Satisfying ‘training run’ for Walker

Press, 16 July 1979, Page 28

Satisfying ‘training run’ for Walker

NZPA London John Walker moved up towards “Golden Mile” form yesterday with a satisfying Imin 47.6 s second place over 800 m in the English national championships.

Walker would have been happy in the speed-building 800 m by just breaking Imin 50s, but his confidence for tomorrow evening’s Golden Mile in Oslo was given a boost with the manner of his run.

Steve Scott, of the United States, won the race, just over ,2s ahead of Walker, but the New Zealander—and most of the crowd of about 20,000 —knew that he could have won. Walker drew the all-or-nothing lane one in the twolapper and got himself badly boxed with 250 m to go. When Scott made his bid for the championship, Walker had to prop and move out two lanes before he could give chase. The Walker kick of old was not there but he still had sufficient talent 130 m out to get close to Scott in the run to the line. For what was essentially a training

run for the world mile champion, it was an impressive performance. “It was my own fault that I didn’t win,” Walker said. “I should never have got boxed in like that and Scott knew he was lucky. With Tuesday in mind, I’m happy. I’m really starting to conie back to reasonable form.

“I felt good throughout the race — there was no trace of the throat soreness I’d had and I wasn’t tying up or anything. It could have been a much faster time.” Later in the boiling afternoon, Walker, from the sideline, gave his compatriot, Rod Dixon, a stinging boost. Dixon, running his fourth 5000 m in less than a fortnight, was up with the pace in a high-class field until two laps to go. The Irishman, Eammon Coghlan, and the redoubtable Henry Rono called the tune in a leading break which also comprised the Gateshead rivals, Brendan Foster and Mike McLeod. Foster tripped and was counted out and when Rono and Coghlan surged to a sub-60s lap, Dixon looked bothered.

Dixon was struggling at the bell and looked to nave

given the race away. He was drifting from the pace down the back straight but Walker was there at the 200 m mark to scream encouragement.

Walker’s urgings lifted Dixon’s race dramatically. He dug in for another gear and the long strides that have given him a 3min 33.9 s 1500 m ate up the bottom end of the Crystal Palace track to put him back in contention for at least a place in what had been an absorbing 5000 m.

Rono, not the Rono of 1978, swung wide on the turn and Dixon found himself having to chase from lane four. He did so, passing Rono like the American ace, Clancy Edwards, who had earlier won the 200 m.

But Coghlan and McLeod by then were too close to home and Dixon had to be content with third. But his time of 13min 24.7 s still maintained his record of consistent racing. The third New Zealander, Dennis Norris, was nowhere near his best form. He finished last in the 1500 m in a dismal 3min 51.15—-precisely 12s behind the untroubled winner, Steve Ovett.