On the Track

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 90, 13 October 1923, Page 16

On the Track

OTAGO MAKES A START

SUCCESSFUL SPORTS MEETING

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

(By " SMHNTBI.")

Otago has lost no time in getting off the mark, a sports meeting being held under* the auspices of the Otago Centre of the .N.Z.A.A.A. at the Caledonian Grounds last Saturday. The. weather was fine, and the attendance exceptionally good. With plenty; of variety and keen competition"'' throughout the proceedings, which lasted from 11.30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and capable management, the gathering-was of-excellent order, arid it offered plenty of evidence that amateur athletics in Dunedin are in for a good season...' The performances were gener-ally-very good- for -a-first-oi-the-season meeting,.some of the times registered in running events, .being..creditable. The results ;p£ this opening meeting go to show that Otago possesses some athletes of more . than average ability. Two of them, H. D. Morgan and E. B. Stewart, are, of course, already well known. Morgan, it will be remembered, performed with., merit .at_:the.New Zealand championships at Athletic Park last season, and to all appearance she is'going'io'Be in", the .limelight "'Jin's; season... Two very pleasing features of. the gathering were tKe bicycle and ladies' events, and' from both brandies."of '.the'"sportQtagq should be.able to:,fi.nd represepiatiyes good enough to compete with the' cyclists and ladies who;have already "had experience on the track.. .

H. I). Morgaii was the scratch man in. the," 100 yds . event .and gave some. Ijig"starts-' .He succeeded in wintiin'jr the first heat, in 10*3.-ssec, but .'finished third in .the final, run in. 10 2.-ssec;. Cdn : nolly (10yds). was first, and G.S. Proctor "(10yds> waij second.' ". E. C-,.. Steward (lyd) filled third place in the .second heat, rup in 10 2-ssec. . Morgan gathered in a big "field" in. the 300 yds Handicap, winning .by. about, n ya.rdin 34 1-5 sec. J. B. M'Miken (Byds) was second.

Other .flat . events provided, excellent fimshesr. In. the "880y.ds. Handicap, the w.inner, J: G. " Forbes (syds), just got home in the last two strides. H. A.. Ashley (35yds) was second, and filled, a similar" place in the mile, in which he had a-"handicap of 35yds." ■"; T. G. pruinin, off 80yds, .won the ihile.: The times !£or those events"wereV 880yds,'2min' 4 1-5 secy mile, 4min 49 l-sseCi In--the"final-o{ the'22oyds Handicap, 1 'under 18, there was?a dead heat- for first place between H. G. O'Kane.and R. D. Donaldson, who.also filled first arid second places in tW iOOQyds Handicap. ' ~ "Honours in field events were widely distributed. The Broad Jump resulted as'follows: G. S. Proctor (lft 9in), 20ft 6£in, 1; E. B. Stewart (scr), 20ft sin, 2. There'were eleven competitors. Th« Hop, Step, and Jump went to H. A. Mitchell (3ffj, -44ft, ■ A. N. M'Donald (scr) being second with a distance of 38ft ,3-2-in. " The Javelin throwing ■ attracted sis competitors, and again the scratch, man,. C.: S. Clark, was second with 124 ft 6in. The event was won by 3: A.-C. M'Kenzie (15ft) 125 ft: Six young ladies over 16 years oi age faced the starter for the 100 yds race. There was little between the competitors from start to finish, Hiss P. Lawson (scr) finally winning by about a, yard. -Her time was 13 4-ssec. N. M'Kay won both cycling events, the two-mile from 50yds, in smia 59sec, and the mile from 25yds in 2min 54sec. Tapp, who was on scratch in the three niile 'flat handicap, was in the leading division near the end of the journey, but could not finish well enough to get a plaoe, nor could A. J. Frye, who had a start of 200 yds. The winner was A. J Bibby (40yds), T. O.'Drumm (140 yds) being second, and B. G. Cox (120 yds) third. .The time was 16minl6sec.

OOMMENT FROM KROGNESS,

On his return to America.. George Krogness, a member of the team which toured "the North Island last season, wrote as follows regarding the possi bility of New Zealand-being represented by athletes at the Olympic Games : It is too' early, of course, to know at present what New Zealanders will be sent to the Olympic Games of 1924, but it is certain that whoever they may be, they will give'- a good account of themselves. There are many promising young athletes"iir-the Dominion, but it is 'doubtful i if they. will. be .ready for such keen competition as there will be at:.fthe Olympic Games. There arehowever, a few men, who now seem liKely contenders in Paris next year. OfVthe two athletes who went to Antwerp in 1920, .Harry Wilson for one will.'not be" among tne next contingent to'ijepresent his country. . Wilson is married, and has declared his intention of?making .this .his..last-year., of competition. Whether Davidson -will make the^lrip is a question. In January of this««year, while running <jn an uneven trap, he severely pulled a muscle in the }._back of his left, thigh, which since has' handicapped him immensely. Six weeks later he competed in the New Zealand championships. In the 100 yartk race he was fifth, obviously oat of ?iorjn, while in. the 220 yards race lie pWied^r+he same muscle in "his-leg so severely?-that lie fall. - .CJDuevto,.'that unfortunate injury, it is probably that he will not be seen at the cominjl, Olympics.-.^'

Of the.2sprinters, L. A. Tracy of all in New ;Zeala.nd, seems to be the most probable selection. Although he has not reached his majority, he came,into prominence at;the same time Davidson-did,«bufc--'}!as taken ■longer to rea^li his bestpj IJS_tii;;ija,te3ast season JJiLwig* an *r»nn{!r,;: but has irnproiM c.d •ssjeatly.; during itn'e -present -seaso'tr," Althoiig£;lis 'iviseCsQZ the 100 y^sl^ 10 'i®psdfr; i^ip that Ins? besfrwdistarice is*.thßrfurlong, in^whiaK,'t running .'.oa' a lui:nSsie has beert;"{imeii.; in 22;';. seconds:;;*- H»< time of 51-sec-onds. for.the quarterimile is also croiijtT able. 'It is a pleasure to witness Tracy running. Although he has a few faults, such as riot bringing his knees up high enough, aji'd of shortening his stride when heSO^esires to increase his speed, he is perhaps one of the smoothest and prettiest Tr'unners of the present "day, It is expected that he will be sent-to Paris-' next ear

W,.H. B. Buckhurst, of Christchurch, a tall, strong boy, is the most promising' all-round athlete of New Zealand. Although not yet at hit best; lathis being his second season on the.track, he runs the high hurdles in 16 seconds, high jumps sft 9in, broad jumps 22ft Biin, clears 44ft in the hop, step; and jump, and throws the javelin almost 150 ft. .With good coaching he should improve giiatly. ■\-B-rA. Rose, of Wellington;, is a freaky disfence,runner.^ /Six,feet j tall, and weighing about 180 "pounds, he has not the appearance of »:good runner. His: large/ powerful legs carry him along wita ".long strides in a plodding^ dragging., manner. ''».: His Tecord for the mfle is 4min 29secV', and for the tßree-mile 15min ' 13 2-ssec; Peter Munro, ibp. 4ip; tall, a powerful and fine-looking-^ athlete, born in Scotland, is, like ODr own champion ■weight men, M'Donald and M'Grath, a, member of the Police Force. H© is the -greatest shot-putter eyer seen in that:part pt.tha'.wtorrd,' and'is.'the holder of the Anstralasian record of 46ft lO^in. Se burls the discus 127%. &>, agi

throws the javelin 161 ft Bin. In tile hammer throw, without the customary turns, he has a mark of 115 feet. K. W. Webber, of Auckland, is an unattractive runner to watch as he shuffles along with his short strides, but he is one of the most determined finishers eyer seen in New Zealand. His best times in the mile and three miles are 4min 30 4-ssec. and 15min. 13 l-ssec. respectively. C. H. Taylor, of Christchurch, is a 4min 24sec miler, a lmin 58sec half-miler, and a 50 3-ssec quar-ter-miler. He is very tall and slender, with a long, stride, and is a powerful runner. K. Griffen, of Wellington, has improved rapidly of late, and in the recent New Zealand championships won the half-mile in 2min 1 2-ssec, and the mile in- 4min 31 l-ssec under poor track conditions.

It is from among these men that New, Zealand will select the team which will represent her at the 1924 Olympic Games. Whatever their achievements m the lists there may be, they will be true representatives of a sports-loving country of sportsmen. NOTES.

Congratulations to L. A. Tracy on being nominated for the 1924 Khode£ Scholarship..

George Davidson, who represented New Zealand at the 1920 Olympic .Games, and who^broke down when competing against Kirksey and Carr last season, has been showing good form during the football season, ■ and it would not be surprising to find him on the track again this summer. It was thought.that he might retire from amateur :athleMcs after breaking down last

season.

Some members- of Parliament at Home are keen on long walks, and several challenges have . been flying about among them. Recently Mr. Frank Grey, Liberal M. P.. for Oxford City, won his walking match against Captain Ainsworth, M;P.-:for Bury, the latter, when in a commanding lead, being obliged to give up when half a mile from the finishing post. \ The match arose as the outcome of a challenge by Mr. 'Gray, and it was arranged to walk from Banbury Cross to Oxford (23£ miles), one of the conditions being that each man should carry the full kit of an infantryman (weighing about 901b). The event attracted a great deal of, interest. Mr. Gray .completed .the journey ir 6hrs 1 mm. When the result was known Captain Harry. Charrock, 0.8. E., issued a challenge to Mr. Gray to walk 23£ miles in light marching order. Before competing at Berlin on the sth August, "Slip" Carr, on his present tour, had competed in thirty-one races (apart from relay events), winning thirty time, and lofiing- once. The thirty-one races were made up as follow:—Fourteen . heats, fourteen finals, two semifinals, and a run-off. In the finals he secured thirteen firsts. No wonder the Bohemian papers claim him as the world's greatest sprinter! Young Leer, last .year's. Wellington champion primary school boy, is making a start in open company on Labour Day.

There is talk of new clubs being formed at Soatoun and Lower Hutt. The newly-formed Selwyn Club-has a good membership, and. is looking forward to a good initial season. Some members of other clubs are joining _up with Selwyn. Richardson, who was among the beot sprinters in Wellington last season, will probably be on the track in Christcrrorch this season. He has been back in Wellington lately, but unfortunately not to stay. Richardson was a good club, man for Athletic, as also was Johnston, who will be a figure in Wairarapa amateur athletic circles this season. .

C. G. Krogness, a member of the American athletic team which visited N*ew Zealand last season, was to have been married last month.

Hawkes Bay will probably have three clubs this season, two in Napier and one in Waipukurau. H. E. Moore, the wellknown distance runner, is now in Waipukurau, and he will no doubt be one of the principals in forming a club there. A new 'set of rules has been printed by the-Wellington Centre. Clubs should see that all members obtain a copy. Reports from the Wairarapa indicate that athletics are going to go very well in that district this season. New clubs are likely to be formed. It will be necessary this season for all runners in the .Wellington ' Centre to wear their registration number. On being registered each athlete will be given a number, and that is to be worn at all meetings. The move is oue that will be of much benefit to officials and all who follow the sport. Mention was made in the annual report of the ladies' branch of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club that Miss Phyllis Dawson. proved herself tobe the fastest lady sprinter in the Wellington district by winning the lOOycJfs provincial and New Zealand ladies' championships last season. Miss Dawson may claim to be the best lady sprinter in the Dominion on her performances for the first season on the track. There were other young ladies who registered good times in sprint events last season, but it is doubtful whether those athletes, good as they were, could have beaten Miss Dawson. The Wairarapa young ladies did not succeed in doing so. _ "Sprinter" noticed one young lady in Auckland last season who seemed to be a very likely aspirant for the honour of New Zealand lady champion. Her time for the hundred waa equal to that register-ed-'by Miss Daw Eon. An endeavour should be made to arrange for that young lady to meet the Wellington and Wairarapa champions this season. Perhaps there are other lady athletes in various parts of the Dominion who would like to take part in the New Zealand championships. A very fine medallion has been presented by Mi\H. T .Beat for the ladies' brandy'of the''sport. '-It should be an. incentive to . further. : keen competition.this/,season. ;:The contests for the cappresented by Miss Jeanne' Eteveneaux. wiil^also: hei.sf-!/a keent'order..' The ladijssv'bf; Wairarapa and ./Wellington are alrisidy .-looking for ward •-■with' eagerness tQ^the'-coming; season'k;. events. ' f'A;'. ixpte in 'the'; annualxeoort of the ladies'"-branch offthe Wellington A.A. Club reads :;."Thanks are due to the, officials of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club, to the Wellington Rugby Football Union for the use of Athletic Park for training purposes, to Mr. A. C. Kitto for handicapping and coaching, to Mr. and Mrs. F. Hodson, and Mr. L; A.. Tracy, to the president (Mrs. A. UV Kitto), and the vice-presidents, to «>P" Press, to the; Masterton V Ladies' Olub, and to the niany others whose assistance was of much value to the club." n rpIS to be regretted that Mr. A. W. U. 1 ravers has retired from active participation in the management of the sport, as his services have been of much value. But he will still be heart and soul with the sport, and in ways other than management he will be only too willing to lend a hand when neces-

w X h re" in.^a^es Bay recently the writer was introduced to a, younp- athihan^oT 118 %b ? the H^^iian Sprint ™pis; „It 1S probable that the f^P Wellington this . ia «on, as the V7r ? meas«re strides with aiblP^ Ef-? 1 ath!etes ' and, if possible establish a claim to be sent to dub? r P pC (? anM£ The fa™ation o? clubs ln Hav/kes Bay will crjve him -n opportunity of %mo^2 n T ht

T>«, •« Prf° ti(?% certain.that A. E. Ponitt,.who has gone Home aa a Khodes scholar will represent New Zaaland at the .OlymDic-Gaaaß.