Davies' Future Appears To Be In Longer Races

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30965, 22 January 1966, Page 17

Davies' Future Appears To Be In Longer Races

/PHE apparently effortless manner in which the Waikato runner, J. L. Davies, lowered the colours of several of the world’s leading distance runners in ’the international 5000 metres race at Lancaster Park last Saturday was a most impressive performance one which came as a considerable surprise to those who consider he has insufficient stamina for anything outside his Olympic distance, the 1500 metres, and the mile. Yet to many people, especially the prominent Auckland coach, Mr A L Lydiard, it was far from unexpected. Ever since Davies finished third in the Olympic 1500 metres at Tokyo, Mr Lydiard has said that his real potential now lay in longer distances. His wonderful performance on Saturday confirmed his opinion.

For Davies the race was rather in the form of an experiment. He originally had entered for the mile at the meeting but at a late hour the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association withdrew the event and inserted a special half-mile at the request of the touring Russian team. This left the New Zealander in a quandary. The half-mile was too thort, although he had run some excellent times over the distance, and so he de-

cided that he would make his international debut in the 5000 metres, a decision which he has not regretted. It was generally felt that Davies was the least favoured of the internationals competing. He had the sprint but would he be able to use it even if he did manage to hang on to the leaders until the last lap? There were few that thought so. Davies even surprised himself. He was one of the dominant figures throughout the race, his long, loping stride keeping him well up in the field. He showed a fine appreciation of the tactical aspects of the race on the final lap, completely out manoeuvering his more experienced opponents. One could imagine the smile of satisfaction on the faces of W. D. Baillie and the two Russians, L. Ivanov and V. Kudinsky, as Davies dropped to the rear of the leading bunch as it entered the final lap. But this was all part of the plan. From the rear, Davies was able to begin his magnificent 300yard sprint without anyone else realising until it was too late.

The shock tactics worked perfectly. He had a clear lead of 10 yards before there was any reaction. Then Radinsky hurled himself into the chase, closely followed by Baillie, but it was to no

avail; Davies had the race won. He was a commanding figure as he pounded up to the tape. There was no sign of the exhaustion so many expected. In fact, such was the strength of his finish that he probably would have won regardless of his well thoughtout last lap tactics. Whether the result would have been the same if the other internationals had not been content to let Canterbury’s B. Jones do the pace-making and rely completely on their finishing sprint might be the subject of conjecture. To be certain, their slow tactics played completely into the hands of Davies. . After the race Davies was extremely pleased with his performance, in spite of the relatively slow time, 13min 54.45ec, and he had no hesitation in confinning his intention to seek selection in both the mile and three miles for the Jamaica Games later this year. His great performance was a clear indication that a new era of athletics is within reach of this fine athlete.