Walker second

Press, 7 September 1981, Page 19

Walker second

NZPA-Reuter Rome John Walker, in one of his best 1500-metres in a busy year, captured a second silver medal for Oceania at the athletics World Cup in Rome on Saturday. However, the other results on the second day underlined the wide gap between the Australians and New Zealanders, and the top Europeans and Americans. Only Perth policewoman Terri-Anne Cater, could be happy with her performance. She recorded easily her best personal time for 800 metres in 2min 56s and the two-minute barrier appears within her reach. However, the first four all broke two minutes and her time was good enough only to earn her fifth place behind Russia’s all-powerful Lyudmila Veselkova. , The veteran Penny Gillies fifth placing in the women's 100metre hurdles was also a fair effort in a "hot'' field. Perhaps the main disappoint-

ment was that of Ken Lorraway in an exciting triple jump competition. Buoyed by a win in a competition in London earlier in the week. Lorraway had hopes of at least matching his team-mate, Gary Honey’s, long-jump silver medal. However, run-up trouble cost him three no-jumps and his best effort of 16.70 m was well below his own personal record and that of the world champion, Joao de Oliveira, who won with 17.37 m, just ahead of China’s Zhenxian Zou. In all other events, the Oceanians finished in the last three of the nine-member fields. Europe leads both men's and women's points tables going into the final programme, with Oceania seventh. The United States suffered some shattering reverses, with Henry Marsh disqualified in a roughly-run steeplechase for missing the water jump on the final lap. The highlight of the evening