Zealand who have done 200 feet this season.

Wells and Murray Jefferies (Auckland) had a fine battle in the high jump and both went through to clear 6ft 4in without having had a miss. Jefferies failed at 6ft sin while Wells took the height confidently. The best hopes that were held out for Cates before the day were the chance of a place in either the 220 or 440 yards hurdles. In the 220 yards, Cates drew the outside lane, and although beaten in the straight by G. Lawless (Waikato), he ran on determinedly. When Lawless fell at the last hurdle, Cates came through to win by a yard. With M. Halberg giving all his attention to the three miles, which

he won in the fastest championship time of 13min 47.65ec, it seemed Scott would at least be certain of scoring his first win at the championship mile, and the crowd was disappointed when he was well beaten by W. Baillie (Auckland). Few knew Scott had resumed training only eight days previously after having had his foot in plaster for five weeks because of an injured Achillies tendon.

When Scott led through the half-mile in Imin 59sec it looked as if a four-minute mile might be run, particularly as Baillie was right behind to force the issue. Lack of training began to tell on Scott, who slowed to a 66sec third quarter but Baillie waited well into the fourth lap before making his decisive pounce. Originally training for the six miles, P. Sidon (Otago) was another whose training had been affected by injury. Just before the closing of entries, Sidon decided to take his chance in the mile and he did remarkably well to run 4min U.3sec, only I.3sec slower than Scott.

The finish of the 880 yards made a grand spectacle that had the crowd enthralled as M. D. Earwaker (Otago) tried desperately and successfully to close the gap on P. Penlington (Auckland) who set a cracking pace. It was a careful analysis of tactics that brought a well-deserved success to Earwaker. Penlington frequently runs fast over the early stages of the race and relies on this to kill off his opposition. He conformed to these tactics with a 53 sec first lap. Earwaker, who was the fastest quarter-miler in the field, decided to conserve his major effort as long as possible. With 300 yards to go, he set out to bridge the seemingly impossible gap. Two very tired boys fought out the last few yards with Earwaker just barely getting to the tape first. Both were credited with the same time, Imin 52.55ec P. Hack (Canterbury) in fourth place had a personal best time of Imin 52.95ec. Marathon

The marathon, considered by many to be Canterbury’s best chance of winning a title, was a wonderful victory for 22-year-old R. Puckett (Aucklan/i), the youngest person to win the gruelling 26 mile 385 yard race. Although A. W. Richards, the Olympic representative, had the misfortune. to be misdirected halfway through the race, he said, he was well beaten by the better man on the day. Puckett was beautifully relaxed and it was only in the very late stages of the race that he showed any signs of fatigue. His time—2hrs 37min 28sec—was excellent in the heat. Richards does not remember running the 20 to 23-mile section of the race and at one stage was found lying on the footpath but he finished on gamely to take third place behind A. Lydiard (Auckland).

Abbreviations used in the following results are: (A.), Auckland; (WO.). Waikato: (W.C.N.1.), West Coast, North Island; (H.8.P.8.), Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay; (W.), Wellington; (C.). Canterbury; (O.), Otago; (S.), Southland.: 100 Yards (New Zealand resident record. 9 7sec, M. L. Rae, Auckland. Holder, Rae, 9.55ec.) Final: M. L. Rae (A.). 9.6 sec, 1; B L. Smith (W.), 9.Bsec, 2; B. D Wilson (A.), lOsec. 3. Wind assistance ruled out the record. 220 Yards (New Zealand resident record. 21.2 sec. D. R. Batten. Wellington, and M. L. Rae. Auckland. Holder Rae. 21.25ec.) Final: M. L. Rae (A.), 20.9 sec, 1; B S. Clark (WO.), 21.7 sec, 2; B. L Smith (W.). 21.8 sec, 3. Rae’s time also broke the New Zealand open record of 21sec, held by B. J. Morrow (United States). 440 Yards (New Zealand resident record. 47.8 sec. D. M. Harris. Auckland. Holder, D. W. Jowett. Otago, 48.75ec.) Final: B. C. Robinson (A.), 47.95ec, 1; R. B. Hiskens (WO.), 48.7ec, 2; B. H. Kerr (C.). 49.35ec. 3. 880 Yards (New Zealand resident record. Imin 49.45ec, D. M. Harris. West Coast North Island. Holder, C. Keig (W.C.N.1.), Imin 53.8 sec. Final: M. D. Earwaker (O.), Imin 52.25ec, 1; P. G. Penlington (A.), Imin 52.55ec. 2; P. Snell (W. 0. Imin 52.8 sec. 3. One Mile (New Zealand resident record, 4min Isec, M. G. Halberg, Auckland Holder, Halberg, 4min 10.45ec.) Final: F. D. Baillie (A.), 4min s.3sec, 1; N. I. Scott (A.), 4min lOsec, 2; P. N. Sidon (O.), 4min 11.3 sec. 3. Three Miles (New Zealand resident record, 13min 27.25ec. M. G. Halberg, Auckland. Holder, N. I. Scott. Auckland. 14min.) Final: M. G. Halberg (A.), 13min 47.65ec, 1; W. D. Baillie (A.), 14min 11.4 sec, 2; A. B. Magee (A.), 14min 16sec, 3. Marathon (No records. Holder, E. H. Rye. Wellington, 2hr 44min 56sec.) Final: R. L. Puckett (A.), 2hr 37min 28sec, 1; A. L. Lydiard (A.), 2hr 41min 37sec, 2; A. W. Richards (C.). 2hr 44min 55sec, 3. One Mile Relay (New Zealand standard time. 3min 20sec. Holders, Waikato, 3mm 22 ?sec ) Finai: Waikato, 3min 17.6 sec, 1; Auckland, 3min 17.8 sec. 2; Canterbury, 3min 19.2 sec, 3. Waikato’s time breaks the standard, and thus they become the first holders of the New Zealand resident record. 50.000 Metres Road Walk (No records. Holder, N. R. Read, Wellington, 4hr 59min 50sec) H. Tetlow (W.), shr 59min 30sec, 1. L. Chadwick (Australia) competed by invitation and finished first in shr 54mm 40sec. 120 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand resident record, 14.6 sec, J. M. Holland, Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay. Holder: W. R. Belcher, Waikato, 14.7 sec) First Heat.—W. R. Belcher (W. 0. 15.1 sec. 1; J. Bulcraig (A.). 15.Isec, 2; M W. Cooper (W. 0. 15Jsec, 3.

Second Heat—J. P. Dallow (A.). 14.9 sec. 1; D. M. Taylor (W. 0. 15.1 sec. 2; H. K. Twigley (H.8.-P.8.), 15.Isec. 3. Final.—Dallow, 14.7 sec, 1; Belcher, 15sec, 2; Twigley, 15.Isec, 3. 220 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand resident record, 23.8 sec, J. M. Holland, Hawkes BayPoverty Bay, and B. C. Robin-

son, Auckland. Holder, Robinson, 23.45ec) Final.—P. J. Cates (C.), 24.45ec, 1; J. G. Hawkes (W.), 24.55ec, 2; J. Bulcraig (A.), 24.75ec, 3. x 440 Yards Hurdles (New Zealand resident record, 52.2 sec, J. M. Holland, Waikato. Holder, J. G. Hawkes, Wellington, 53.95ec) Final.—J. P. Dallow (A.), 53.95ec. 1; J. G. Hawkes (W.). 54.65ec, 2; A. G. Hirst (A.), 55.8 sec, 3. High Jump (New Zealand resident record, 6ft 7’,gin, P. Wells, Auckland. Holder, Wells, 6ft) Final.—P. Wells (C.), 6ft sin, 1; M. Jeffries (A.), 6ft 4in, 2; R. E. Thomas (A.), 6ft 4in, 3. Hop, Step and Jump (New Zealand resident record, 49ft D. S. Norris, Auckland. Holder, Norris, 48ft D. S. Norris (A.), 50ft B%in, 1; R. A. Williams (A.), 50ft 21in, 2; T. Martin (W.C.N.1.), 47ft 4%in, 3. Shot Put (New Zealand resident record, 54ft 3in, L. R. Mills, Auckland. Holder. Mills, 47ft 10%in) L. R. Mills (A.), 50ft 41n, 1; L. B. Heenan (S.). 47ft sVain. 2; R. J. Harris (W.), 46ft 21in, 3. Javelin Throw (New Zealand resident record, 220 ft IVain, M. A. Hahn, Auckland. Holder, Hahn, 215 ft 7in) M. A. Hahn (A.), 202 ft ll’,' 2 in, 1; D. E. J. Cosh (W.), 202 ft 2; R. G. Ball (C.), 181 ft Sl&to, 3. Other Events 100 metres consolation (championship competitors): R. D. Dabb (A.), 10.9 sec, 1; B. S. Wilson (H.8.P.8.), llsec, 2; R.. C. Johns (W.C.N.1.), ll.lsec, 3. ** 200 Metres consolation (championship competitors): R. D. Dabb (A.), 21.9 sec 1; I. Hamilton (C.), 22sec, 2; T. I. Crossen (C.), 22.45ec, 3. 75 Yards invitation, women: N. J. Singer (W.), B.2sec, 1; M. F. Stuart (H.8.P.p.), 2. The time broke the New Zealand open and resident records, but was disallowed because of wind assistance. 100 yards invitation, women: M. F Stuart (H.8.P.8.). 10.8 sec, 1; N. J. Singer (W.), 10.9 sec, 2. The time broke the New Zealand open and resident record of 10.9 sec. 60 metres hurdles time-trial: M. F. Stuart (H.8.P.8.), llsec. The time breaks the New Zealand open and resident record of 11.2 sec, but, not being made in competition, cannot be claimed as a record.