Murray Steele qualifies

Press, 4 October 1982, Page 28

Murray Steele qualifies

From

RAY CAIRNS

in Brisbane

A result which probably exceeded , New Zealand's fondest hopes last evening, at the Chandler Velodrome, put Murray Steele, of Canterbury, into the quarter-finals of the Games cycling sprint. Steele, riding the sprint as his third event, faced the formidable task of beating David Weller, of Jamaica, in his second-round matching. Handsome credentials were possessed by Weller, for in addition to his bronze medal in the Olympic Games kilometre at Moscow, he was third in the Commonwealth Games sprint at Edmonton two years previously.

But Steele, who joined his team's top seed,. Mike Mcßedmond, in the quarterfinal field, is possessed with a steely nerve, and well he needed' this fearlessness against the Jamaican. The latter led out, fast, and Steele was happy with ' that. As Steele commenced launching his challenge with 150 m to ride, so Weller lifted above the racing line — the same tactic that cost Mcßedmond some agonising

moments in the first round when he faced a protest and appealed.

But the tactic did not worry Steele. He took the modicum of racing room available at the bottom of the track, took an elbow nudge from Weller, and still battled through to win the matching. Mcßedmond's victory came a little less dramatically with the Canadian, Michel Lacoulin, applying great pressure, from the trailing position, from 350 m to ride, but Mcßedmond's lead-out proved too strong. That was the only upset of the second round.