Athletics.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 33, 8 February 1908, Page 14

Athletics.

[By "Amatecr."] Another New Zealand chauipionrhip meeting has cone and gone, and Wellington retains the championship shield for another year. A fine day and a gate of £180, it was no wonder that the local centro were pleased with thrniEclvcs. Tho arrangements were thoioughly up-to-date, and there wero ono or two features that might with advantage be copied by other bodies. Tho wicloeuko was kept frue of "ornament?," officials who were for the thno being not needed ictiring to a special eucloEiire provided for them. Another good fc.ature was the fencing off of a small space at the winning post for the fudges and time-keepers, who were not harassed by the usual crowd of miscellaneous officials who gather round to son a finith. Tho track was dead slow, and delightfully uneven, and the straight had a noticeable up-grade. On the wholo, racing was well up to the average, and the competitors were probably as good a lot as any that havo competed a-l championship meetiugs during the past tew years. 1 Coming on to tho racing itself, one's thoughts naturally run fiist of all upon the sprints, and the, odious question arises : How did the sprinting this year compare with that of last year? As far as I am inclined to think, our hundred yards men are, as, a whole, not so good as last year's batch. Henderson, of course, is the exception, and, judging by what I have seen of his running during the past two years, I am pretty certain that he is sprinting faster than ever before in New Zealand. Though. Goodbohero and Bass again filled the other places in the hundred, neither can be said to be sprinting as well as at Christ church in February of last year, when Goodbchere, beating Bass by niches only, equalled standard time in the semi-fir.al heat of tho 100 yds championship. • Henderson's •10 l-ssce last Saturday was a great performance, even allowing for the stiff breeze that helped the runners throughout tho journey. The track was slow and none too level, and after going 40 yards Henderson simply played with the others. McPhail was a great disappointment, and it is hard to see on what grounds the Canterbury papers placed him on a . higher plane than Bass. Con.-idcring that he had to come straight away horn the final of the 75yds handicap to run in tho chainpionehip, Bridge ran fairly prominently, but ho was hardly class enough to secure a place. What a surprise the 220 yds championship was! and yet there was not tho slightest suspicion of a fluko about it. The first heat was tho best of good things for Henderson and Fisher, who completely out-clareed the others. Tho fpcond heat was an equally* easy run for Trembath, though Bat-?, on sufferance, dead-healed with him. In the final all roso together when tho gun wont. In a few yards, Henderson, who was going great guns, shot out clear and when forty yards had been traversed had a lead of two [ yards. Bowling along in great stylo he ! flashed^ round the bend three yards to the good. Here Fisher managed to get clear, though Bass and McPhail had closed in on him, and with Trcmhath, who came round en tlie ou>sidc, in close attendance, set sail after tho f.ying leader Fifty 3'ards from homo ho had shaken off Trercbath, but Henderson fctill maintained the lead Another ten yards gone, and then it was evident "thai' though- Henderson still' appeared to have 'thp race won, Fisher was gaining on" him. -Thirty yarc's to go : the crowd rose en maese and fairly roared with excitement The terrific pace he had set and th.c 6trong wind blowing full in'- his N face were pulling Henderson back', while Fisher fairly flew. Twenty yards to •go and Henderson was a bare yard and Vhalf tto the good. With the tape ten yards away Fisher had almost drawn level ; Henderson made a last despairing effort to shako oft tho bull dog attentions of his opponent, but he had used up his last ounce of strength. Five yards from homo tho two wero dead level, and with one herculean effort Fisher fairly hurled himself 'through tho air and broko tho worsted — a winner by a few inches. i,t was the mofi, exciting finish oif- l tho day,' tho crowd losing all control over their feelings. As an exhibition of right-down gameness, Fisher's run up tho straight reminded ono forcibly of Cook's startling run iv tho 120 yds hurdles caam"ffionehip twelve r months ago. Bufc' Henderson's tactics. 1 undoubtedly won tho racu for . Wellington. The terrific paco at tho slarfc undoubtedly ran Trembath off his logs and lef,t tho way clear icr Fisher to get- his long ,-print in. It was a pity ,thut such a ttrugglo could not have ended iv a dead-heat. " Fisher ran v tlie rnco of ■■hip life. It was even'a better performance than his win in x tbc same race last year. Henderson shares the honouis with Fisher, but though he ran such a great race it is becoming more and moro evident that the last twenty yards of a recond furlong journey Eeriouply troubles him nowadays. I fray fcccond, because he is capable of runninjr ono great two hundred and twenty yaraa hui, a 'second on the tamo day is rather too much ior him. The same point was noticeable at last year's meeting If suporior tactics won the furlong championship for Wollington, it was an utter Ln 'iCOi C 0 ?f? f tacLics lhat lo6t I'ollock tho Whrds championship, and, incidentally, six points ior Wellington's shield account iho paco for the fir&t hundred and fifty yards wuuld have disgraced a milo race lVwl ICr "n ( iJ»!? in i sJiamc joggod off in the lead with Pollock uexl, and Trembath, Wnii- at ° 11C0 ? ra ?l lod th e fact that the Well n gton men had como to no understaudmy as regards pace, following a couple of yards further back. At 300 yds £j?nJr nl fi ath su i ldßnl , y E P" rted > a " f'nn f} I> d a 6VO yard leatl - bollock was S°er h L Sr r 6p th ° sitUßtlon . darVd ™,r m> i , Com . ln E round tho bond, he 'T, cs f t0 ga'n on Trombath, but the kT three Z,T T> a ni d *£ ™ tfo ™ d ddef t he 5™5 ™ Ll LCIW(L CIW(! ', , Wno pondered what OLIZ £ bo M ra IJ»bloI J »blo or when ihorS'« *''« 230 yds, a ,.d !u> lack of condi chaVe" Uld a fatt qUar{Cl> ««led his £'~^ e^^-^oiS [ Cl 'C' C f l ) e - Pr ? vod him£elf '° bo in S. m bccl inslead of °n ihe lie field quickly fctru.ug out Tho C'qn V r -etion in this event was nrnch freer and easier than m the half, and the first ga llop evidpntly did him good A short time ago it seoinrd as fhouirh New Zealand were badly off for d^lanoo runners but last Saturdays tluce nTes championship conalusi^olj proxed that there are three men in the Dominion, who I 5"I 5 " tnl tra Pn k> ° aU be rplfecl »P° n to broak 15-40. These three— Shame, Mooro and Irew— had the finibh of tho three niiios to themsolver, and Sharpe undoubtedly proved his claim to be contidored tho j bo3t of the trio. His race was a remarkable exhibition of determination Obviously short of his IW. form, ho appeared to, bo iv difficulties in the la-t mile, but when he btatted to fcprint — fully thrco hundred yards from bomc—ho mustered up a surprising amount of pare. The spectators wers raised to a high pitch of excitement as Moore bazar to cam on

Shivpo ISOyards from home. He gat within five yards of ilio loader, but it was piobably on uiffcraiTO, a? he did nol gam a 3 aid in the straight. Fruw was running on at the end, and appeared to be fresher than cither Sharpo or Mooro. As all three aro young — Shame and Frow are not more than twenty-oue, and Moore, by his appearance, cannot bo much older — they should be heard of at championship timo for at lea?t another four seasons. Outpido Wilton, who stayed well, but was beaten for pace, tho porf 01 manses of the re*! of the Wellington learn were disappointing. Mulcahy had one of his very numerous off-days, and Miuray, Gosling, and Lambert were clearly out of their clas-. At the 120 yds distance, the only hurdler at tho meeting who performed up to Australasian championship form was Cook, who, hurdling faultlessly, had an easy urin from Orbell in .•a.-d.ire! time— l 6 1-6 Murray fell at tho first hurdle, due, as on previous occasions, to 'overstridinp; ; but ho could nof have dofcated Cool:, who finished with a lot in hand. Had Callaghan been able to start in the final ho must have stood a good chance of getling second place. Holmden fenced well, but was rather lacking in pace. However, a% he was just beaten in his heat by Orboll, his performance was a good one, more especially as he had only been in training for a week or two. At tho quarter it was a case of Murray first,; the rest nowhere. Moving easily, with his big long stride, he appeared to simply run over the hurdles, and at half distance had a big lead, and though ho slowed down somewhat, he finished well within standard time. Hif. time (59 4-ssec). has only twice been beaten in the dominion, once by A. H. Holder (58 4-5 sec) and onco by G. W. Smith, who won the 440 yds hurdles at the Australasian Championships at Auckland in December, 1901, in 50aec. Murray is undoubtedly the best quarter hurdler seen in these parts since Smith's time, and it is doubiful if oven Smith was much better. Tho track and the wind were against rooond-breaking last Saturday, and on* a good, or even an ordinary track, with no wind to bother him, and with a good man besido him to extend him all tho way, he should put up time very nearly oqiwil to the world's record. Cook ran a good honest race, but Murray was far too good for him. Bogle ran well for a time, but fell at tho last hurdle. M'Grath performed creditably. Tho Southland representative. Bust, turned, ifc up as soon as Cook passed him. Taking all things into considerationcold wind &nd dead ground— the performances in the jumps, particularly in tho high jump and the polo vault/ were r.bo'ijc the average. Orbell, of course, stands out by himself 111 the high jump. At sft sin ho had all his opponents beaten, and then cleared standard height (sft 7in). lie failed in hi* attempt to beat the New Zealand record, but the conditions were all against his achieving his object. Thomassen jumped vpry well, all things considered. Callaghan, the third m^n, is a very promising high jumper, pole vaulter, and hurdler. He is only nineteen, and by next year should be greatly improved. His 9ft 9in in the pole jump was an excellent performance. E. M'Kay, the only Aucklander to account for a championship, -won the pole vault with a very lino effort of 10ft Sin. Ho was, I think, rather lucky to catch L. M'Kay after the latter had already competed in three events. When tho poles woro turnod round so vhat, the two might try for standard without tho wind helping them, the Aucklander failed at 10ft, but the Wollingtonian cleared it. Tho long jumping was very poor, but the up-hill run to the tako-off and the adverse wind account for this. Wallace was clean off colour in the hammer event, as, hi& best throw' wa'i 111 ft 3in. In practice during the week ho had been beating 120 ft. Anderson, the runner-up, was another who failed to throw up to his practice form. The -weiglit-puUinjr, as might be ex- | pectod, did not cause 100 much satisfaction. Whenever Ji'Kay or Thomcssen got in a particularly good putt, it was disallowed. Tho opinion of Mr. Batchelor and the other 1 judges -were in a state of. -conflict over this event Constable \Skinner, who must be looked upon as an authority on this subject, is firmly of opinion that every one of M'Kay's disallow ed putts was perfectly fair. It is safe to say that nothing during the past week has agitated the local world of, athletics more than the disqualificatipa of Ksiri-., inVthe throe miles walk." lh\ passed tho judie in rhVmile, the only oautiou he received being one Riven whilo covering tho rough ground at the back of the course ; but in tho three miles, when travelling at a bat from fifteen to twenty seconds in tho lap slower, ho was disqualified nt tho very spot at 1 winch he was cautioned in tho mile. It was admitted that the break in tho mile (if break it -was) was caused by tho rough ground, but ho was given no chance "in tho tin co miles. The decision has not given satisfaction locally; on iho other hand, it has been condemned , by noarlv all who sa\y Kcrr walking. '-A wellknown Wellington walker (who was twico 'i Now ZJoaland representative at Australasian championships), ono who has in hio past oxpre.ssed his doubt as to Korr's walkinjr, made no secret of tho fact that h- considered that Korr's walking on Saturday last in. no way conflicted with the rule of tho Australasian Union. Judged by the Australasian rule, Kerr's stylo has improved at e\ory appearance, btneo tho meeting at which ho was dis■(lualified by Mr. Coombes. On the second day of that meeting ho all but satisfied that gentleman, and Wellington has decided that ho shall have a further opportunity of satisfying him. ' In half a day twenty pounds was collected in the city to defray his oxpor.sea to Hobart, and it "is settled that he is to go. Tho&a who started the subscription deserve every credit for their eftort», and arc to be congratulated on tho gratifying response to their call for contributions. It was an_ emphatic expression of Wellington';, opinion of Kerr s fairness of stylo. The disqualification of Kerr was not the only point on which Wollington and Messrs, B.itchalor and Green. beg to differ. How on oarlh Ilojben, who was going so slow ihat Stubberfieid had lappeu him, could hj disqualified, is a point that is puzzling 1 local enthusiasts to-day. Tho judge was perfectly riarhfc in disqualifying Fitzgerald, who "lifted" badly in his sprint home, but on what p6int Gow broke the union rule is beyond my comprehension. Another matter. Gow was disqualified on Saturday, but the first intimation he rocohes of this was fho mention of il in Iho papers on Monday morning. Surely, if a judpe soe^ fit to disqualify a man, ho should inform him of the .fact. As to Stubborrield, he is undoubtedly tho worst w alker that has won a New Zealand championship for years past. On Saturday, in escaping tho judge's attention ho was lucky. Last >rar Mr. Coombes criticised his walking 1 adver=clv and it would not surprise me in tha least if he were "outed" at Hobart. L. M'Kay easily assarted his title to tho all-round championship, notwithstanding that he lost 300 point.-, by not compel ing in thg mile. M'Kay is a splondid stamp of athlete— a New Zealand champion, a senior footballer and cricketer, there aio few branches of athletic sport, at which ha has not tried and suoeacdod. His performances in the alllcund championship events ueic — 220 yds, 25 l-sscc; putting wcisrht, o^tt, llin; 10.i.; iump,' 10ft 3in; throw ing hammer, 80ft. Dunn? ihe day ho ako competed in fho high jump (in which he cleared sft 3in) and Hip pole jump, hit, bes-t effort in thi-. equalling the standard (10ft). Paul, the runner-up to M'Kay, is an ex-Melbourno uian. ' NOllO of his performances woro out, of tho ordinary, but ho gained 300 pointb by Onishing in tho mile, which none of the others did. Tho Npw ZeaLmd team for Hobart is both v hti'oiu; and a weak one; strong in tbal four of the members are likely to win ch:inipioi!shi»s and weak in that Sfubberfipld is '.-elected to go. When the scLccfoi's announced, at the smoko concert, tliif they wore unable, to choose between jl'Kny and Stubberfieid, tho hearers — tho writer amongst them — were fairly staggoved. Stubberfieid, absolutely the woakeat of the wholo list of champions, selected to go ! And what about fho claims of Oook^. who covered the 120vds hurdles in standard time? What of Sharpe's claims ? On the worst track in New Zealand, and battling against a strong wind for the gieater part, of every lap, he had covered thres inilrs In 15nnn 40»ec— lime that would pu//lo Australia's prevent best, to beat on v good ground. Were Fisher's claiiii-> nil? Thesp were so mo of th« question-) lecal ontliusiatts askod thomsolvos. Surely if was an easy enoush task to derir'o be-

tween tho all-round champion of New Zealand, and a walker whoso chances of getting an Australasian championship aro about equal to his prospects of beatiinr Henderson at > the hundred yards. The injustice to M'Kay has since been riphlod, but Stubberiield is still in the team. Tho council has done some extraordinary things in tho past, but this latest performance capa the lot. Harry Henderson is tho sprinter of the. team, and on presont form he should give a grent account, of himself. Tho first timo I saw Henderson was at tho Australasian championship"! at Auckland, six seasons ago, and he is probably better now than then. Before ho came over to New Zealand from Sydney, he beat Barker on level terms at the hundred, and I would not bo the lea&t bit surprised if he wins tho hundred at Hobart. If Barker is not at his best, aud if the 220 .Yds is run in ono race, Henderson will stand a big chance of capturing that event also. Trembath and Murray need no mention. Their performances fully cntitlo them to places in the team. Trembath should have no difficulty in winning the half, and possibly the quarter and mile. Murray stands a groat chance of finishing first in tho quarter hurdles. Good ns Orbell is, I cannot sea that he has much hope of defeating Scott (of New South Wales) or Frawley (of Queensland). In my opinion it would haio been better to have selected Sharpe, who would probably account for the three miles. As Adams is the only Australian who this season has proved himself equal to 10ft in tho polo jumn, M'Kay should have little difficulty in anexing this championship.