Famous coach plans to retire

Press, 10 April 1981, Page 30

Famous coach plans to retire

By

ROD DEW

New Zealand's most internationally famous athletics coati, Arthur Lydiard. plans to retire next year. Mr Lvdiard was in Christchurch briefly yesterday before leaving for Hanmer where he is conducting a big coaching seminar. He turns 65 on July 6 next vear. which is the day he will leave the public relations department of Winstone, Ltd, which has “footed the bill” for much of his internal travel and coaching activities for the last nine years. “It is only through Winstones that I have been able to do as much. When I leave next year it will be economically impossible for me to continue. I will not even be able to continue with the coaching by correspondence,” he said, before taking a brief ran in Hagley Park. “The cost of the postage alone is considerable. Mr Lydiard. who will ah ways be remembered as the coach of such Olympic champions as Peter Snell and Murray Halberg, has bought a property of two acres and a half in Kerikeri in the far north and is looking forward to a rather different lifestyle. However, he will continue running for fitness and might even race competitively in some marathon events. A former New Zealand marathon champion, Mr Lydiard gave up competitive running when he was 39, but a few months ago was challenged to prove that he could run a marathon in les than three hours “any time he wanted to.” He completed the marathon distance in 2hr 58min. “If I had trained for the

race. I could have gone considerably faster” he said. He did begin training seriously for the World Veteran Games in Christchurch last January, but he twisted his leg and split the cartilege of his left knee. Only now is he beginning to run freely again. In contrast to many athletes. Mr Lydiard. who spent two months coaching in South Africa 18 months ago. is very much in favour of the forthcoming rugby tour of New Zealand by the Springboks. “Everybody is making a big song about the effect this will have on the Commonwealth Games in Bribsane next year. If we are going to lose our freedom then it would be better to let the Games go.” he said. “I am definitely for the tour. A lot of South Africans are fighting the battle against apartheid over there, we shouldn’t slam the door in their faces.” He finds it difficult to reconcile the acceptance of New Zealand playing hockey against Russia with the opposition to sporting contact with South Africa. He also feels that there Is more support for the tour than a lot of people believe. “Everywhere I go, the majority of the people I speak to are in favour of the tour. I believe that the majority of New Zealanders are against apartheid, but I don't think the majority are against the tour.” Mr Lydiard said he was “worried” by the attitude of churches to the tour. He firmly believes that New Zealand should concern itself more with its own problems, and try and understand the problems of others.

When he was m South Africa. Mr Lydiard coached black and white athletes together and watched manv events m which blacks and white competed against one another quite happily “I had some wonderful experiences in South Africa. You can't tar all South Africans with the same brush." Mr Lydiard says he has been to’ South Africa and seen how the battle against apartheid is being fought He believes that New Zealanders have more intelligence than to allow their right to visit such places as South Africa to be lost, and see the situation for themselves. "We don’t want to read other people’s views of South Africa. We want the right to see for ourselves and then make up our own minds.” He is also critical of African countries, which have no democratic society; such as that which functions in New Zealand, demanding that all contact with South I Africa should be broken. Rather like the prophet being without honour in his own country, Mr Lydiard is perhaps held in greater esteem overseas that he is in New Zealand. He has never had the Government support he should have and he is 1 disappointed that his wealth of experience in coaching has not been made greater use of. “It doesn’t really frustrate me now. I am nearing retirement, but I often look back and think what I might have done if I had lived in the United States or Finland, where there is the machinery to use my knowledge. In New Zealand, they just don’t want to know,” said Mr Lydiard.