Lomax recovers with remarkable high-jump win

Press, 4 March 1978, Page 56

Lomax recovers with remarkable high-jump win

From

ROD DEW

in Wellington

The 19-year-old Pacific Conference Games representative, Terry 7 Lomax (Canterbury), thrust all memories of his recent hamstring injury into the background with a remarkable victory in the New Zealand senior high-jump championship at Newton Park, Wellington yesterday.

Overcoming blustery winds and a rain squall in the middle of the contest, he cleared 1.99 m. gaining his first senior title on a countback from the defending titleholder, Lindsay Guthrie (Auckland), and his Canterbury team-mate, Kieran The height was well below his uest but a worthy effort in difficult conditions. “We all found the conditions very disruptive,” he said afterwards. “I am not worried about the height. The important thing to do was to win. I had to do this to keep my Commonwealth Games hopes alive.” Lomax, who was runnerup to Guthrie in the last two national senior championships, will have another chance to achieve the games qualifying height of 2.1 m in the junior championship today.

This was an astonishing; comeback for the tall Old; - Boys athlete. Just three! weeks earlier he was watch-1 ing the Canterbury cham-l pionships on crutches after I injuring the hamstring in his | right leg while competing in the long jump. The cham-| pionship yesterday was his | first competition since. But there was a nail-biting] finish to the contest. Lomax I and McKee were both unsuccessful in their third at-j tempts at 2.02 m and Guthrie was the last jumper. His final effort just failed when he nudged the cross-bar off | with a leg. For McKee it was a easel of “so near and yet so far”i for the second time of the day. in the pole-vault championship, he had looked a likely winner after clearing] 4.2 m comfortably. When the bar was lifted to 4.4 m, he was leading on the countback from his training partner, the defending champion, Mike Ritchie. Both Canter-' bury men failed in their first ’ attempts. Then Ritchie, who it recently lost his Canterbury! title to McKee, sailed over'" the bar in champion style. 1 It was the end of the contest. McKee hit the bar in; i his last two attempts and]! Ritchie, realising that condi- < tions were unfavourable, did] not try for another height, i 1 “I am very pleased,” the i 22-year-old Ritchie said, i “However, I feel sorry for : Kieran. He has been vaulting;! better than me all season.” ' The Commonwealth]' Games prospect, Graham Seatter, claimed a gold i medal for Canterbury in the 5000 m track walk. He com-j pletely outclassed the oppo- 1

sition to win in 21min 58.85, inside the listed New Zealand record he holds, but he has a faster time already under consideration.

Mike Parker (Otago) was second in 22min 34.3 s and the defending champion, Ross Pilkington (Auckland), was third.

“It took me three laps to get rid of Parker,” said Seatter. From then on it was just a matter of keeping going. There was no great effort involved. The import-j ant race is tomorrow.”

Seatter hopes to win the 20km title today. Alan Thurlow (Otago), a controversial selection for the Pacific Games earlier this summer, upheld the faith of the selectors with a splendid victory in the main track event, the 10,000 m. He and the farmer Canterbury runner, Phillip Watson (Auckland), broke away from the leading bunch with

two laps to run. Watson led around the final turn but Thurlow had too much in hand. He sprinted clear down the straight, winning in 21 min 58.8 sec. Watson was second and the Canterbury I long distance specialist, Mai ; Radcliffe came home ! strongly in third place after | electing to wear his road shoes on the hard track surface. John Sheddan, the j Canterbury champion, was well up in fourth. Vai Young (Canterbury) extended her distinguished j career with her fourteenth victory in the women’s 'discus. This time she re-

.corded 43.36 m to keep comfortably in front of her nearest rival, Joan McPhee I (Otago) whose best was 42.8 m.

j Young was the only woman gold medallist in the Canterbury team. There was one near miss. Susan Burnside jumped 5.91 m on her third attempt in the long jump and led with this until the final round. However, I Noeline Hodgins (Auckland) [cleared 5.97 m on her last jump to come up from third to snatch the title.

i Third place went to the 15-year-old South Canterbury girl, Penny Richards, with a leap of 5.89 m. Peter Renner, (Canterbury) played a starring role in the junior championships, winning the 2000 m steeplechase in the New Zealand record time of smin 43.65ec. Neil Lowsley (Canterbury) was second in another good time of smin 47.95ec.

Other Canterbury athletes to win junior titles were Evan Peterson (long jump) and Roger Miller (3000 m walk). The women’s senior 1500 m race was won in impressive fashion by the Englandbased New Zealander, Alison Wright, running as an individual. She won easing up in 4min 30.1 sec, but the title went to the runner-up, Jan Healey (Auckland), who sprinted past Anne Garett (Auckland) in the final 20m. Rod Dixon (Canterbury) was the ”astest qualifier in the men’s 1500 m heats with a win in the first heat in 3min 53.75ec. Canterbury’s defending champion, Tom Birnie, and a third Canterbury contender, Warren Sheddan, qualified for today’s final in the same, race.

Canterbury’s three 800 m contenders Rendell Mclntosh, Bruce Hunter, and Andrew Stark, all qualified for the final today. The man to beat appears to be Dage Norris (Auckland) who recorded the fastest time of Imin 54.55ec in the second heat.