Five of the best in 1500m final

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33448, 1 February 1974, Page 7

Five of the best in 1500m final

The presence of the Kenyans Ben Jipcho and Mike Boit. Filbert Bayi (Tanzania) and the New Zealanders. Rod Dixon and John Walker, in the final of the 1500 metres tomorrow, will ensure a fitting climax to the Games track and field programme. Dixon, who was third behind Mike Boit (Kenya), and Graeme Crouch (Australia) in his heat yesterday, and Walker, a comfortable winner of his race, will be joined by a team-mate, the Olympic finalist. Tony

Polhill, in the 12-man field for the final. Even the considerable, drain that must have been imposed on Jipcho’s resources by his steeplechase and 5000 metres triumphs does not seem to have had any detrimental effect on his; chances of completing a magnificent Games “hattrick.” The great Kenyan middle-: distance runner was a mod-; ,est fourth, behind Walker,: Nyambui Mjaya (Tanzania)! and Randal Markey (Australia), yesterday, but he did not exert himself and was easing down in the straight. ! Walker had been content to run in the middle of the heat of seven competitors ! -

.until the last 200 metres! i when he accelerated suf-! I ficiently to get to the front. - In the first heat, Dixon,! Boit and Crouch finished in. line, with Brendan Foster, of!; England in close company. < The other three runners were well beaten. i . The fastest time in. the 'three heats was recorded by Bayi, and his 3min 38.2se'c;: was all the more creditable; because he dictated all of < the pace. John Kirkbride (England) and David Fitzsi-1 mons- (Australia) led in the rest and Polhill had to work i a little harder than Dixon or Walker to qualify. i New Zealand will also have three contenders for’ ■the women’s 1500 metres!

medals tomorrow, but Sue' ! Haden, Sylvia Potts and ; Anne Garrett—whose 4min 19.1 sec for fourth in the , first heat was a national ! resident record—will have to concede favouritism to some of their overseas oppo-. nents. Glenda Reiser, a fluent; Canadian whose front-run-1 Ining style is similar to that' of Bayi's, was untested in creating a new Games! record of 4min 10.8 sec in 1 the same race. Among the other finalists' to emerge in this event was! 17-year-old Mary Stewart (Scotland), a sister of the 1970 Games 5000 metres winner, Jan Stewart. i Mrs Potts and Miss Haden:

! were runners-up in their 1 races, behind Jennifer Orr i (Australia) and Sabina ! Chebichi (Kenya), respecI tively. The size of tomori rows's field was increased to > 13 when even the sophisticated timing and photo finish equipment was unable to separate Sheila Carey (England) and Jean Lochhead ■ (Wales) for fourth in the , third heat. The two 4 x 100 metres i; relay qualifying rounds pro- ' vided record performances. ; The Australian men set a national open mark of . 39.75ec, the New Zealand : women lowered the resident si time to 44.65ec, and their male team-mates equalled litheir own record of 40.5 sec,