Young Sprinter Showing Great Potential In Senior Ranks

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31224, 23 November 1966, Page 19

Young Sprinter Showing Great Potential In Senior Ranks

TjURING the last few * ' years Canterbury has built up a reputation for producing outstanding sprinters and although the present national 100 and 220 vards champion, A. G. Steel, is easing off, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the province will not lose its high ranking in sprinting for many years to come. A first year senior who has already shown great promise this season is the High School Old Boys sprinter. A. Tweedie, who is under the guidance of the successful sprint coach, Mr P. Davies: the man who directed Steel’s title defences last season with such great effectiveness. In four starts this sea-

son, Tweedie has only been beaten once and that was by the Canterbury University champion, M. Poulsen, who by now is well used to the strong competition in senior ranks. This was in a 75 yards sprint, an event which is perhaps a trifle short for Tweedie, but he still managed to clock the good time of B.3sec.

Later in the same meeting he gained his revenge by defeating Poulsen in the 220 yards in 23.65ec. Last Saturday he was unbeatable and even the absence of D. W. McKenzie and Steel could not detract from the promise he showed. He won the 100 metres in ll.lsec and later came home first in the 400 metres. His time

was a creditable 52.45ec and suggests that with a little more specialised training, he could become a top quarter-miler. For several seasons now Tweedie has shown considerable potential. As a 16-year-old in 1964 he set Canterbury records for both the 100 yards (10.4 sec and 220 yards (23.5 sec) in the under 17 grade. His time for the furlong has since been lowered by half-a-second by another High School Old Boys’ runner, G. Langham, but his 100 yards record still stands as a tribute to his early ability.

Last season he made his deepest impression yet, winning the Canterbury junior 100 yards title and finishing

third in the New Zealand junior 220 yards championship. He had his first taste of senior competition when he was included in the High School Old Boys relay team for the Canterbury championships last season. In the 4 x 110 yards event, Tweedie ran particularly well on his leg and the team won the senior Canterbury title in 43.55ec, only a tenth of a second outside the record. Tweedie still has a long way to go before he can match the deeds of Steel and Mackenzie. However, there is little doubt that he has the ability. He has a first-rate coach in Mr Davies who will be able to bring out the best in him before too many seasons have passed.

In the meantime, his rivalry with G. McKechnie (St. Andrews), should give him the incentive to persevere even if he finds himself finishing out of a place when the top sprinters begin to race seriously. McKechnie won the New Zealand junior 440 yards title last season and beat Tweedie in the Canterbury junior 220 yards championship by inches. This rivalry could well accelerate their progress. Both are outstanding sprinting prospects and should, in the not too far distant future, be leading candidates for national titles.