Keino Has Great Double On Rain-Soaked Track

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32253, 23 March 1970, Page 28

Keino Has Great Double On Rain-Soaked Track

(By Our Athletics Reporter?

The 30-year-old Kenyan middle-distance runner, K. Keino, showed again that he will be one of the leading track personalities of the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games when he scored a magnificent 1500-5000 metres double during the Kaiapoi Track and Field Classic at Lancaster Park yesterday.

Looking relaxed and confident, Keino comfortably won the 1500 metres in the morning in the good time of 3min 42sec from . another international visitor, B. Dyce, of Jamaica.

In the afternoon he followed it with an equally convincing win in the 5000 metres, the feature event of the programme. His time of 14min I.2sec was slow by international standards and was well outside the New Zealand record of 13min 24.25ec he set on his last visit to the Dominion five years ago. But this was not unexpected, considering the soggy state of the track. ONE DAV LOST The meeting was originally scheduled to be held over two days but heavy rain on Saturday saturated the. arena and officials were forced to compress the programme into one day. Many of the events scheduled to be held on Saturday were run yesterday morning. The track was damp and, in

places, slightly slippery, especially after a brief shower in the morning. The weather was fine in the afternoon but the attendance was small and disappointing. When the first day’s competitions had to be abandoned, the visiting international competitors—Keino, C. Asati (Kenya) and B. Dyce (Jamaica)—agreed to run in two events each on the Sunday. This sporting gesture was appreciated by the New Zealand athletes seeking to advance their claims for Commonwealth Games selection. ASATI’S TWO WINS But unlike the Wednesday evening meeting at Auckland, the three internationals dominated the meeting. Asati won the 400 metres invitation event in 48.1 sec from S. Tamani (Fiji) and P. Kcar (Wellington), and the 200 metres in the excellent time for the conditions of 21.5 sec. However, he had to call on all his considerable speed to hold the New Zealand champion, C. Daly (Hawke’s BayPoverty Bay), who led the field into the straight. Asati drew level with Daly about 20ft from the tape and slowly but surely went ahead, to win by a stride. Daly’s time was 21.6 sec. Taman’ was third, also in 21.6 sec. Dyce, who was the fastest athlete over 880yds in the world last year, showed some of the form which won him the American championship over this distance by taking the 800 metres in Imin 51.8 sec. He set his own pace for most of the distance, with R.

Quax (Waikato), B. Robinson (Canterbury) and L. Weichern (Auckland) in close attendance. GILMOUR’S BEST At the finish, he sprinted away to a comfortable win but it was the young Canterbury athlete, A. Gilmour, who chased him to the tape. Gilmour broke free of the following bunch with about 150 yards to go and in the straight was the only athlete capable of challenging Dyce. Gilmour’s time of Imin 52.55ec, was a personal best. Third place went to Quax, who had broken the 4min barrier for the mile when beating Keino last Wednesday. Dyce’s first appearance of the day was in the morning’s 1500 metres. In this he ran second to Keino in 3min 47.5 sec. A. Polhill (Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay) came through strongly at the finish to take the third place in 3min 51sec. It was, unexpectedly, the l

Canterbury half-miler, B. Robinson, who set a furious pace and held it for threequarters of the first lap, before Keino took over. Keino did the first lap in a startling 57sec and went through the 800 metres in Imin 55sec. The three-quarter distance came up in 3m in 56sec and he finished very comfortably in 3min 42sec. DYCE PREVAILS P. Reeves (Auckland) and Polhill both held second place at various times during the race but it was Dyce who fin-

ally took the runner-u,. position. Robinson paid the penalty for his fast early pace and withdrew before the finish. In the 5000 metres, Keino was content to let others set the early pace, J. T. Power (Canterbury) for the first lap and J. Le Grice (Auckland), the 1969 New Zealand three miles ehampion, in the second. P. Reeves (Auckland) took the field through the 1600metre mark in 4min 27sec and was still in front at the halfway, recording 6min 45sec, but. shortly afterwards Keino made his move. He rapidly drew away from the main bunch. G. Thorley (Wellington) gave chase, with Power and K. Hamilton (Canterbury). On the ninth lap, Power and Hamilton dropped back and Thorley started to narrow the gap to the long-striding Kenyan. But he had no hope of catching Keino, who was well clear as he broke the tape in 14min I.2sec. Thorley was second in 14min s.6sec and Hamilton a surprise third in 14min 26.25ec.

Power, running below form, was fourth and Le Grice fifth, the first Auckland athlete to finish although he was not a member of the official team from his province.

(Results of athletics on page 20)