National speed skating titles start tomorrow

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31727, 10 July 1968, Page 11

National speed skating titles start tomorrow

COMPETITION at the New Zealand speed skating championships, which begin at Lake Ida under the sponsorship of Rothmans tomorrow, promises to be stronger than ever before but after his fine showing in the Canterbury title meeting a few weeks ago it seems unlikely that I. B. McDonald will be beaten for the senior aggregate. Now in the middle of a successful comeback after four years away from

serious competition, he has swept all before him in local competition and set two national records on the short track as well. The long track titles will be the first to be decided. In these McDonald will be seeking his fifth senior aggregate. The skaters most likely to offer him his strongest opposition are R. Falkingham, the national marathon ehampion, T. Skerten, regarded as the country’s fastest sprinter.

and J. H. Havenaar, a many times national champion who has not competed seriously for two seasons. D. Lyttle and P. McLachlan cannot be discounted either. Falkingham finished run-ner-up overall in the recent Canterbury championships and, especially in the longer events, will be very hard to beat Skerten, who in previous years has lacked the stamina necessary to give him a chance of winning the combined title, appears to have improved his staying power greatly and could easily provide some surprises. Havanaar, too, is capable of upsetting things. His second place to McDonald in the Canterbury 1500 metres championship, achieved with no ice training, indicated that he could not be taken lightly in any event. Since then he has increased his ice mileage considerably. A. C. Sparrow looks the best prospect in the intermediate men’s section, although K. Coppiestone, S. Baird and V. Penny could provide him with very stern opposition. Miss J. H. Bayne appears almost certain to win the women's title again after an absence of two years from the racing scene. She convincingly beat the reigning New Zealand champion, Miss F. Lyttle, in the Canterbury championships. Although there are several short track specialists, most of the long track racers will feature prominently in these. The short track titles will be held over a 220 yards track at Lake Ida on Saturday and Sunday in conjunction with the figure

skating. R. J. Montgomery, the reigning Canterbury short track champion and New Zealand long track champion, will not be racing seriously in either long or short track titles. He has done insufficient preparation which is a great pity for it would have been very interesting to match him against McDonald on level terms. They have never raced against one another in senior ranks. McDonald will again be favourite for the short track titles and in these Skerten should provide him with his greatest threat.