JONES NOT RUNNING

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29744, 10 February 1962, Page 9

JONES NOT RUNNING

Almost a certainty to have taken the Canterbury senior 220 yards and 440 yards athletics titles, judged by his recent performances, L. Jones will not be a contender when the provincial athletic championships begin today. Early this season Jones returned to New Zealand from Australia. He is now in Melbourne again for a short period to help his dub in the final of the Victorian inter-club championships. It is not yet certain whether Jones will be available for the New Zealand championships early in March.

Last Saturday at the Agfa meeting Jones achieved his best time for the 220 yards—21.7sec. Last month he returned 48.8 sec for the 440 yards, just missing the Canterbury record of G. F. Hack by O.lsec.

Jones’s times for these two distances are well ahead of those of other athletes in the province, and if he could reproduce his 220 yards performance at the national championships he would be a prospect for the title. Jones's connexion with his Melbourne club may result in a number of Victorian athletes visiting Canterbury for a short period next season. He hopes that about 10 of them will take part in what is now becoming known as ‘‘the southern circuit” during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

The circuit includes a series of special handicap trophy meetings provided by the South Canterbury and North Otago clubs.