NATIONAL ATHLETIC MEETING

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 137, 6 March 1931, Page 7

NATIONAL ATHLETIC MEETING

Wellington Again Comes Out on Top

(By

“Hurdler.”)

Wellington’s team once more came out on- top at the national athletic meeting at Dunedin a week ago. A strong team was sent —as is nearly always the case —and its members upheld iu fine style the athletic prestige of the province. Mr. A. c. Kitto, president of the centre, was manager, and he attended in official capacity the conference of centres and of cycling representatives. „ , The first day at Dunedin was real summer weather, although a fairly strong wind was blowing, which troubled the sprinters to some extent. f Attendance for an off day was surprisingly good, and more than £9O was taken at the gates. The tracks were in good order, but were soft and against fast times. General arrangements on the, first day, as on the second day, were good. Officials knew their Work, and the events went through smoothly. ■ , . . There were, however, many complaints about the manner in which the heats were drawn up, especially in the 100 and 440 yards. In the first heat of the short sprint all the visiting first-flighters were drawn to meet, and for some unexpected reason only first and second qualified for the final. With only two in the second heat, both naturally started in the deciding run. J. T. Fleming, on account of competing just previously in the quarter, was unable to start. F. H. Ste.phenson against the wish of his manager—was another non-starter. If Stephenson had accepted the advice given and started, there would have been every possibility of his holding the national 100 yards title to-day. Jenkins in Fine Form. .. ... ' C. Jenkins never ran better in his life than he did in the sprints, and was a sure winner in the 100. He was undone, however, by a misunderstanding with regard to the mode of starting. The majority of starters use the words, “Ready—get set, followed by the pistol; but the Dunedin starter, in strict accord with the N.Z. A.A.A. rules, gets the men on the mark, says “Ready,” and the gun goes. Jenkins waited for the word “set” and was badly left. He lost at least two yards, and although he finished strongly came third, and was out of the final. rbis should be a lesson for runners in the future. Always ask a starter his method of starting. . T. Pickering was in the toughest heat in the quarter, and had no change against Evans and Harley. The time, 51 3-ssec., was good. J. Fleming ran in the second heat, but was hardly up to form, and, like Pickering, could only finish third to W. Ogg and M. Blackmore. Ogg won fairly easily in 52sec. Miss Kench won the 100 yards handicap from scratch in 11 4-ssec., giving the Canterbury champion. Miss Martin, one yard and a beating. C. Jenkins had a very easy win in the 220 yards heat. His opponents, Webster (Otago), and Cordery (Canterbury), could not get near him in 23 2-ssec. A. J. Elliott (Auckland) won the second heat in 23 3-ssec„ with J. Fleming running third. As in the 100 yards, only first and second qualified. Great Mile Run.

The mile flat was worth going a long way to see. The 10 starters were all classy runners, and included the American, R. Kiser. As usual, Kiser ran away for the first three laps, and made a good pace. Bayne kept well up, closely followed by Rose. Lovelock (Otago) went to the front in the last lap, and looked a likely winner, but Bayne, with his characteristic sprint, passed him at the top of the straight, and won rather easily. McDonald (Wellington) came with a great burst of speed over the last 100 yards, and cut down the tired runners to run a meritorious second. Kiser and Rose were well back. The time, ,4min. 30sec„ considering the heavy ground, was good. Bayne was a perfectly fresh man at the finish, and there is no telling what he might do if really pushed. Tlie 100 yards junior championship was only an,exercise sprint for the Wellington boy. Stephenson. He won by 7or 8 yard's in 10 2-ssec. It was a great pity that he did not start in the open 100.

Pot t Munro, as expected, won the discus throw title (distance 134 ft. 84in.). Harlow Rothert was the actual winner,

breaking the New Zealand record with a throw of 142£t. s|in., but as the discus was not impounded, the record may not be passed. Hill Disqualified. . Only three starters toed the mark in the three miles walk, the two Cabots, of Otago, and A. K. Hill (Wellington). Garnett Cabot walked really well, and after Hill was disqualified, had no difficulty in winning. Regarding Hill, all I can say is that he walked in his usual style, was not bustled at the time, and was not going nearly at top. To the layman his style seemed perfectly fair, but the judge thought otherwise, and it is his decision that counts. The cycling was not very impressive, and the Canterbury riders were in a class on their own, though both Gane and Roe worked their way into the finals..

Bad Weather on Saturday. For the second day, Saturday, the weather was as bad as it possibly could be, and at the time of starting rain was coming down in torrents. It was the same for most of the afternoon. The track in places was right under water. At first it was decided to put the cycling off till Monday on account of the danger to the riders, but the competitors later on in the afternoon decided to ride. This arrangement turned out all right, for no spill occurred. The attendance on such a day was marvellous, with a gate of more than £2OO.

Miss Kench, for the second time, gained the 100 yards title, winning by a couple of yards. Miss Martyn (Canterbury) did not start. • C. Jenkins, after his disappointment in the 100 yards, made no mistake in the 220 yards final. Starting in great style, he ran right away from the rest of the field and won by fully seven yards in 224-ssec. on a very heavy track. This was practically the best performance of the meeting and proved conclusively that he was a certainty beaten in the shorter sprint. The 440 yards final proved that Don Evans has no. equal in the Dominion over this distance. He won easily in 52sec. W. Ogg, the only Wellington starter, could not pace it with him and finished last. The heavy going did not suit our man. Kiser also started in this event and made the pace right to the final bend, but could not withstand the strong finishing efforts of Evans and Ogg.

Rose’s Great 3 Miles. Great interest was taken in the three miles event, and it proved a wonderful race. Rose, Prosser and Morris (Otago) did most of the pacing. At the bell Prosser went to the front, closely followed by Rose, and led into the straight. Then started a battle which reminded one of a previous race on the same track -when Nalder (Canterbury) ran Rose to a few inches at the tape. Rose, with determination looming all over his set face, made a supreme effort, and though Prosser stuck it out right to the finish, the popular hero of many thrilling races reached the tape a vard to the good in the great time of ‘ 15min. 114-ssec. This is Prosser’s second attempt in a three-mile race and if he has a spell from harrier running he will turn out a real champion. The one-mile walk was nearly a repetition of the three miles, the only difference being that on this occasion Hill finished in first place and was told then that he was again disqualified. The writer understood that A. Bain was the sole judge of the walk, but the. assistant and another very prominent official were heard giving their opinions to him, which resulted in a unanimous decision. The relay race was a great go between Wellington' and -Canterbury, and the result was in doubt right up to the last change-over. The Wellington team was 11. McDonald. T. Pickering, J. Fleming and C Jenkins. Bradey’s Success.

The pole vault was a really spectacular event and saw the downfall of W. J. Batstone, a champion for many years. Honours went to F. Bradey, and they were fully deserved.