Golden names of old in veteran athletics

Press, 26 March 1980, Page 22

Golden names of old in veteran athletics

Bv

ROD DEW

Many prominent international athletes of former times have entered for the sixth Air New Zealand national veteran track and field championships at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Saturday and Sunday. Among them are such familiar names as Avis Mclntosh (Auckland), Harold Nelson (Nelson), Jim Dalv (Waikato), Peter Wells (Canterbury), and Dave Leech (Canterbury). All have represented New Zealand at Olympic or Commonwealth Games.

The oldest among them is Nelson, who contested the 10,060 m at the 1948 Olympics in London. He also ran for New Zealand in the 1950 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. On that occasion the distance was the six miles, and he claimed the gold medal.

Nelson has entered the 1500 m and the steeplechase in the over-55 agegroup. He will have as one of his chief rivals another outstanding distance man of his time, Daly, who was a Canterbury representative w’hen he won his New Zealand singlet at the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.

Daly, winner of the New Zealand three miles championship in 1949 and 1954, will be remembered as the first New Zealander to break 14 min for the three miles. Wells held the New Zealand high jump record for many years, and held the national championship from 1953 to 1958, ' inclusive. An Englishman, he came to New Zealand to compete for England in the 1950 Commonwealth Games and liked the country so much that he stayed. He later represented New Zealand at the Vancouver Commonwealth Games. This week-end, he will compete in the over-50 age group. Mrs Mclntosh was a bronze medallist in the 80m hurdles at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth. Two years later she competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the same event. Mrs Mclntosh won the national 80m hurdles championship seven times between 1959 and 1965 and, in 1963. also won the 100 yd sprint crown. She will contest the 40-44 yeas events.

Although it is 18 years since Leech represented New Zealand at the Perth Commonwealth Games in the hammer, he is still a strong performer in inter-club competition in Canterbury. He is certain to be in a class of his own in the 50-54 age group this week-end. Leech won the national

hammer crown three times, in 1962, 1964 and 1965. Several national champions of more recent times will add spice to proceedings in the pre-vet-eran events. Sally Mene

(Canterbury), whose New Zeaand resident record for the javelin of 49.78 m stands unchallenged, will contest the 30-34 events in the championships. She represented New Zealand in the Christchurch Commonwealth Games in the javelin and discus. Between 1965 and 1973, Mrs Mene won the national javelin title six times. The discus was always her secondary event, but she won the national championship in this twice.

Another recent champion in the veteran championships for the first time is the jumper, Ken Simpson (Canterbury). He is a former New Zealand Pacific Conference Games representative and was, until recently, the holder of the Canterbury long jump record.

Simpson won the national triple jump championship in 1972 and 1973 in a career troubled by ankle injuries.

There is at least one athlete who achieved international recognition in another sport. Bruce McPhail (Ashburton) a former All Black rugby wing, has been a prominent performer in veteran athletics for several years. Last season he featured in a very close finish with the former Commonwealth Games decathlon gold medallist, Roy Williams, for the 100 m championship in the 40-44 age group. McPhail won in the very respectable time of 11.825. McPhail is back to defend his title but, unfortunately, Williams has not entered this time. There is no shortage of former New Zealand champions among the entries. Mike Earwaker (Southland, winner of the 800 m championship .in 1958. and Graham Lawless (Otago), who preceded Williams . as New Zealand’s top decathlon exponent, are starting in a variety of events. Lawless won the national discus championship in 1954, in addition to a string of four decathlon titles between 1952 and 1955, inclusive.

Arthur Grayburn (Canterbury), winner of the New Zealand javelin

championship in 1952 and 1953, .is an enthusiastic veteran athlete. He will be back to defend the 50-54 javelin title which he won last year with a record tlr row. Grayburn was a silver

medallist in the world veteran championships in Toronto in 1975, and he will be a strong contender for a title in the next world veteran championships in Christchurch next year. Four reigning world veteran champions will compete this week-end: Derek Turnbull (Invercargill), John Macdonald (Canterbury), Judy Chandler (Hamilton), and Beryl Vine (Auckland). Turnbull won the 1500 and 5000 m gold medals in the 50-54 age group at Hanover, and has high hopes of repeating this performance in Christchurch next January.

Macdonald, still among Canterbury's foremost

road runners in open competition, won the IO.OOOn gold medal at Hanover in the 45-50 age group and he will not be beaten easily in this event this week-end. Chandler is the 800 m world champion in the 4045 group, and Vine holds the gold medal over the same distance in the 50-55 age group.

Norman Hawke (Ashburton), a silver medallist at the Toronto world championships five years ago, will contest the hammer. He is 65.

Roger Robinson, formerly of Canterbury but now based in Wellington, will be another prominent performer in the distance events. He was an English cross-country representative before settling in New Zealand. He will' contest the 5000 and 10,000 m in the 40-44 age group.

Record entries of 214 have been received for the championships. The age of the entrants range from 35 to 75.