MRS YOUNG WINS NEW ZEALAND’S 2nd GOLD MEDAL

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29989, 26 November 1962, Page 9

MRS YOUNG WINS NEW ZEALAND’S 2nd GOLD MEDAL

Disappointing Day For Track Men (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) PERTH, November 25. New Zealand’s first day of the Empire Games athletics was a mixed one of triumph and disappointment. The triumph was Mrs V. I. Young’s victory over her opponents and the scorching heat to win the New Zealand team’s first track and field gold medal and its second of the games.

She won the women’s shot put championship with a performance which did not get anywhere near her best but which was remarkable for the conditions. Mrs Young was on the arena for more than an hour in 100-plus temperatures, and it was not surprising her best effort of 49ft 11 fin was inside her Cardiff Games record and well below her Empire record of 54ft s|in.

In the intervals between competition, she sheltered under beach umbrellas, but the heat was appalling. Her performances suffered along with her opponents.

She is hoping now for more reasonable weather for her discus event, but her form is such that she should have little trouble in taking a second gold medal for New Zealand. P Snell's comfortable wins in his heat and semi-final of the 880 yards were by far the best results in a rather disappointing day for New Zealand on the track. Snell's form in his semifinal gave great promise of another victory over his Olympic rival, G. Kerr, of Jamaica, in the final on Monday. He ran 'veil outside his vorid time but he showed magnificent power and great will co win whatever the conditions. Sprint Success Another who brought great credit to the team was the Auckland sprinter. Miss D. H. Porter, who qualified for the final of the women’s 100 yards. She was equal to the trying conditions in running second in her semi-final in Usee. The tiny Otago girl. Miss N. M. Bond, with great fignting spirit, gave everything to her chance of reaching the final but was not quite up to it. Elsewhere there were disappointments. The distance runners, who had been confidently tipped by some experts to win everything from the half-mile to the marathon, got plain notice from a 19-year-old Canadian, Bruce Kidd, that he intends to upset their plans at every chance.

Kidd won the six miles in one of the greatest runs in the history of the Empire Games, and he looks on this form to be one of the biggest threats New Zealand’s Olympic champion, M. G. Halberg, has met in his Games career. Rare Class Kidd, who has already beaten Halberg in North America, is clearly a distance runner of rare class, and Halberg will have to be at his very best, to beat him in the three miles. In a devastating finishing burst over the final half-mile of the six-mile race, Kidd left the New Zealand distance men far behind. Only the marathon specialist, A. B. Magee, could get within a lap of him. Kidd lapped J. L. Julian, another of New Zealand’s distance stars, and there is little doubt that he would have beaten W. D. Baillie hrl the Auckland man been able to complete the course. The New Zealand runners agreed afterwards that Baillie was the only one of them who “could live” with Kidd as he ran on Saturday. Baillie. who had been handi-cap-ped by a thigh injury, which was heavily taped, dropped out in the thirteenth lap and fell exhausted beside the track. Collapsed State He was in a state of near collapse and the events of the day wen over before he recovered his composure. Baillie, who has done bis best to conceal his injury from the public eve, had to have it well supported with plaster straps, and it was a bitter disappointment to him that after being handy to the leaders for more than half the distance he bad to drop out. He laid exhausted on she grass about 20 yards from the track but was too upset and dismayed to accept any help from the Australian Army stretcher party and an Army nurse who went to his aid While the race went on. Baillie lay with his head buried in his arms and could not bring himself to watch the finish Wife With Him Later, he walked slowly ©ver to the arena wall below the terraces and rested there while his wife consoled him. To people who have known this great-hearted runner, who has represented NewZea tend with great courage and stamina on many ocastons, the scene was distressingly sad. Baillie turned and stood erect for the playing of the Canadian anthem after Kidd had received the gold medal, and then walked slowly back across the arena. The New Zealand athletics manager. Dr N. R. Jefferson, did what he could for him but it was clearly a time of

loneliness and acute disappointment for Baillie who has trained for months to win this race. Magee said afterwards: “We felt that if anyone could beat Kidd today it would be Baillie and we are as disappointed as he is that he had to pull out.” Julian, who was a late entry in the six miles, could never match the pace and was near the tail of the field most of the way. Magee let the leaders get too much of a break on him to have any chance of winning but he put up a spirited late bid for third place ar-d finished fourth. The hard track took its toll of many of the distance runners and Magee suffered bruised and battered toes which could be a handicap to him in the parathon. The two New Zealand hurdlers. J. P. Dallow and L. H. Arkman, appeared to suffer most from the heat and they finished last in their heats of • the 440 yards hurdles. Dallow jogged on after he had cleared the last hurdle and could barely walk over the finishing line. The New Zealand steeplechaser, E. C. O’Keefe, who has shown the best form of his career in trials with the other New Zealand distance men in Perth, struggled hard but the best he could do was to take sixth place in the .3000 metres steeplechase.

Camp Confident Snell lifted the New Zealand track performances to top Empire Games class with his wins in the half-mile preliminaries. His easy, long stride left the New Zealand camp more confident than ever that, in spite of the month’s training time he lost, he will win one and possibly two gold medals. Before the final furlong of his semi-final he had the field covered, and after throwing a quick glance back in the straight went on to win as he liked.

While others were beaten by the heat and “nerves,’’ Snell went about his job with quiet composure and left noone in any doubt that he is the proper favourite for the half-mile championship. Warm Reception The crowd gave Snell a wonderfully warm reception. In spite of his natural reticence, he is clearly one of the best-liked competitors of the Games and will have the support of thousands on Monday. Snell was too far clear of the rest of his semi-final

opponents to be involved in any protest on the finish, but there was an incident over the other placings. On the referee’s decision, the Welsh runner, A. J. Harris, was disqualified for interference in the straight, and second place was given to N. A. Fleet, of England. However, an appeal was heard by the jury of appeal and Harris was restored to second place. The jury said its unanimous opinion was that the incident was neither intentional nor constituted culpable carelessness. Kenyan's Victory Surpassing even Snell’s reception was the crowd’s applause for the slim young sprinter from Kenya, S. Antao, who scored an upset win in the 100 yards final.

The coloured Canadian. Harry Jerome, the joint world record-holder and hot favourite for the title, won his way easily through the preliminaries but running half-way to tne post in the final. Antao won in 9.ssec from T. Robinson, of the Bahamas, and G. Holdsworth, of Australia, who finished second and third, both in 9.6 sec. Antao was one of the first away and he showed as a clear leader at the half-way stage when it was apparent that he had the measure of Jerome, who was second at this stage. When Jerome faltered about the 60-yard mark Antao was left a clear leader and he ran on strongly to win well. The biggest disappointment of the day, however, was the mediocre attendance. There were huge gaps on the open terraces and the stand was by no means full. Confusion There was some early confusion at the gates when people, guided by the 10 a.m. start marked on their tickets, arrived early at the stadium and were told there would be no morning events. On the entries for the field events, no preliminary rounds, usually held on the Saturday morning, were required. and the only sprint preliminary rounds were run on Friday. The temperature rapidly soared to 103 degrees in the shade at midday and remained unreasonably hot for athletics throughout the afternoon. It was still in the 80’s when the six mile field got under way at 5.15 p.m. Mrs Young won her second Empire Games gold medal in four years. As Miss Valerie Sloper she set a Games re-

cord of 51ft in Cardiff in 1958. With Miss J. Roberts, of Australia, her only danger, Mrs Young was unable to get near her best efforts yesterday. Miss Roberts took the silver medal with 47ft 7jin. Tense Battle Two Australians, P. Hobson and C. Porter, staged a tense battle at the end of three hours before Hobson jumped 6ft Ilin to win the men’s high jump gold medal. They were the only competitors to get past 6ft Bin. All 11 competitors went to 6ft 6in before the eliminations began at this height. E. Norris, of Barbados, secured third place on a count-back with 6ft Bin. A. Mitchell (Australia) came from behind in the closing throws to set a new Games record of 256 ft 3in to win the men’s javelin throw Mitchell's winning throw improved by 22ft 41 in on the record set by C. Smith (England) at the Cardiff Games.