Five athletics omissions shock track and field circles

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34127, 13 April 1976, Page 38

Five athletics omissions shock track and field circles

(By our sports reporters)

Only nine track and field athletes will re present New Zealand at the Montreal Olympic Games in July and this has drawn a surprised and angry reaction from officials and coaches connected with the sport.

Five of the original list of 14 nominations — Tony Good (Canterbury, marathon), Euan Robertson (Otago, steeplechase). Penny Hunt (Wellington, 400 metres), Barbara Beable (Wellington, pentathlon), and Peter Tracy (Waikato, pole vault) — were rejected by the Games selectors (Messrs J. W. Holley, H. R. Dutton and P. N. Robinson).

Robertson, whose performances in the steeplechase this season have been quite outstanding considering the lack of strong competition, and Mrs Beable, who has beaten the tough guideline standards set by the athletic selectors, are particularly unlucky to miss

Good, too, deserved better treatment. He finished second to Jack Foster (Rotorua) in the national marathon in world class time and yet he was dropped. The selectors obviously failed to take into account the difficult nature of the Auckland course for the national event. The athletic nominations were already very tight — there were others who could quite justifiably been nominated in addition to the 14 who were — and the rejection of any of them seems totally unwarranted. Too severe

“Every year we get the same situation,” the former Olympic coach (Mr Valdemars Briedis), who also coaches Mrs Beable, said last evening. “The treatment is far too severe. The athletes eliminated might not be good enough to finish in the first three at the Olympic Games but if this is to be the criteria for selection we should be sending only three.” Mr Briedis said he expected there would be a big reaction but dispaired of anything being improved. “Every time we complain and nothing happens. What can you do?”

Mrs Beable had bettered the standard set by the athletic selectors. He had calculated that her best effort of 4400 points in the pentathlon would put her about sixteenth in the Olympics. “And that does not take into account the possibility of any improvement in the Games,” he said. “What does an athlete have to do to get selected?”

Shocked He was also highly critical of the omission of Good. “I am very shocked over him being left out. It is quite ridiculous,” he said, referring to Good’s superb run behind Foster in the national marathon. Kevin Ryan (Auckland), the second marathon selection, had qualified on a much easier course and yet he had not even competed in the national event. Good had shown that he had tremendous potential in the marathon and the marathon was one event in which potential should be looked for. Mr Briedis said. Good was not prepared to comment when contacted. “I am very disappointed,” the president of the Canterbury Athletic Centre (Mr Don Mackenzie) said. “This is most upsetting for the athletes and for the sport. It is my view that the athletes nominated all deserved selection. Now, it is a very thin team.” Mr Mackenzie said that he could not understand how the judgment had been made. The standard of selection by the athletic selectors had been very realistic. Reasons sought The chairman of the New Zealand Games athlete control committee (Mr Ted Lunn) was also upset by the news. “I would like to hear the reasons behind the reduction,” he said. "I thought that the athletes nominated had set a pretty high standard.” New Zealand’s three best medal prospects, John Walker (Auckland, 800 and 1500 metres). Rod Dixon (Wellington, 1500 and 5000 metres) and Dick Quax (Auckland, 5000 and 10,000 metres) have, of course, been included in the team. Dixon, originally nominated only for the 5000 metres, had now been coupled with the 1500 metres as well. Nevertheless, he will only compete in one event. In view of those who missed selection, it is perhaps a little surprising that Susan Jowett, an Australia

based New Zealander, has been chosen. She has only raced in New Zealand on a limited number of occasions

and finished out of a placing in the Australian sprint championships a few Weeks ago.

It was 20 years ago that P. N. Robinson, then the most powerful man in New Zealand cycling, was party to a “deal” with the then Olympic selectors; he agreed to a reversal of cycling seedings which resulted in the entire road cycling team missing the Melbourne Olympics.

Since then, Mr Robinson has been party to the exclusions of more cyclists himself; now he has been joined by Mr Dutton. The irony is that Mr Dutton, as convener of selectors in 1966, also changed the agreed cycling

seedings when confronted by the Commonwealth Games selection panel. The only two selections with which there can be no quibble are those of Vern Hanaray, at present racing with success in Europe, and the 17-year-old Michael Richards, a medal prospect in the 4000 m individual pursuit. Strong case

But there is no way that Gary Bell and Jamie Richards can justify road race selection ahead of Blair Stockwell, initially, and there was even a very strong case for Kevin Blackwell and Paul Jesson to be considered for the road race.

No apparent consideration has been given to the national championship on Saturday — won by Stockwell —which suggests the cycling advocates were wasting their time when they were the first sport to put their case to the selectors on Sunday.

Wayne Thorpe, nominated as coach for Montreal considered that the trial on the Mangaroa circuit in November must have still loomed large in the selectors’ minds. Trial counted “Richards won a trial that counted, I would say. Bell was second and Stockwell third, but they apparently took in Hanaray — logically —and decided three was enough. So Stockwell missed; I don’t suppose they counted his latest performances at all.” Mr Thorpe also observed that “there is no real incentive for amateur sportsmen in this country at all,” after the latest savage prunings. He was also worried about the possible effect on the overseas tour planned for the original six road nominees. It will still go ahead — the party leaves New Zealand on Saturday, in fact — and an official farewell for . Stockwell and Jesson will still be held on Thursday. “It seems that efforts to have guys fully prepared for the Olympics is just a waste of time,” said Mr Thorpe. Swimming blow “It’s a blow to know those two were dropped,” said the chairman of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association’s council (Mr M. R. Duckmanton). “Both lan (Bullock) and Graham (Wright) beat the target times set out by our selectors, and they did not just sneak inside them. They beat them by large margins. “The swimmers knew they had to do the target times to have a chance of making the team. To get knocked back like this is not good for their morale. “Had the target times been easy it would have been easy to understand the. selectors dropping nominations. But the targets were not easy. There was controversy among swimming people when they were announced last October. “We considered our nominations were worthy of acceptances, otherwise we wouldn’t have made them. I feel sorry for lan and Graeme, 'rfiey improved with every swim up to the national championships and improved their times dramatically.” Bullock out For the tall Otago backstroker, lan Bullock, the team announcement must have been particularly disappointing. From January this year he broke the New Zealand record in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke almost every time he entered the water, and he climaxed his excellent form by beating both backstroke target times at the New Zealand championships last month. Wright commented after his target breaking 200 m butterfly swim that he would be disappointed if he missed out on the team. He has every reason to be disappointed and disillusioned with the New Zealand Olympic selectors. 18 rower* Al! 18 rjowers (16 oarsmen and two coxswains) nomin-

ated have won selection and as at Munich an eight, coxed and coxless fours will compete. A single sculler, Murray Watkinson, and a reserve were also in the 1972 (earn, the only one bigger than that going to Montreal. On the strength of the recent performances overseas by New Zealand crews and the abundance of talent revealed at the national trials it would have been most surprising if any crew had been left Out, especially as the rowing selectors, amid much protest by some scullers, had not nominated a quadruple four.

The Olympic selectors were obviously impressed by the extremely comprehensive 86-page booklet, presenting the nominations, compiled by the convener of the rowing selectors (Mr Fred Strachan). The booklet included graphs comparing past New Zealand crews with the top overseas crews, detailed the careers of the nominees, and gave the results of various tests, including an evaluation of the personality of each Tower.

Christchurch nas four oarsmen and one coxswain in the team — easily its best representation at an Olympics. The members are Athol Earl, David Lindstrom, Ivan Sutherland, Trevor Coker and David Simmons. Ballinger going The country’s top smallbore marksman for the last decade, lan Ballinger, of Christchurch, has earned selection for his third successive Olympic Games. Ballinger, aged 50, won the bronze medl at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and was placed forty-sixth from more than 100 competitors four years iatr at Munich. Although delighted to be chosen for the third time, Ballinger’s enthusiasm was tempered when he learnt that the young Hutt Valley smallbore shooter, Lindsay Arthur, had been omitted. Arthur, only 19, has shot to the forefront after only two years of outdoor competition. He was nominated after topping the North Island trials and finishing second to Ballinger in the national trials.

At the last two Olympics, Ballinger has been accompanied by a smallbore marksman and he was disappointed that Arthur had not been given a chance. “I could have assisted and advised him. I thought the selectors might be looking to new blood, but his inexperienced background — he hasn’t made the North Island team before — might have counted against him,” Ballinger said. No traps “Disappointed” was how a member of the national clay target selection panel (Mr Colin Stott, of Darfleld) described the omission of three of the four trap shooting nominations. “I thought all the shooters had reasonable claims. We are striving to get international competition and the Olympic Games would have been a grand opportunity for them,” he said. The Christchurch skeet specialist, John Woolley, was the only successful trap shooting nomination. The former Englishman has only been in the country two years, but was the best of the New Zealand team at the world championships last year. Aged 26, Woolley was the top qualifier at the national trials. Last month he was runner-up for the New Zealand double-rise title and for the “high gun” title decided over the five national championships. Yachting The only -yachting crew to miss selection was the Tornado catamaran pair, Simon Grain and Chris Timms, who were relying on the rather meagre recommendation of having been fifth in the 1975 Australian Olympic regatta to boost their claims. Otherwise the winners of the various Olympic trials have had their nominations confirmed, with Bob Eastmond, John Douglas, and two members of the national youth team, Murray Jones and David Barnes, as the reserves. Rugby.—The Auckland rugby first five-eighth, Mike Richards, broke a small bone above the ankle of his left leg playing for Marist against Waltemata on Saturday and could be off playing for four weeks. Tills means he might miss the All Black trials in Wellington on May 8.