Walker says his form good

Press, 12 September 1983, Page 25

Walker says his form good

PA Auckland The former world mile recordholder, John Walker, says he is convinced he was not far below his best in many of the 14 races he ran in Europe recently. “It goes much deeper than just bare results. I ran as well as I have in some races and in training I recorded personal bests over 600 m and 800 m. The times I ran in my last few races showed there was nothing wrong with my form,” said Walker on his return. “The 1500 m was the most competitive of all events at the World Championships. There were 36 guys who had run as fast as or faster than

me (3min 365) before the championships, yet I still made the final. “The trouble was I came right after Helsinki and started beating most of them then, and ran some pretty good times, including a 3min 49s mile and a 3min 33.7 s 1500 m.” Of the Helsinki final, Walker said: “It didn’t go anything like we expected. By hanging back and being forced to run three wide, I was never going to be in it, especially as they ran Imin 47s for the last 800 m. I gave it away in the straight, but even at best I would have only been fifth or sixth.” Walker is keen to compete against the Com-

monwealth and world champion, Steve Cram, in the international track series in New Zealand. “I’m sure he will be in

top shape, so I must make sure I am, too,” said Walker. “I’ll probably run a couple of 1500 m and a mile, and something else.”