Czech Runner Predicts 3:52 Mile By Snell

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30587, 2 November 1964, Page 3

Czech Runner Predicts 3:52 Mile By Snell

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 1. Czechoslovakian middle-distance runner, Josef Odlozil, who arrived in Auckland last evening for a short race programme, predicted today that Peter Snell could run a mile time of 3min 52sec in an attempt on his world record. He said this at Snell’s home at Papakura, where he is staying.

In slow English, he niade this prediction after covering a newspaper with a mass of 1500 metres and one mile times that he and Snell have run.

Snell said it would be a help to have Josef running against him in a record attempt. “I will be a pace-maker,” Odlozil broke in.

Odlozil, who ran second to Snell in the Tokyo 1500 metres, said he did not think he would find any difference between running 1500 metres and a mile, although it was the first time he would have run the mile.

A quietly spoken, unmarried Czechoslovakian Army officer, Odlozil said he had thought before Tokyo that he would have run between third and sixth place

in the 1500 metres. He had been pleasantly surprised by his performance. Odlozil and Snell ran about six miles around Ardmore airfield this morning. Odlozil said he thought he would learn something from training with Snell. He said cold weather in Czechoslovakia sometimes below zero—made winter training difficult. He had a winter training schedule of up to 30 kilometres a day and up to 177 a week. 1000 METRES Only a little of this was cross-country running but he did a lot of road work. Odlozil and Snell will race over 1000 metres at Western Springs stadium on November 12—the day after the Czech’s twenty-sixth birthday. On November 17, they will run at the stadium again in a mile. Shortly after, Odlozil will return to Czechoslovakia. Odlozil said he hopes he

will get a chance to run at Mexico City. He said he was very happy to come to New Zealand because he was in good form at the moment. It was too cold to run at home now.

The coach, Mr A. Lydiard, said today he had been amazed by the failure of some New Zealand athletes at Tokyo and said that the mental attitude of competitors here would have to be improved.