POLE VAULT OR DECATHLON? New Zealand champion athlete finds himself in cleft stick

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34104, 17 March 1976, Page 16

POLE VAULT OR DECATHLON? New Zealand champion athlete finds himself in cleft stick

(By

ROD DEW)

Mike Ritchie <Toc H and Canterbury) is the new national senior pole vault champion. He won the title for the first time with an impressive vault of 1.31 metres at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium.

It was a performance of considerable promise. But the 20-year-old all-rounder is by no means certain that the pole vault will be his ’mam event in the future. He has his sights on wearing a national singlet in the next New Zealand Games and feels that he might have his best chance of selection as a decathlon athlete.

“I haven't really decided which is my mam event.” he said. “I might know better after the New Zealand decathlon championship.”

Ritchie finished runnerup to the defending national champion. Mene Mene. in the recent Canterbury decathlon championship with a personal best score of 6192 points He has high hopes of improving on this in the New Zealand championship at Hamilton in the coming week-end.

His recent fine form m the pole vault will no doubt help him in this aim. But he is not satisfied with his performance in two of the other decathlon events, the shot and discus. "1 am too small, and they don't go out far enough.”

But evervthing else seems to he coming along nicely. His high jumping is better than ever. He recorded 1.86 metres in the New Zealand championship to finish out of a place but this season has recorded his best height of 1.96 metres

His best decathlon score of 6192 points ranks him third in New Zealand this

season Onh Mene (6559> and Paul Lothian (6312). of Auckland, have scored better. So the prospect of a medal next week-end is strong. Ritchie has been a keen athlete since he was 17 but he finds it "hard to say” what prompted him to take up the sport seriously. At Christ's College, where he had his secondary education, he proved a capable high jumper and pole vaulter and it was this which probably ignited his • enthusiasm The decathlon is a more recent thing and if Ritchie showed considerable promise at this he is still best known for his ability as a pole vaulter. He is the finest pole vaulter the province has produced and has mastered the art of bending the fibreglass pole to a fine degree. His best performance is 4.40 metres, which is the present Canterbury record.

With a performance of this standard behind him, he was a clear favourite to win the New Zealand title at Auckland. His winning vault of 4.31 metres w j as 31 centimetres greater than the height achieved by the runner-up. the former decathlon specialist, Max Walker (Auckland). In the championship field, only Ritchie and Walker seemed unaffected by the extra bounce provided by the new Tartan rubber run-up. Their rivals all found that they had to alter the length of their run-ups and were still trying to decide how best to tackle the event when they were eliminated.

Kieran McKee (Tot Hi. who has provided Ritchie with his strongest competition in Canterbury and looked capable of pressing him in the national senior final, was below his best because of his unfamil-

iarity with the Tartan surface and had to be content with third. with 3.80 meters. However, the next day McKee, still a junior, mastered the Tartan surface to win the under-20 pole vault title with a splendid leap of 4.20 metres. It was

a reminder to Ritchie that he cannot afford to rest in his quest for still greater heights if he wants to remain the senior champion. But the new national champion is already aiming higher. T had hoped to clear 4.50 metres at Auckland. I guess I will just

have to wait until next season now.” Ritchie, by all accounts, should have won his first national crown a year sooner than he did. He was the top-ranked competitor in the 1975 championship at Dunedin but was unable to cope with the wintry conditions. “I slipped down the pole three times. 1 put it down to lack of experience.” Experience is no longer lacking and Ritchie now has the composure and faith in his own ability to cope with any adverse situation he is likely to encounter. He is also a realist. He fully appreciates that the level of his vaulting is not great in relation to international standards. The 5.20 metres vault he needs to put him into world competition is still some time off yet. But Ritchie does not consider it to be an unattainable goal. "It is possible,” lie said. "I will be trying as hard as I can to get up there.”