John Hunt capable of reaching world class

Press, 26 December 1984, Page 18

John Hunt capable of reaching world class

ROD DEW

The outwardly casual approach of the New Zealand decathlon ' record-holder, John Hunt (South Canterbury), hides an explosive inner strength and a competitive instinct which can only be described, in sporting terms, as lethal. These qualities, linked with splendid reflexes and a remarkable natural athletic ability, suggest that he is capable of developing into the greatest all-rounder this country has produced.

His obvious talents were recently recognised by the New Zealand selectors when they included him in the small team of five for the world indoor track and field championships in Paris in January. There is no decathlon on the programme, so his inclusison was a tribute to his individual skills.

“I am rapt,” Hunt, who is only 21, said during a visit to Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch for the Technical club’s recent invitation meeting. “I thought the selectors might want to take a sprinter.”

He has no idea what events he will be expected to compete in at Paris, although he is interested in the 60m sprint, 200 m, and the long jump. For Hunt not to think of himself as a sprinter might bring a wry grin to the faces of some of the sprint rivals he has beaten in recent times. In the invitation meeting, he displayed his great speed and superb competitive temperament by blasting over the 200 m in a Canterbury electric-tim-ing record of 21.57 s at Queen Elizabeth II Park, leaving the finest sprint specialists in New Zealand very much in his wake. A short time earlier, he had finished second to the natinal 100 m champion, Joe Leota (Canterbury), in the 100 m, in spite of a bad start and a very strong head wind which sorely troubled some

of the northern sprinters. These two races represented his first serious comE etition since he established is New Zealand decathlon record in an inter-club event at the same venue on November 24 and 25. Hunt scored 7557 points over the two days, retrieving the record taken from him by another outstanding decathlon prospect, Simon Poelman (Auckland). But Hunt was not specifically chasing the record in the competition. “I didn’t take much notice of the score during the competition. It wasn’t until near the end of the final day that I realised the record was a possibility,” he said. This somewhat laconic approach is not just restricted to competition. Hunt regularly drives to Christchurch for competition at Queen Elizabeth II Park, but he is by no means there every week. And he even admits that "every third week I might go and play cricket.” His coach in Timaru is lan Baird, and he also has help from a pole vault specialist, Doug McLymont. Under their guidance, Hunt is flourishing, and the programme he follows is working. Hunt does not regard living in Timaru as a handicap to his progress. “I don’t have to share training with 20 others. And Queen Elizabeth II Park is only 100 miles away.” In recent years, Hunt has had an arch-rival in Poelman, who has beat him in the decathlon on a number of occasions and taken a fain share in the New Zealand record rises the pair have made in the last two years. Poelman actually beat Hunt in the last New Zealand championship in

Christchurch, taking Hunt’s national record with a score of 7499 points.

But Hunt has since grabbed it back and this season he is hoping to lift his tally to 7800 points. Poelman’s failure to regain the record in a special attempt at Auckland last week-end must give Hunt further confidence in his bid for a firmer grip of the top rung of the national rankings.

At the same time he values the rivalry of Poelman, and agrees that he has also helped the Aucklander progress. “If it wasn’t for me, he would still be sitting on 7300 points. We are good for one another.”

The Paris trip may mean Hunt will miss the Canterbury championships, but he intends to have a high profile at the national championships. He will probably contest the 100 m, 200 m and long jump at the individual

championships, before attempting to add the national decathlon crown to the junior title he won two years ago. This will be even more important than usual because the winner will almost certainly be chosen to represent New Zealand in the Pacific Conference Games in the United States in June.

Hunt has set his sights firmly on wearing the New Zealand singlet in this meeting, and using this as a stepping stone to even greater things. The Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 are the longterm target, and this is when he would like to be at his physical peak. In the meantime, there are a number of events in which there are room for improvement if he is to improve his national record still further. The three events in which he sees that greatest room for progress are the 110 m hurdles (best performance 16s), the pole vault (4.15 m and the 1500 m (4min 38s).

Notwithstanding this, Hunt is currently at the head of the individual New Zealand rankings in both the 200 m (21.575) and the long jump (7.39 m and he is second to Leota in the 100 m with 10.90 s electronic. He sees a 21.2 s 200 m as a realistic possibility this season.

His list of personal bests in the decathlon events makes dismal reading to a lot of individual event specialists: 100 m (10.71 s long jump (7.39 m shot (13.30 m high jump (2.04 m 400 m (48.42 m 110 m hurdles (16.025), discus (37.92 m pole vault (4.15 m javelin (60.22 m and 1500 m (4min 38s).

The observation has been made that Hunt might have made an outstanding rugby player if he had continued in the sport. But Hunt has 1 made his choice.

“I can’t see me playing rugby again for quite a while. It is not that I don’t like the game. But to do both sports I would need a year 20 months long,” he said.