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Walker pulls out, spotlight on Rod Dixon

PA Wanganui The late withdrawal of the former world record . holder. John Walker, has thrown the spotlight well and • truly on Rod Dixon for this evening's Wanganui I Glamour Mile on the new, untried Cooks Garden track.|

Walker advised officials C j yesterday morning that he ; t : would not be able to run al■[ i the Tenderkist-sponsored j i international meeting be-,( 'cause of tendon trouble. ij ■ He has been unable toU i train since clocking a fast [3OOO metres in Auckland last i Saturday and as a result i [Dixon, unbeaten over a milejy |in Wanganui, will now be; J the star attraction. it Dixon is confident of a 1 I fast mile in a bid to break 1 [the world one-mile grassi track, record and thus quali- I ’ fy for a free trip, offered by 1 i the Wanganui Amateur Ath- < l letic Cycling Club and Ten- i derkist sponsors to the! fworld games in Finland next!' ' year. I he record, which is also !; > the New Zealand all comers’ll :■ record, stands at 3min 53.8 s i l and was set in 1965 by the ' East German. Jurgen May, I when he upset the flying policeman, Kipchoge I . Keino. 1 Although there have been ■some fast miles run in New )[ Zealand over the last 14 jl years, that 3min 53.8 s record remains. 1; The withdrawal of Walker, 9 I naturally, will take some < glamour out of the mile ) race, but there is still a , class field including the best j m i d d 1 e-distance runners i > available in New Zealand. I . Dixon ran a fast 3000 y metres in Auckland last 2 week-end in the same event ’ in which Walker suffered j>more of his persistent tenJdon injuries. ,i Dixon (3min 55.55) beat

Walker ('3 mm 55.85) overl the mile in Wanganui in[ 1974 and he also he'd off al persistent Andrew Stark, of | Canterbun, to win last! year's Wanganui mile in ■ 4min 3sec. Wanganui has the best! record for sub-four-minute [ miles run in the country! with 11 recorded since Peter Snell broke the world record! with his epic 3min 54.4 s on ! the Cooks Garden ground | back in 1962. Providing the opposition | for Dixon this evening will! b' eight other runners in-1 eluding several fast 800-i metre specialists. They are Canterbury’s) 'Tom Birnie, runner-up in the i ■ national 1500 metres last] I year: Andrew Stark, who! (extended Dixon in the. Wanganui mile last summer; Michael Gilchrist, the national junior 1500 metres titleholder; and Warren Sheddon, a Canterbury representative. In addition to Dixon, Aucklanders in the field are the Edmonton Commonwealth Games representative, Dennis Norris, who toured Europe last season; Dave Harkness, runner-up to Norris in the New Zealand SOO-metres title last season and a likely early pacei maker, and John Bowden, 'recently back from the I World Student Games. With the Swiss star. Marcus Ryffel. and his countryman, B. Lafranchi, out of the 3000 m because of leg troubles, and Britain’s Edmonton Commonwealth

■ Games 1500 m champion, i David Moorcroft, still en I route to New Zealand, the |3ooom will also be an allINew Zealand affair. ; The field however, is still i strong with Paul Ballinger i (New Plymouth), John ShedIdon (Canterbury) and Kevin | Ryan (Auckland), the top ■ contenders. Moorcroft won I the same event last year 'from Dick Quax and Ryffel. I The national javelin chamipion, Mike O’Rourke (Auckland), has always thrown well in Wanganui and he 'will be out to improve on Ibis national record of 86m which he recorded on the) Iground last year. i Pursuit riding has been a : I feature of cycling in Wanga,|nui over recent years and • the clash of the Edmonton Commonwealth Games champion, Mike Richards , (New Zealand), against the Australian ace Gary Sutton • over 4000 m should be a classic. , Richards, third in the > world championships, and ■ Sutton are ranked in the top • six pursuiters in the world, » and should be evenly ; matched this evening. > Richards won the title at I the recent Oceania Games in i New Caledonia while Sutton - is the present Australian , champion and was in the s' winning Australian pursuit i team at the last Com- , jmonwealth Games. -1 The entire New Zealand f | Olympic Games training ’'squad will be racing, which) - will make for some close) il finishes.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19791229.2.120

Bibliographic details

Press, 29 December 1979, Page 32

Word Count
722

Walker pulls out, spotlight on Rod Dixon Press, 29 December 1979, Page 32

Walker pulls out, spotlight on Rod Dixon Press, 29 December 1979, Page 32

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