John Hunt wins decathlon

Press, 28 November 1983, Page 3

John Hunt wins decathlon

John Hunt (South Canterbury) won the first Canterbury inter-club decathlon of the season at Queen Elizabeth II Park yesterday after a tense and entertaining two days of competition. Hunt led all the way, although he was under constant pressure from the New Zealand high jump record holder, Terry Lomax (Old Boys), who has switched his emphasis to the decathlon this season.

Lomax trailed by only 68 points going into the final event, the 1500 m, last evening and made a courageous effort to bridge the gap. He won the race in 4min 29.915. However, Hunt was able to hang on for a time of 4min 38.47 s which gave him over-

all victory by a mere 13 points. His final tally for the 10 events was 7078. Lomax scored 7065. The 400 m proved to be Hunt’s most rewarding event in terms of points. He scored 840 after an excellent win in 49.245. Lomax’s best performance was a splendid 2.10 m leap in the high jump. This earned him 942 points. Although the Commonwealth Games representative, Karen Forbes (Old Boys), was the only finisher in the women’s heptathlon, she should have been happy with her final tally of 5156 points. Angela Pule (New Brighton), second overnight, did not start yesterday. Forbes gained her highest score of 925 in the high jump. She cleared 1.69 m. She also had good reason to be satisfied with her 800 m time of 2min 18.95. This earned her 804 points. Results:— Men’s decathlon Senior.—J. Hunt (South Canterbury), 7078, 1; T. Lomax (Old Boys), 7065, 2; P. Henry (Old Boys), 6223, 3; W. Boyd (Papanui-Redwood), 6097, 4. Junior.—T. Hunt (South Canterbury), 6027, 1; G. Pomroy (South Canterbury), 5233, 2. Under 18.—M. McLennan (Papanui-Redwood), 5074, 1; A. McLennan (Papanui-Redwood), 4337, 2; M. Bushell (Avon), 3525, 3. Women’s heptathlon Senior.—K. Forbes (Old Boys), 5156, 1. Under 18.—M. Lojkine (Cashmere-Hillmorton), 2381, 1.