Personal bests for Canty riders

Press, 28 July 1989, Page 40

Personal bests for Canty riders

By

MALCOLM CONDIE

. Christchurch’s two entrants in the New Zealand team which competed at a Malaysian track carnival last week-end rode personal bests in their events, excellent rides considering it was out of New Zealand’s track season. Jason M. Smith and Carlos Marryatt won a gold and silver in the individual pursuit respectively, and, combined with Craig Saunders, of Nelson, and Gerard Stock, of Invercargill, they won silver in the team pursuit Marryatt also won silver in the points race. Apart from the medals, the performance is creditable considering the times recorded and conditions in which they were recorded. Smith’s semi-finals individual pursuit time, on the 250 m wooden track, was the fastest he has clocked for 4000 m. His 4min 48.78 s time would have been the fastest recorded in New Zealand last year, and would have earned him gold at the national track championships in Invercargill in February. The quick time may be contributed to several aspects of the Rakyat velodrome, in Ipoh City.

The track is brand new and has a 42deg banking oh the short corners. This is steep by New Zealand standards, allowing for faster cornering. The track’s construction was

from Merbau wood, a hard South-East Asian timber. This, combined with the hot temperatures, creates a track surface ideal for quick times. Even so, Smith’s ride, his first competitive track ride since the national championships, was startling. His gold was won against a Korean rider who beat Marryatt in the semi-finals. The Korean rider went out very hard in the first 2km of the final but “blew” and Smith caught him before the finish, meaning no time was recorded. Marryatt recorded a 4min 55.76 s pursuit in the semi-finals. That is two seconds faster than his fastest time at the nationals. The New Zealand pursuit record is 4:45.39.

New Zealand’s silver in the team pursuit is another performance worthy of praise, particularly considering the composite team used. Smith and Marryatt are both pursuit riders so their place was assured in the team. To make up the four places, Craig Saunders, aged 17, a junior, was used, along with Gerard Stock, known for his sprinting and 1000 m riding. Each round of the team pursuit was quicker than the previous one for the New Zealanders. Each round the team also lost Stock who could not stand the pace. The qualifying round was ridden in 4:49 which was dropped to 4:39 in the semi finals round, and 4:34.91 in the final againnst a Korean side. That is less than eight seconds slower than New Zealand’s 4:26.13 time in the qualifying round of the Seoul Olympics. Again the fast time could be attributed to the conditions but the riders still performed admirably to get around the track in such a quick time. Justin Grace, of Auckland, the fifth member of the team, was first in the 10km scratch race. Stock, who was withdrawn from the sprinting series so he could ride in the team pursuit, was fifth in the 1000 m time trial with a time of 1:12.56.