P. G. SNELL TO DECIDE

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29994, 1 December 1962, Page 14

P. G. SNELL TO DECIDE

Chosen To Compete In N.Z. Relay Team

(Special Correspondent NZ.P.4.)

PERTH, November 30.

P. G. Snell, the world record-holder and favourite for the Empire Games mile gold medal tomorrow, is scheduled, on a revised programme, to run in a heat of the men’s 4 x 440 yards relay tomorrow morning.

A decision on whether Snell joins B, C. Robinson, D. S. Norris and G. F. Philpott in the New Zealand relay squad has been left to him by the team management, and he will decide shortly before the race.

If Snell chooses to rest and to concentrate on the mile, his place in the relay will be taken probably by one of the New Zealand hurdlers, L. R. Aikman or P. J. Dallow.

The New Zealand entry would then be only a token one to make up the field in the heat along with Canada. England, Ghana and Rhodesia The first beat is made up of Uganda, Malaya. Kenya, Sarawak. Jamaica and Australi. Pole Vaulters The finad athletics programme, which will wind up the seventh British Empire and Commonwealth Games, has been changed to start at 2 p.m. New Zealand time. It will start with the men’s pole vault, in which two New Zealanders. K. F Gibbons and D. B. McGonagle, will be competing

Gibbons broke bis fibreglass vaulting pole to training this week, but has a replacement which he will use tomorrow He has improved to training here on his best New Zealand performances and has been clearing something above 14 feet. McGonagle has not got quite the height achieved by Gibbons and could be struggling to keep up with the others.

The hammer throw will also be a final and wild include a New Zeeland competitor, D D Leech, of Wellington. m a field of seven In the Bunbury pre-Games tryout Leech was well below form, but has improved to training since then. Medal Hope One of New Zealand's hopes for a medal to the women’s events is Mrs A. Mclntosh, who won her heat of the 80 metres hurdles brilliantly in 108 sec yesterday She has strong opposition in the final in the Australian champion. Miss P. Kilburn, and in another Australian, Mrs B. Moore, who is running tor England.

But the New Zealand athletics team is confident that on her fine showing yesterday Mrs Mclntosh will fill one of the positions on the victory dais.

The women s long jump—the event in which the New Zeeland jumper, Yvette Williams won gold medals at Auckland and Vancouver—-

also the Helsinki Olympics—is without a New Zealand competitor at these games However. on training form none of the entries from Ghana, Northern Ireland, Australia and England looks likely to break the New Zealander’s record of 19ft lljto. Double Attempt New Zealand looks certain to win a gold medal in the women’s discus event in which the national champion. Mrs V. I. Young, could, on her training form, better the existing Games record of 150 ft 7Jin by at least 20ft

Mrs Young has been getting distances of above 170 ft regularly and New Zealand’s second string, Mrs H. Thayer, has also been above the existing Games record. Her best had been about 157 ft.

The field includes the current record-holder, Mrs S. Allday, of England, but her recent performances have not been good enough to prevent Mrs Young winning her second gold medal of these Games. She has already won the shot put. New Zealand also looks certain of a place in the women’s 880 yards final. The Dominion champion and onetime record-holder, Miss M. A. M. Chamberlain, will meet the current world record-holder. Miss D. Willis, of Australia.

These two will almost certainly contest the gold medal which will probably be decided by tactics as much as by running ability.

“Glamour Event”

Five of the nine finalists in the Games “glamour event” —the mile—have broken four minutes for the distance, but there is no doubt about the favourite for the gold medal.

Snell won his first gold medal with a superb run in the half-mile, and although he is not underestimating the opposition tomorrow, he, along with the rest of the New Zealand camp is confident of success. His biggest threat could come from T Sullivan (Rhodesia) or from his countryman, J. L. Davies, of Waikato.

Others who could press Snell to a fast time are the young English runner, S. Taylor, who has been credited with a 3min 58sec mile .and the two Australians, A. A. Blue and A. Thomas.

With no outstanding challenger to Snell, there is nothing like the interest in tomorrow’s mile that centred on the now famous clash between R. Bannister (England) and J. Landy (Australia) to Vancouver eight years ago, but the probability is that Bannister’s Games record of 3min 58.8 sec will be broken. First Since 1934 Snell could well be the first New Zealander to win an Empire Games mile since the late J. E. Lovelock’s triumph at London to 1934 Snell followed Lovelock as

the first New Zealander to win an Olympic track gold medal since lovelock took the 1500 metres at Berlin in 1986. Snell won the 800 metres event at Rome in 1960.

The hurdler, Mrs Mclntosh, will make up the New Zealand women’s sprint relay team with Miss N. Bond, Miss Y. Cowan and the 100 yards silver medallist, Miss D. Porter.

Miss Porter, running the final lap, will thus be the last New Zealander to run at the Games. Other teams in the women’s relay are Jamaica, Ghana, England (the favourites) and Australia.