CANTERBURY RUNNERS RESERVES Walker is disputed pick in cross-country team

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33654, 2 October 1974, Page 36

CANTERBURY RUNNERS RESERVES Walker is disputed pick in cross-country team

New Zealand’s outstanding middle-distance runner, J. H. Walker, a silver medallist in the Commonwealth Games 1500 metres race in Christchurch last January, is a controversial selection in the team named last evening for the international cross-country championship at Rabat, Morocco, next March.

Walker has been included with two other stars from the Games, R. J. Tayler, the 10,000 metres gold medal winner, and R. P. Dixon, who was fourth in the 1500 metres.

The only Canterbury runners selected are the two non-tra veiling leserves in the men’s team, P. Watson and J. Sheddan. However, Canterbury has not been completely overlooked. It has supplied the manager of the men’s team, Mr J. G. Smart, who was elected after, the fifth ballot. There were seven other nominations for the position. The teams, approved at an executive meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association in Wellington, Mne: B. Rose (Wellington, captain), P. Ballinger (West Coast-North Island), J. Dixon (Wellington), R. Dixon (Wellington), E. Robertson (Otago), K. Ryan (Auckland), D. Sirl (Auckland), R. Tayler (Wellington), J. Walker (Auckland). Non-travelling reserves. Watson, Sheddan. Women: H. Thompson (Auckland, captain), A. Deed (Auckland), A. Garrett (Auckland), L. Moller (Otago), D. Zorn (Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay). Non-travelling reserves: B. Shingles (West Coast-North Island), I. Miller (Wellington). Mrs P. Kenny (Waikato), the former national women’s high jump champion, was chosen as the women’s manager after the fourth ballot. There were four nominations. Of the nine men, only Ballinger has not previously represented New Zealand on the track or at cross-country. The prominent marathon runner, J. Foster (Waikato), was unavailable. The women’s team is a young side, all but Mrs Thompson being under 20. All athletes, including the non-travelling reserves, will have to run fitness tests in competitvie events, shortly before the team leaves for overseas. The men must run 10,000

metres in under 30min. Ryan, Sirl and Walker will be asked to carry out their trial in Hamilton, and the other men will be required to pass the test in either Wellington or Christchurch. For the women, the selectors recommended that a 3000 metres even be held at Hamilton with a standard time of lOmin. It is expected that many experienced athletes will react strongly to the inclusion of Wa lk e r- They reason that

his selection pre-supposes that Walker’s pace over 1500 metres would allow him to compete on equal terms with the world’s best over the cross-country championship distance of 12,000 metres, and in a massed start. The selectors do not appear to have taken a chance with the fitness of another outstanding runner, T. J. L. Quax, who has been struggling to find his best form after injury. But they may be taking a chance with Tay-

ler, who has not run competitively since the Games. Sheddan and Watson have been unfortunate not to gain : places in the team, and it is equally surprising that E. M. Gray ’(Greymouth) has been discarded altogether. All three beat Rose and Ballinger in the first lap of the recent Motueka-Nelson relay, taking second, third and fourth places behind Robertson, the only South Islander to win selection in the men’s team. Ryan, the national titleholder, Sirl; Robertson, and Rose were considered certainties, and Tayler and R. Dixon were firm favourites.