Renner and Birnie ready for Europe

Press, 20 July 1979, Page 24

Renner and Birnie ready for Europe

By

ROD DEW

Two of New Zealand’s leading track athletes, Peter Renner (steeplechase) and Tom Birnie (1500 m will leave at the end of this month for a brief but intensive racing tour of Europe which they hope will provide a stepping stone to the Moscow Olympics next year. Both members of the New Brighton club in Christchurch, the pair are scheduled to arrive in the Netherlands on August 4 and will contest their first races at a major meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, 10 days later. Over the next six or eight weeks, their tour will take them to Belgium, West Germany, Denmark, Sweden and England. “All the meetings are big ones,” Renner said yesterday before a period of stamina training on the Port Hills. “We have got a fairly hectic schedule — we will both be racing twice a week — but we both hope to do pretty well.” Renner, aged 19, is the New Zealand junior 2000 m steeplechase champion and also holds the national junior 5000 m crown. He holds the New Zealand junior records for both distances and is considered to have a very bright future on the international front. He has already repre-

sented New Zealand at sen-i ior level, in the match against Australia last season. He was actually leading! the senior 3000 m steeple-' chase in the Melbourne } meeting when he tripped and tell near the end. “That gave me a lot ot confidence. I know I would t have won in a time of aboutj Bmin 38s if I had not fallen.. This is the time I will .bej wanting to run in Europe.” i He has a best official time;, of Bmin 45s for the 3000 m j steeplechase. Several 5000 m races are also on his sched-l ule in Europe and he is! quite sure he can improve! on his best of 14min 19s. He: is also hopeful of making anj attempt on the world junior;; 2000 m steeplechase record of|| smin 28s. His best is six! seconds slower, but his attempt will depend on the , age transfer date from ; junior to senior in Europe. Birnie, who is a former ( New Zealand 1500 m chain- j pion and who ran second to! ( John Walker in this year's | final, and Renner are being j helped by the Dutch one- ( hour world record-holder, T Jos Hermens, who has made ( regular visits to New Zea- | land in recent years. He has ( arranged their competitive t schedule and offered the use t of his home as a base for them. “The trip would not be 1 possible without his help and interest,” Renner said. \ Renner and Birnie have g been competing with consid- r

lerable success in cross-coun try events this winter, anc have also been runninj I twice a week at Queei Elizabeth 11 Park to he!) i their speed. Both are ven pleased with their form. i Renner intends to try to# i the Moscow Olympic team i jail goes well, but he will no: jbe worried if he misses ou this time. His chief prioritj is to reach a peak for th: Commonwealth Games i| (Brisbane in 1982. j However, for Birnie, thi man with the “cannonball 1 I finish, the European tri] , will have a do-or-die fla Ivour. He is now 26 ani ■ needs to lower his bes i 1500 m time of 3min 42.7 s bj i about three seconds if he i Ito’ stand a chance of getting Ito Moscow. His coach, M: Eric Rowe (who alsi coaches Renner), believes hi has the ability. Birnie is making the trig in spite of a lack of helj from the New Zealand Ama teur Athletic Association Renner has received SSOC Both men are hoping to re ceive some help from sports minded businesses and othet organisations, because the; believe that they will havi little change out of $2OOl each at the end of thei tour. The investment, they be lieve, will be worthwhile. “We really don’t know what we can do. We need t< go to Europe to find out,’ Renner said.