Sports feature Speedy sprinters at Spencer Park

Press, 13 February 1982, Page 16

Sports feature Speedy sprinters at Spencer Park

There was both good news and bad for Spencer Park’s great band of beach sprinters in the Fresh Up South Island surf lifesaving championships last week-end. On the one hand was the thrashing handed out by the senior flying squad of Tom von Biel. Francis Lawrence, Chris Campbell and John Freeman. With von Biel, the track sprinter — he had a personal best of 21.9 s in the athletics championships on Saturday — giving it a flying start, and the experienced Lawrence coming home strongly, if easing - up, Spencer Park won by more than 20m. Even such a worthy team as North Beach was left struggling in the wake of this superb'squad. Logically, then, Spencer Park would look a certain winner of the national title at Warrington Beach next month. But von Biel, tom between his two sports, is opting to contest the national track and field championships in his last year as a junior.

Fortunately for Canterbury, he is still available for the inter-district championships — .and the Australian tour which follows — and keen interest will be taken in his meeting with Russell Hamlet, the New Zealand choice. It seems certain Hamlet may be about to meet his match.

By

RAY CAIRNS

Spencer Park should not be discounted for the national beach relay title, however, for it has Dave Judson to replace von Biel, and he has a very worthy record, especially as a junior. And Spencer Park is al-

ready looking ahead to a full challenge in next season’s championships, its spirit and determination typified by Lawrence. Based .in Auckland these

days, Lawrence has loyally retained his Spencer Park affiliation and is working his holidays around the right time of the year to train in Christchurch. He had less fortune in working in all the events of last week-end, around his marriage. Because of a clash of events, the programme lagged a little — though if finished on time — and changes of programme meant the beach sprinters did not take the line until just after 2.30 p.m. instead of 1 p.m. But Lawrence was well gone by then, after waiting in hope, to keep the more pressing engagement of his wedding. Next day, he bowed out in the heats of the beach flags, too, which raised a chuckle or two. While Spencer Park is in a class of its own in senior events — and has. in Jackie Manger, the pre-eminent woman — Waikuku Beach is making bold strides. Stephen Bolton added the South Island senior title to the junior crown he won last season, and another Waikuku lad. Karl Gallagher, succeeded him as junior champion. Then he anchored Waikuku to a junior relay win as well, while there was a third very easy winner, Waimairi, in the women’s relay.