NATIONAL 15,000 METRES TITLE Tayler’s sprint was perfectly timed

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32425, 12 October 1970, Page 26

NATIONAL 15,000 METRES TITLE Tayler’s sprint was perfectly timed

(New Zealand Free* Association) DUNEDIN. With a devastating burst of speed over the last half-mile, R. Tayler (Otago) outclassed the field to win the national senior 15,000 metres road race championship on Saturday.

I. Davidson (Northland) and Mrs V. Robinson (Waikato) had fairly comfortable wins in the junior and women’s events, respectively.

■ Conditions were unplea- ■ sant, and competitors had to contend with a steady wind - and showers of rain and hail. ’ Canterbury and Otago tied in the senior teams* race, i Canterbury winning on the : count-back. The junior ■ teams’ event was also close, ' Canterbury heading Otago and Wellington by three ' points. Auckland had a clear win ■ in the women’s race, with ’ Otago, second and Canterbury third. CONFIDENT RUN 1 Tayler looked supremely ; confident while running be- ' hind the leading bunch at the halfway mark, and his confidence was well founded. ’ When he made his winning break, only J. Robinson (Waikato) was able to offer token opposition from a group of six runners. ; Looking fresh, Tayler • strode through the tape 50 ; yards clear of Robinson. This win demonstrated Tayler’s

versatility as he now holds New Zealand titles at 1500 metres and 15,000 metres. The winning time of 45min 38.8 sec was extremely good in the difficult conditions and represented a mile rate of about 4min 50sec for the 9 3-8-miie journey.

Wife of the senior runnerup, Mrs Robinson won the women’s race by 30 yards. Although B. Shingles (West Coast, North Island) hung on tenaciously until the last half-mile, Mrs Robinson was too strong for her over the finishing stages.

Results: Senior, 15,000 Metres.—lndividual: R. Taylor (O.), 45:38.2, 1; J. Robinson (Wk.), 45:47, 2; J. Campbell (O.), 45:50, 3; E. Gray (C.), 46:0, 4; K. Hamilton (C.), 46:9, 5; R. Curnow (W.C., NX), 46:25, 6: R. Robinson (C.), 46:28. 7; R. Sharpe (CJ, 46:32, 8; t. Sutherland (O.), 46:34, 9; B. Beath (O.), 46:47, 10. Team: Canterbury, 18, 1; Otago, 18, 2; Wellington, 42, 3. Junior 7500 Metres.—lndividual: L Davidson (N.), 22:49.2, 1; D. O’Sullivan (S.), 23:4, 2; K. White (H.P.-P.8.), 23:9, 3; A. O’Brien (O.), 23:11, 4; U. Drake (Wn), 23:18, 5; S. Hunt (Wn), 23:35, 6; N. Couldwell (C.), 23:49, 7; D. Johnson (W.C., N. 1.), 23:53, 8; G. Palmer (Wk.), 3:M, 9; P. Hesp (C.), 23:57, 10. Team: Canterbury, 31, 1; Otago, 34, 2; Wellington, 34, 3; Waikato, 53, 4; Southland, 67, 5; Auckland, 81, 6. Women’s 4000 Metres.—lndividual: V. Robinson (Wk.), 13:15.2, 1; B. Shingles (W.C., NX), 13:21, 2; A. Smith (A.), 13:43, 3; M. Sampson (A.), 13:49, 4; M. Monigatti (A.), 13:56, 5; S. Potts (W.C., NX), 14:10, 6; A. Tait (C.), 14:12, 7; M. O’ConneU (O.), 14:19, 8; L Miller (Wn), 14:22, 9; P. Davey (O.), 14:43,10. Team: Auckland, 25, 1; Otago, 37, 2; Canterbury, 43, 3; Waikato, 44, 4; Wellington, 81, 5.