Bowlers Earned Their Success

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32359, 27 July 1970, Page 16

Bowlers Earned Their Success

New Zealand picked up three medals on Friday —a silver at bowls and two bronzes in wrestling.

H. H. J. Robson and R. L. McDonald, the defending champions in the pairs, added a silver medal to the gold they won in Perth, while Dave Aspin and Gordon Mackay took bronze medals in the middle-weight and welterweight wrestling. For Robson and McDonald, the silver they won was a great achievement. Playing in the fours earlier the previous week, neither had been able to find his best form.

In the pairs, however, they played a little better each

day and by the end of the competition were only four points behind the eventual gold medal winner, England. The singles player, Phil Skoglund, failed to come to grips with the heavy greens, and although he won his last match, his series record was a dismal two victories, 11 defeats.

The New Zealand wrestlers, fresh from competing in the world championships in Canda, showed they had benefitted from the experience. Mackay was in the running for the gold until he was beaten by the Indian. Mukhtiar Singh, the 1966 Jamaican Games gold medalist. If Mackay had even been able to beat Singh on points 'he would have taken the sil-

ver medal, but the Indian, in the end, had too much strength and knowledge for the New Zealander. Aspin secured his bronze medal by getting equal third placing in the middle-weight division. The 21-year-old farmer lost two and drew one of his three bouts, but in doing so gave away fewer penalty points than others in the class.

New Zealand’s swimming team capped off a frustrating Games with two fourths, a fifth and a sixth in the final session.

Glenda Stirling was narrowly beaten out of a bronze medal in the women’s 100 metres backstroke. She battled stroke for stroke with Donna Gurr over the last few

yards, but it was the Canadian who touched first. Miss Stirling’s time of imin B.9ssec was o.ossec slower than her qualifying mark in the heat.

Another fourth placing came in the women’s 400 metres medley relay, the New Zealand team of Miss ' ’rling, Beth Williams, Cathy Whiting and Felicity Crawford recording 4min 44.815ec, and finishing behind Australia, England and Canada.

The men’s sabre team again won through to a semi-final pool but failed to reach the final, while Ann Smith (Auckland), the silver medal winner for England in the 800 metres at the Kingston Games four years ago, was eliminated in her heat on Friday.