Mike Boit wins again

Press, 5 April 1983, Page 44

Mike Boit wins again

PA Wellington A Molenberg mile race official said last evening that yesterday’s event on Paraparaumu Beach was measured correctly. The Kenyan, Mike Boit, won the men’s event in a swift 3min 57.35, a time which raised some doubts about. the length of the course. However, the Paraparaumu organiser, Mr Brian Platt, of Paraparaumu, said later that the course had been measured three times and he was sure it was within one metre of exactly a mile. “I know the time in the men’s race was very fast,” said Mr Platt, “but that must have been a result of the strong tail wind. “We measured the course three times. The first time I wasnT satisfied so we went out and measured again

with a different gauge. It was 1609.35 metres — exactly a mile.” Bolt, who won the opening Molenberg Mile in Christchurch on Saturday, comfortably headed the American, Steve Scott, again yesterday, clearing out at the three-quarters mark- and winning by 1.5 seconds. He said later he too was surprised how fast the time was. “It was a very difficult run. The wet sand made it much harder than in Christchurch.. Because of that I didn’t expect to be under four minutes.” Boit said maintaining his pace was no problem because Scott had challenged so strongly for most of the race. “It was very competitive. I just managed to pull away at the right time,” he said,

adding he was sure the course had been correctly measured. “I thought it seemed too long,” he joked. “It seemed to stretch out for so long I was sure we’d covered more than a mile.” The Irishman, Ray Flynn, was third in 4min 1.65,- with New Zealand’s Tony Rogers a distant fourth. The Canadian, Brit Mcßoberts, earlier claimed her second straight victory in the Molenberg series with a comfortable win in the women’s race. She stormed home in 4min 37.76 s to finish more than two seconds ahead of the Irishwoman, Monica Joyce, with another seven seconds back to New Zealand’s Christine Hughes. About 10,000 people watched the races.