Q.E. II record bid?

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34045, 8 January 1976, Page 18

Q.E. II record bid?

The cancellation of the athletic tour of New Zealand by the Tanzanian Olympic team has strengthened the chances of the world mile recordholder, John Walker, of Auckland, making a serious bid for the world 2000 metres record at Queen Elizabeth II Park on January 17.

Walker’s coach, Mr Arch Jelley, was known to have advised against making a record bid so soon before the series of races against the Commonwealth Games 1500 metres champion, Filbert Bayi, of Tanzania, in New Zealand. Mr .Jelley felt that such a race might jeopardise Walker’s chances of beating his African rival. Now that Bayi is not coming, Walker will almost certainly be keen to put. his recent training to some good use by chasing the 2000 metres record he missed by a mere three-fifths of a second in Gothenberg, Sweden, last northern summer. The record was set nine years ago by the Frenchman Michel Jazy, at 4min 56.25ec.

Whether New Zealand’s Olympic 1500 metres bronze medallist, Rod Dixon, of Nelson. will also run in the record attempt will depend on what Walker’s attitude is to having another athlete in the field who is also capable of bettering the world record. Dixon had intended to discuss the matter with Walker but the outcome of this is not yet known. Neither Walker nor Dixon could be contacted last evening.

Dixon is also known to be interested in making a bid

for the world two-mile record of Bmin 13.8 sec, set in 1973 by the Englishman Brendan Foster. It is possible that if Walker prefers to make his attempt without the assistance of Dixon, the Nelson athlete will make is own bid over two miles at the same meeting. “If he wants a two-mile

race for the record attempt, we will put one on,” the president of the Canterbury Athletic Centre (Mr D. W. Mackenzie) said. “But if he wants runners capable of pushing him over the first few laps, that might be a different matter. I just don’t know who might be available.”