800m to Cuban

Press, 27 July 1976, Page 14

800m to Cuban

NZPA staff correspondent Montreal A former Cuban basketball player. Alberto Juantorena, yesterday burst, on the athletics world over the same distance and in much the same manner as Peter Snell 16 vears ago. The rangy Cuban slaughtered a high class field in the 800 metres final at the Olympics to win in world record time and then promised more of the same. He led from start to finish to win in Imin 43.55ec — carving two tenths of a second off the three-year-old world record of the South African-born Italian. Marcell Fiasconaro. it was. obviously, also an Olympic mark, eighttenths of a second better than Australian Ralph Doubell’s time in Mexico eight yearsi ago. Juantorena, 24 years old. and 6ft 3in. tall, said after: the race he would be trying' for a world record win also j in the 400 metres, a distance; at which he used to special-' ise The American favourite

and record-holder. Rick Wohlhutdr, was pushed into third place, behind Ivo Vandamme, of Belgium. Fourteen minutes later came another world record — the third of the day's programme. It came when bespectacled lEd Moses, a 20-year-old American college student, clocked 47.645ec in scoring the easiest of wins in the 400 m hurdles. Moses, always running and jumping well, led by five metres at the top of the straight and never looked like being caught. The pace-making Russian, Evgeniy Gavrilenko, on the outside, was overtaken for the silver medal by another American, Mike Shine, in the last 100 m. A West German house--wife, Annagret Richter, won the 100 metres in another surprise. Mrs Richter, 25. who had set a world record of 1101 [seconds in the semi-finals, -won the title of the world's 'fastest woman by one metre from the defending champion. ißenate Stecher, of East Ger-

many, with another West {German. Inge Helten, third The Australian hope Rae .one Boyle. 25. winner of (three silver medals over th" {last, two Olvmpirs, finished {powerfully, hut was about a metre behind Miss Helten ion the line. i Mrs Richter's time in the final was 11.08 seconds The finalists were unset j tied by three false starts, the (second of them bv Miss |Boyle. The starter held the runners in the “set” position for at least three seconds — far longer than is normal in international competition. The United States won its first track and field gold medal of the Games earlier when Mac Wilkins threw th" discus 67.50 metres to win by 1.28 metres from Wolfgang Schmidt, of East Germany Schmidt made a tnightv effort on his final throw and improved his previous mark bv 1.06 metres but it was not enough The bronze medal went to another American. John Powell, with 65.70 metres.