ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 158, 28 March 1908, Page 9

ATHLETICS.

(Bt Mbrcdhy, Juinoß.) COMING EVENTS ' April' 4.—Victoria, College; Meeting. April 11. —Carruthers Benefit Meeting. Easter Monday. — Inter-University Cham- { {pionshijis (Dunediu).. ' j, July Games (London). ~

In ' the latest isSlie of 1 the,' Sydney. ''Refercpi" ; "I'roVligal'' gives' the, following commonts on tlio sprint croiit-s held. at the i championship meeting in Hobart:—. V First ■: comes the 100 yds.' event. - ( in this race, since the inception of the champion--'ship'.-in-1893; .New South' Wales lias' won on six occasions, whilst; Victoria 11 has i. scored, twice. The' winners have been: • 1893,.-W' T.' Macpherson,' N.S.W;; iSSG, \V. Cartwright, N.S.W.; '18P7 ' and x 1899,, Stanley Rowley, N.SIW. ;■ ,1901, G.' A. Moir,' Vic. 190-1, H. H. Hunter, Vic. (after'a dead- heat witli 'Nigel Barker); and, 1905 and \\l9OS, ,-Nigel Barker, N.S.W; It .is.: perfectly safe to, say ; that silicon his visit to Athens and England in-1906 Barker has lost some of the dash and speed he displayed three or four years, back. This 'is accounted for chieflyby the fact that ho -has confined his most serious- attention to long sprints and jumps; whilst, also adding -middle distances to his repertoire.' In Hobart,'yith - but a limited, preparation,, he :.wis.-twice 'clocked, .to. run 10 ■.l'-osec.",'' which, if correct,. was/better than -he anticipated , doing. In his heat- he be'at •'H. J. Fay, of Queensland, by four yards, whilst El''Atiercromhi'e, of v Victoria, was. a' very closo third. Harry Henderson, who represented Now Zealand, stumbled at. tlie start\and could only manage fourth' place. Henderson is -notthe sprinter he was in ■1901 at Auckland, and lmturally so,.' as ho has been, running for d long tirno, and 'is u'ow in hi£-.2Bth year; Ho has-been credited with more than one 10 1-osecl:of late, but, candidly, / I think about\-half-second would be. nearer the capacity Af,the Welshman—l had almost written New' ■ Zealander. In Hobart Henderson stumbled just as tho gun went', and this jirobablv .lost him a place in the final. Fay T(Q.). and Abercrombio (Vic.) both ran smartly, but : tho latter coiild not have, performed up to his best' deids, for: he; did not \lo. better'than;sis yards or ;so worse.. In'the second-heat' 1 LI; iR. 'Morgariv (Vic.), .won . easily by' three yards from B. K. Berry (Q.)'..and' E; E; Fisher; (N"Z1). . •; The winnershaped; well, Fisher disappointingly.! In the final Barker and ,Morgan appeared to be nearly level at fif ( ty,- yards, from 'W-hcroM stood, but Barker finished'. home'grittily, and ;won by ' a yard from-the Victorian'crack in 10 l-ssep. -Fay was.-placcd third, and ahead of Abcrcroinbie (as. in tho heat); but some think the positions-: should, have.' been reversed'. Abercrombio, himself;'thinks .ho was third, but, j anyway, .they..-were' close togethfeivj.'' Morgan is a 1 ikely-looking ,sprinter,, but .1 • doubt whether he will be quite a Moir or a,Hunter as to pace. .. • Iji' the. ,220 yds. event the' before-men-tioned'sprinters all "stripped again,- whilst -W. F. Tremba'th (N:Z.) also entered an appearance at v the post. In previous races all; the 100yds./Vinners annexed the 220 yds.;' with' the exception- of when Barker, after- losing-the 100 yds I - (after a dead heat), won,-the furlong race.:. The heats are not worth discussing; In the final Barfcer got. going smartly, and simply smothered all opposition, -. / sailing through.-' tho worsted with' aii' .sight yards; adyantago- in' 22 4-ssec. For second place Morgan (Vic.)' and I?ay' dead heated;: out in tho run-off Morgan won comfortably. : Trembilth was unplaced in the final, and.certainly.makes a mistake in going in for ( sprints.' He is a middle-distance runner who-stayS well enough to bo a good miler,, or even * a good distance, runner, ai his'action ,is exceedingly good. As in the 220 yds., , so in v tho '.'quarter," ; Barker stood

b in a class by himself, and all tho other competitors frankly admit this. Previous winners comprise: 1893, W. f. Macpherson (N.S.W.)V 1596, W.' A. Low (N.Z.); 1897, C. Campbell, (Qi); 1899, W. Shea ; (Vic.): 1901, A. A. Oxlade (N.S.W.); and 1904 and 1005, Nigel Barker\ (N;S.W.). This time Barker was opposed., by J. L.' Davis, (Vic.) and tho others, who compoted ill the shorter sprints. Thtiro were also three Tasmanians —Saarl, Edwards, and M'Cormick. Going to the front, some 200 yards from homey Barker drew: away "and won by ten yards from Davis in 51sec, Fisher (N.Z.) ' filling third position—his best effort at the '.meet-! ing. Davis, of wh'oui I shall have riioro kf say when touching on the hurdlers, i 3 a particularly promising athlete, who greatly reminds me of Dr. Harvey Sutton in, face and figure. .To sum up,' so far as tho sprinters wore concerned, there was practically only one man in it for first place; whilst, of the : others tlio Victorians' appealed to mo most. ■' ■' '

The following ; gained standards at ; .tho rcccnt Australasian championships by beating tilt figures' quoted in parentheses:— 100 yds. (10 l-sseo.)', Nigel Barker. 440 yds. (52sec.), Nigel Barker, 51sec.; J. L. Davis, 51 4-ssec. 220 yds. (22 4-ssec.), Nigel Barker,> 22 3-ssec./ Half-mile (2min. 2sec.), W. F. Trembath, 2niin. 0 l-ssec.; Nigel Barker, • 2min. 1 3-ssec.- 120 yds . hurdles. (16 2-oscc), J. li. DaVis, C.;,P. Stewart, each 16 l-osec. 440 yds hurdles (61 sec), H. St. A. Murray, 58 2-ssec.; J. L. Davis, 59sec. Running high jump (sft. 7in.), C. L. Orbell, 6ft. lOin.; T/ Maher, sft. 9in.; A. H. Scott, sft. Bin. I'utting the shot (37ft.), \V.' J. O'Reilly; 38ft. lOin. Thriving tho hainmer (110 ft.), J. Kearnoy, -125 ft. 7in.; W. J. O'Reilly, 124 ft. -Biin. Pole vault L. M. M'Kay, lift. ljin.; T. Frawloy, lift.; L. R. -Walker, 10ft. 3in. ,

In . the last issuo of tho "Australasian" to hand "Harrier" givos tho following interesting statistics in connection with tho recent Australasian Championships:— "There havo been eight of. thoso meotings now, and New Zealand can clai]n : four victories, New South Wales three, and Victoria one. An 'examination' of the results 'reveals • a few curious points. Tho programme of 15 events * has 'remained' unaltered, and out of 120 first places Now South Wales claims 43, New Zealand 1 42; Victoria 26}. No fewer than 25"of•'the, light bluo wins are duo to only four men, to., \y. J.' O'Reilly, 7 wins; J. P. Jinßlishj 5

wins; N.' C. Barker, 9 wins; and S. Rowley, '1 wins. Now Zealand has 'only two men to compare with' this, viz., D. Wilson, 4 wins; G.' \Y. Smith, 5 wins, Victoria cannot show any winner of more than two events, except A. 0. Barrett 3. New South Wales has scored 18 wins-' out of 24 in the 100, 220, and 440 yds., and nine out of six-' toen in the hammer and shot : that is, 27 wins in five events, and only 16 wins in all tho other 10 events, and has never yet won the mile, three milesj'or 440 yds. hurdles. New ..Zealand's strong points arc the 440 yds. hurdles (seven wins out of eight), mile walk (fivo), three-mile walk ami thrrc-milo run (four each), polo jump (six), or 26 wins in five events, and 16 in the other 10. Tho Dominion, curiously enough, has never won either the 100 or 220 yds. It is the old tale. The warm climate, develops sprinters and the' cold distance-runners. Victoria claims foiir 'successes each in the one mile, threo miles, and long jump, and has scored in every event except the hammer and shot. When/ it comes to second places tho Statu swamps all others, and, as hor teams havo not been specially numerous, it assists her claim to high rank. Tko exact totals are: Wins. Seconds. Now South Wales 43 22i New Zealand ■ ... 42. . '30i Victoria " 26j ' 50} V Queensland ... 7J 10J .Tasmania ... ... 1 3.

.The New Zealand University athletic tournament to bo held at Easter is tho seventh annual tournament. Canterbury College have been three times premiers, and'Otago the same number, beating Victoria College, Wellington, last year, by a narrow margin. The list of championship events is/a . largo one, comprising:—looyds., ' 220yds.quartermile, half-mile, one-mile, three-mile, rhilo walk, 120 yds. hurdles, 440vds/ hurdles, long jump, high jump, weight and hammer throwing. Each Centre is allowed two representatives in each, , first man counting two points and second one noint. The winning college/ holds tho challenge shield for the ensuing year. The other special trophie£ are as follow Ladies' cup, for competitor scoring most points; Trevor Hull memorial shieVl, for the' high jump; c;ip nresented'by Mr. de lai.Mare for the mile flat; Sandstein cup, for-the inter-college relay race.. This cup has been held three times by Canterbury,.twice bv Otarro, and once by Wellington'. Tim chief visiting athletes will be Oliphant and Dunlop (of AucVlnnd), Ooodbcherc- (of- Wellington), and Harley, Collins, and Opie (of;Christchurch).

Mr. A; E. M. Rowland, the New Zealand amateur walking champion, ;,vas one of 33 competitors who ran last month in the club cross-country championship .of the Heme Hill Harriers, decided over a ten-mile courso. at Eltham. in Kent, and won by Deakin. Rowland finished seventh in the race, hut,- with 7min. 20scc. allowanco, ho carried off the prize in the sealed', handicap, decided in" connection with the championship. His actual time for. the full distance' was-69min. 55 l-ssec., against Deakin's 6imiu. ITsec. The Now Zealandcr's success in tho sealed handicap" was,'it'seems,'a considerable surprise; to his. club-mates. Evidently ho is coins: .to bo a useful ' crosscountry man for the H.H.H.

Apropos 'of-tho rumours as to ■; W. P. Trembath joining tho professional ranks, Mr. Roy E. Bust, secretary of ithe ■ Goro Harriers, says: "Thero is positively no truth whatever, ro our Australian champion, W. P. Trembath,' joining the professional rankg. The rumour', was put around by> somo persons with A view to damaging a brilliant runner's' reputation..: He. told'me prior to tho Now Zedland championships that ho would never leave tho amateurs. . .

. The Amateur Union of Australasia has'decided to amend tho rule governing tji'e throwing of I the' hammer, the words in rule 11, "crossing the scratch- lino shall ■ be" counted as a' try," wero deleted. In place of these words thero was inserted the, following condition That a fair throw shall .be whero"no" part of the person or <&mpeti-. tor touches tho top/of the guard-board, the circlo, or the ground , the circle a throw declaredffou r or the letting go .of the hammer in an .attempt shall be counted as a trial throw,', vyithout 'It'was also agreed, ; in order-, to.• bring the Australasian' conditions' iiito,'line with' English, French, and , American ' conditions, to •'.substitute. ,a.'7ft! circle'.for the. 9ft. circle in tfio throwing of. tho hammer, j knd also the 561b- ' weight.. ! . 'j THE CHALLENGE MATCBS.

One of tho most enjoyablo and admirably carried out athletic meetings held in'.Sydney for 'some; time was that between tho New Zealanders, who won the Australasian championship at' Hobart, and, the Sydney University, the University Oval'being attended by hotween 1500 and 2000 enthusiastic spectators. The afternoon, was'delightfully fine, the sport; good', and, to send supporters of tho Sydney team home in good humour, tho local men, who we're the challengers,' won by- fivo. events to three. It is a, feather*in'the cap'of the Sydney University team to secure &■ win against tho holders of tho. Australasian championship, despito'that they, v/ore .without tho services of ,Cook and Sharp. ■ Thero were, however, not more than eight events in the challenge match; had thero'been > 15," as at Hobart, honours , would probably havo rested with f New Zealand. Of c'ourso it is hardly possible to decide 15 events in the ono afternoon, and the usual number in such circumstances is nine. It may be remembered that it was in a nine.'event match Sydney University beat the combined clubs and schools of New South Wales by eight events to one. Had there been nine, events in the challenge the extra contest would have been the / pole vault, so that the victory would have been a 5' to 4 'instead of a sto 3.' Furthermore, Manager Green wanted the hurdle raco'to be over 220 yds., contending that Sydney University would be certain to win over 120yd5.,. and New Zealand would,bo equally certain to scoro over '440 yds., whilst 220 yds. would be a happy medium. The challenge match- was really not- contested under fully, equal conditi&ns, because on t-jie one side the New 1 * Zealanders had "been 'holiday-making since Hobart, whilst on the other hand Barker and'Stewart had also taken things-very easily, and the other 'Varsity men had only had. a week's In these circumstances; tho locals had none t\io best of affairs, except that they, were at .home, and on their own ground. . - ,' , .

~ In the match, despite that he had only had ono training run'in tho nine days following tho meeting at Hobart, Nigel Barker secured no fewer than, threo wins—the, 100 yds. j. 300yds'., and half-mile, , was second in 1 tlie running broad jump. The fiioce de resistance of tho afternoon was to lave been the ..meeting between tho 'Varsity crack.and Trembath, the Australasian haif-mile •'champion, in tho 880 yds. event, but the Now Zealander did not starts Trem-. bath had had practically no, training since the Hobart • meeting, and consequently did not feel equal t-o tackling a runner of Barkor's calibre. It was, however, ;a big disappointment, for since it .was announced these two were, to': meet again the contest was -looked forward to with a good deal, of inteTest. As at,. Hobart, Barkor went straight to the post' for the "half'Vafter completing six broad jumps. ■ Two records were broken. In tho 300 yds. Barker lowered the Australasian figures from 32 4-ssec. to 31sec., a substantial clip, and thero' is no known better grass track record. He was 2-ssec outside Bernard J. Wofer's world's amateur record, put "up on September 26, 1896, on a cinder track. I believe 31sec. is a world's record for. grass. In the 120 yds. hurdles Colin Stewart, with 16scc.-, mado new New South Wales figures. There was a. pretty strong north-easter blowing, and tho hurdler 'had it helping him all tho way, but' not so,. Barker,, whoso course, was' circular. In ;order that, there could bo no. doubt about tho accuracy ; ( of tho distances they wcro measured, and it was found that Barkor had covered 301 yds. Ift. instead of 300 yds., lind "Stewart '120 yds. 4Jin. ■ instead of, 120 yds. Trembath ran : socond to Barker in the 300 yds., and won tho mile easily, from R. G. Waddy, who was qirite out of condition. Tho wall; also went to New Zealand; Kerr's walking creating mjich. interest and favourable comment.' C. L. Orbel!.(New Zealanil) carried ofF tho high jump. Stewart won the broad jump with' a fine effort against the wind of 21 ft. -L. M. M'Kay might liavo got beyond the Australasian record for the polo vault, , but tho pole l broke, and tho Now .Zealander received a severo shaking.* Tho pleasure of the afternoon was increased by music from the Professional Musicians' Band.