Javelin star may quit before Games

Press, 26 December 1985, Page 24

Javelin star may quit before Games

By

ROD DEW

The javelin gold medallist at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, Mike O’Rourke, of Auckland, is seriously considering retiring from international competition, and might not be available to defend his title at Edinburgh next year. “I have got to stop sometime,” he said before leaving for Auckland after the Technical invitation twilight meeting at Queen Elizabeth II Park. He hopes to reach a firm decision on his future by the end of the season.

At the same time, he warns he might not even keep going long enough to try to regain the national championship from John Stapylton-Smith (Canterbury) at the New Zealand meeting in Christchurch in March.

“Age is not the problem,” O’Rourke, who is 30, explained. “I know I could still be up there with the best, but your values change and there are mortgages to pay. It is very difficult finding the motivation these days.” O’Rourke, a former winner of the coveted “New Zealand Sportsman of the Year” award, freely admits that he does not have the same motivation he once enjoyed. “I took last year off, and I have found it very hard to get back into it,” said the man famous for his gruff approach, and single-minded dedication.

A few weeks ago, O’Rourke recorded a mighty throw of 84m, a performance which not only put him right back on top of the New Zealand ranking list, but also easily qualified him for the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. The Games standard is 79m.

Although defeating Sta-pylton-Smith, who has emerged as his strongest challenger, in the Technical meeting last Saturday, he was quite clearly unhappy with his his performance in the blustery north-west conditions.

His winning effort was 76.68 m, a good enough throw by national standards, but in his book something less than acceptable. “I was hoping for something better. Wouldn’t you

after an 84m throw a couple of weeks ago?”

His disappointment was matched by StapyltonSmith, who was also below his recent best with his effort of 74.96 m.

The pair worked together briefly after the contest, which was sensible. They have a lot to offer one another, especially in competition and inspiration. Stapylton-Smith demonstrated with his gold medal win in the Pacific Conference Games last June that he is already a world-class thrower.

The hope was that O’Rourke and StapyltonSmith would spur one another on to greater successes. Two of the major placings in the Edinburgh Games javelin were looming as a distinct possibility after both men exceeded 80m a few weeks ago. O’Rourke, however, has already achieved probably all he wants to in the sport. He has won the New Zealand javelin championship eight times since 1976, was a silver medallist at the 1978 Commonwealth Games at Edmonton, and won the title at Brisbane four years later.

He also represented New Zealand at the last Olympics in Los Angeles, although on that occasion he was not at his best. He holds the New Zealand resident and national records.