DIFFICULT PATH TO TOKYO

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30540, 8 September 1964, Page 17

DIFFICULT PATH TO TOKYO

When Miss M. A. M. Chamberlain faces the starter in the 800 metres at Tokyo next month, she will have achieved the object of all serious athletes—that of representing her country at the Olympic Games—for the first time. But the path to this, the greatest of all sports meetings, has not been a smooth one for Marise, now 28 and in her eleventh year of top class competition.

5 ears of sacrifice and selfdemal brought their rewards in the past, but the supreme honour had somehow eluded c j 1“ i 960 she twice qualified for selection for the Kome Olympics in the 800 metres but was surprisingly passed over by the New Zealand selectors. This great disappointment, after so much effort, would have been enough to discourage an athlete with a weaker mental approach; it merely intensified her determination to prove she was in world class. Nearly Retired

After the Perth Empire Games, Miss Chamberlain had thoughts of pulling out, but a silver medal in the 880 yards at the games and a world best time for the mile set shortly afterwards convinced her that she still had her best in front of her. Then, last season when she wanted to make an all-out bid for selection for the Tokyo Olympics, she was struck down with illness and injury. She was forced to withdraw from a number of major meetings, but managed to beat the Olympic qualifying time for the 800 metres. The selectors viewed her claims for inclusion in the team favourably and she settled down to continue her buildup.

Running On Own

One of Miss Chamberlain’s greatest obstacles has been the lack of competition over the middle distances and the fact that she dropped into world class virtually running on her own speaks volumes for her dedication. In an effort to find competition, she visited Western Australia in 1962 and raced against Miss Dixie Willis. In finishing second in what was really her first competitive race over 880 yards, her time of 2min 3sec broke the existing world record. Miss Willis’s time of 2min 2sec still stands as the world record. In the last few years since switching from the sprints and concentrating on the longer distances, fame, if not fortune, have come to this determined runner. She has held 13 New Zealand titles, has broken the world 440 yards record on no less than