Last gold to English high jumper

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33450, 4 February 1974, Page 10

Last gold to English high jumper

The Commonwealth record • holder, Barbara Lawton, on Saturday had the distinction of winning the last gold medal of the 1974 ICommonwealth Games.

Miss Lawton repulsed determined challenges from the Canadian pair. Louise lHanna and Bridgette Bittner. It was Miss Bittner who fell by the wayside first, at I. (sft 11 Jin), and her team-mate could not match the English girl’s winning Jeap of 1.84 m (6ft OJin). This height exceeded both the Games and New Zea-! | land open marks. The preivious Games standard ofi 11.I I. had been set by !Robyn Woodhouse (Austra-i ilia) in 1962 and equalled by: I Debbie Brill (Canada) at ■Edinburgh. I The women’s high jump was also significant in closing the illustrious career of the outstanding Northern ! Irish athlete, Mary Peters, the Olympic and Commoni wealth pentathlon titleholder. She bowed out of international competition with i an eighth placing and the I generous applause of the i crowd. New Zealand’s representatives. Donna Mills and Susan Burnside were eliminated early in the contest. | Miss Mills was twelfth and Miss Burnside fourteenth. Joshuah Owusu (Ghana) (waited until the final round (before winning the triple (jump with 16.50 m (54ft Ilin). I The Indian, Mahinder Singh Gill, had taken the lead with . 16.26 m (53ft 4in) in the second round and had later extended it to 16.44 m (53ft i 11jin). Both jumpers decisively surpassed the previous New Zealand open mark of 15.98 m. established by G.

Boase (Australia) at New Plymouth 10 years ago. Gill had a chance to reI gain the initiative in the last (round, but had a no-jump. The 1970 Games champion, Philip May (Australia), was a ‘ disappointing fifth, one place '(ahead of the New Zealand title-holder, Dave Norris. ''The other New Zealand entrant, John Delamere, was ’(eliminated in the qualifying series. !( The great potential of the (18-year-old English javelin i thrower, Charles Clover, was ■;shown in a world junior re- : cord of 84.92 m (278 ft 7jin). ’( Clover left his countryman, (David Travis—the defending (champion and Commonwealth ■ ■ record-holder—well behind Jwith his massive secondround effort. ,! Notice that Travis would . I have no easy task retaining ■(his title was given when i Clover’s first attempt exceeded 80m, only to be .(judged a no-throw.