Qualifying total is target of N.Z. pentathlon champion

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32860, 8 March 1972, Page 14

Qualifying total is target of N.Z. pentathlon champion

(By

R. O. DEW)

Victory for Canterbury’s gifter all-round track and field athlete, Miss Barbara Poulsen, in the testing New Zealand women’s pentathlon championship at Dunedin on Friday and Saturday appears to be almost a foregone conclusion. Her national record performance of 4538 points at Ham a short time ago puts her far ahead of her nearest challengers. However, her chief aim in the championship will not be just to extend her record total of wins to six; she has her sights firmly on the standard of 4790 points set by the New Zealand selectors with the Munich Olympic Games in mind.

Without tough competition in alt five pentathlon events, the task which lies ahead of her is considerable. But her talented coach, Mr V. Briedis, is confident that she has the ability to achieve a total in excess of 4700. This is the figure he believes will be necessary before the selectors will seriously consider Miss Poulsen for a place in the team to travel to Munich later this year. “I am not prepared to make any forecasts—that would be foolish,” he said. “I hope she can do this, but a lot depends on the weather and circumstances. It is not always straightforward.” Nevertheless, Miss Poulsen’s splendid performance in completing the entire pentathlon programme—an event normally held over two days—in slightly more

than two hours at Ilam recently and breaking Mrs L. E. Wilson’s long standing national record by 37 points, could hardly have failed to attract the attention of the selectors. One of the problems she has had to overcome is the lack of pentathlon contests available to her in a season. Normally, there are only two—the provincial and New Zealand championships. The Ilam event was scheduled specifically for her benefit, and was just what she needed to sharpen up for the national championship. And even if she does improve sufficiently at the national event to lift her total score by 162 points or more, the selectors might want her to show consistency. For this reason she is keen to compete in all the pentathlon events as an individual in the

Olympic trials at Auckland on March 18. Although any total achieved could not be recognised for record purposes, Miss Poulsen would like another chance to show that she can score enough points to qualify in one day. Her weak event is still the high jump, and in this she can hope for little better than a leap of 4ft Win, the best she has achieved. Mr Briedis said that points lost on this event had to be made up in others. He considers that if she is to qualify for the Games she will have to leap 19ft in the long jump, throw the shot 49ft, run the 200 metres in 25sec and clear the 100 metres hurdles in 14sec. Last week-end Miss Poulsen lost the national shot title to her club-mate, Mrs V. I. Young, who surpassed all her previous efforts since emerging from retire-

ment with a winning throw of 49ft 3in. Miss Poulsen’s great versatility was undoubtedly her downfall. While the shot was in progress, she ran third in the 100 metres hurdles and took third place in the long jump. “Barbara was in too much of a rush,” Mr Briedis, who also coaches Mrs Young. explained. “You need very deep concentration for the shot. Conditions were very slippery and she couldn’t settle down.”

Miss Poulsen has already worn the silver fern overseas on a number of occasions—she represented New Zealand at the last Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh—but always in the shot, an event she has prepared for in conjunction with her pentathlon training.

Now she appears about to realise her full potential for the first time and lift her international standing to Olympic level in the toughest of all women’s athletic events.