Penny Hunt making surprise appearance at Q.E. II today

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34047, 10 January 1976, Page 36

Penny Hunt making surprise appearance at Q.E. II today

(By

ROD DEW)

The New Zealand women’s 100 and 200 metres champion, PennyHunt, of Wellington, is to make an unexpected appearance in the sprint events at Queen Elizabeth II Park today, as part of her quest for Olympic Games selection. Mrs Hunt, who holds the national 200 and 400 metres records, will compete over the short sprint distances today. She represented New Zealand as a 400 metres runner at the Munich Olympic Games, running a career-best time of 52.75ec. Last year she moved back down to the short sprints, and surprised everybody by winning both national titles in dreadful conditions at Dunedin. Mrs Hunt will have as her chief opposition today the former New Zealand decathlon champion, Susan Bumside, who is back in Christchurch after several weeks of competition in Auckland. Miss Bumside is ranked third in New Zealand over 100 metres. Mrs Hunt intends to stay in Christchurch training dur-

ing the next week and will also compete in the special invitation meeting scheduled for Queen Elizabeth II Park on January 17. Joanna Beckett, the young Christchurch runner who won the New Zealand 400 metres title last season, hopes to be fit enough to race against Mrs Hunt in this. She has been sidelined for some weeks with a tendon injury. Record bid off? However, other developments have not been so encouraging for the January 17 meeting. The possibility of John Walker breaking the world 2000 metres record in a special attempt has diminished. The world mile recordholder has what he calls “a few niggling injury problems.” He is competing over 800 metres at Whangarei today and wants to break Imin. 50sec. to prove his fitness. He needs a fast run to sharpen up for his clash with Rod Dixon over a mile at Wanganui on Wednesday. In the last week, Walker has trained only once on the track. He has largely confined himself to running on the road with Dixon. *'A hamstring and my groin

are playing up a bit,” said Walker, obviously deeply disappointed at the cancellation of Filbert Bayi’s New Zealand tour. He appreciates that some pressure is likely to be putj

on New Zealand at the Montreal Olympic Games, over the country’s resumption of sporting contact with South Africa, and is aware that the best way of countering this is for him and Dixon to set

as many world records as possible in the meantime. But, at the moment, minor injuries seem to be casting a shadow of doubt over the chances of either athlete doling this. As well as the 2000 metres run at Queen Elizabeth Park, it was expected that Walker would attempt to reduce Bayi’s 1500 metres record of 3min. 32.25ec. at Auckland on January 31 — the day he was originally to have met Bayi on his home “I’m not in my greatest shape and I’ll have to wait and see how my training and racing goes over the next fortnight before deciding how I’ll approach this race,” he said. Dixon, too, is suffering from injury, an inflamed tendon, and this might spoil his chances of making an attempt at either the 2000 metres or two-mi le world record in Christchurch on January 17. It is, however, responding to treatment. “I’m keen to get some clear statement,” the president of - the Canterbury Athletic Cenr tre (Mr D. W. Mackenzie) f said yesterday, after hearing i of Walker’s problems. “It is > clear that he is going cool on ; the possibility of a world ret cord attempt. But what we

want is just to see him run here and drag the best out of our own competitors.. The injuries don’t sound particularly serious,” Mr Mackenzie, a former New Zealand sprint champion, said.

No reason "I’ve got no reason to believe that Walker is not keen to run,” he said. There was further bad news for the' Canterbury officials yesterday. Ken Hall, the topranked 1500-metre runner in Australia, who was scheduled to run in the 2000 metres against Walker, will not arrive in time. He and three other members of the Victorian athletic team, Robert Huddle, C. A. Considine and T. O’Shaunghnessy, are not now expected in New Zealand until January 20. The 5000 metres, featuring the New Zealand Games champion, Dick Quax, of Auckland, might now assume greater importance. The two Olympic steeplechase prospects, Martin Couldwell (Christchurch) and Euan Cameron (Dunedin), have both been invited to race in this, now that a decision had been made not to hold a i J steeplechase.