SPORTSMEN OF NOTE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1924, Page 8

SPORTSMEN OF NOTE

FROM THE OLYMPIC GAMES AUSTRALIANS AND NEW ZEALANDERS AN OPINION ABOUT FUTURE CONTESTS. ■" Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." By the Tahiti, from San Francisco, f via way. ports, there arrived in Wellington to-day a party of athletes whose qualities in their respective branches of sport have gained for them honours of the highest scaled but it cannot be said that in any single case greatness has been achieved other than 'by the merit of performance. This party was a portion of the Australian and New Zealand representation at the Olympic Games held in Paris a month or two ago, and for proof of the greatness of its members it need only be mentioned that Andrew (" Boy") Charlton, . the " sensation " of the swimming world, R. Eve, the world's new diving champion, A. W. Winter, record breaker at the hop, step, and jump branch of athletics, and New Zealand^ own Miss Gwitha Shand, champion lady swimmer of the Dominion, and Charles Purdy, the wellperformed boxer, were among those who returned *y the vessel. They were all, the party as a whole, worthy representatives of two countries with a love for healthy sport, and, though their measure of success, had not been great in the number of victories, they had represented their respective countries in a worthy manner. Of their performances and experiences, as well as the outlook for the future, so far as the Olympic Games are concerned, the manager of the 'Australian Olympic Games team, Mr. 0. G. H. Merrett, made ,some interesting remarks to a " Post " reporter in the course of an interview to-day. There was a large crowd of enthusiasts at the Taranaki Street Wharf to meet the Olympic Games representatives, and as the vessel drew alongside cheers were given for those who comprised the party. Among those present to officially welcome the representatives—a/welcome home for Miss Shand and C. Purdy—were Messrs A. T. Davies (chairman of the New Zealand Olympic Council) and P. Eundle (chairman of the Wellington Swimming Centre), and other representatives \>f sports bodies. 'i A WONDERFUL TIME." Questioned regarding the experiences throughout the trip, Mr. 0. G. H. Merrett, manager of the team, said that the party had had a wonderful time. After the Games in Paris, and visits to other places in France, they had gone to Ehgland and Ireland, where they took part in the Tailteann Games, and had returned via America. Some of the other representatives had taken a different route, while Carr, the Australian sprinter, had remained, and Porritt, the New Zealand sprinter, was now stationed at.Home as a Rhodes Scholar. The representatives of Australia and New Zealand had been very well received everywhere, and had been accorded some great receptions. On the trip about 30,000 miles had beencovered. Australia had forty-five competitiors at the Games, and New Zealand four. The people who had given the representatives such fine receptions realised that Australians and New Zealanders had to travel a great distance, and were in consequence at a great disadvantage compared with other nations. Ihe training arrangements were quite all right, but as might be expected with forty : five nations clamouring for quarters; etc., there wore some disadvantages. The training was done at the Sporting Club in France. Great difficulty had been experienced in getting sparring partners for the boxers, and there had been a lot of dissatisfaction over the boxing decisions. It was very regrettable that Purdy, the New Zealand boxer, should have met an adverse decision, as unbiased judges were of tho opinion that Purdy had won without doubt all tho way. Otherwise, there was little cause for dissatisfaction. THRILLING SIGHT. •'We met such strong opposition," said Mr. Merrett, in referring to the ovents at the Games, " that we were not generally up to the class to achieve victory in the athletic events. Carr was, of course, ono of our representatives, but he was not good enough to get a place in the finals. Tlie opposition was terrific. This was indicated by the fre--1 qucnt breaking of rccojds. The team however, put up a creditable showing. j Winter in the hop, step, and jump, accomplished a great feat in breaking a record which had stood for fifteen years. In Porntt you have an athlete of whom you ought to be very proud indeed. His style is beautiful and clean, and of class. He is a brilliant runner, and witli youth on his side-he has a great future in front of him. By securing third place in the 100 metres event^-the blue riband of the athletic section of the Games—he made a wonderful impression. His performance was great, and, considering that there were 98 runners from various nations competing in that particular event, he did wonderfully well. After the race a thrilling sight was presented uhen the Now Zealand flag was flowu on the honours pole at the Olympic Stadium About 60.000 people did honour tional Anthem was played in honour of Britain s win. tho occasion was most impressive. We had the pleasure of seeing our flag flown on the honours pole when Winter won the hop, step, and .lump. Only five nations had their flags flown from the winning pole-America, AusSa." Great Bntafn < ItaI ?> ™« VALUE OF THE GAMES. In yiew of the criticism which had been levelled a t the Games as the re suit of some disturbances which took palce there, Mr. Merrett was asked for his opinion as to the advisability of carrying on "In my opinion," he said it would be a great disaster if the Games were ever abandoned. Ninety per cent, of the events at the Games were admirably controlled and well contested, while the winners, irrespective of the nation to which they belonged received a great ovation in every case Unfortunately where the decision of events becomes a matter of opinion in hoxmg, fencing, wrestling, and events of that nature, the French judges do not tramo their opinions on the came basis as tho. Anglo-Saxon judges. From the experience of the last, Games we should see a big improvement in the standard of judging at the next Games, to be held in Antwerp in 1928. lam strongly of opinion that New Zealand and Australia should be represented as well as possible. It was very disappointing at, the recent Games to see New Zealand represented by such a small team. There is no doubt that you have the athletes here who are worthy of having the opportunity of competing with the world's best. Another point about representation at the Games; It is without doubt

one of the finest advertising mediums a nation could wish to have." IMPORTANCE OF TENNIS. Regarding the tennis \ection of tho Uames, Mr. Merrett said^hat the Australians were not quite good enough for the Americans; Willard succeeded in beating Raymond, who was a winner at the previous Games. The various nations, he said, were attaching considerable importance to tennis at the Games, and every nation, except.Australia, sent its best players there. "It is only a matter of a few years when the Davis Cup may give way to the Olympic Games tennis championships," Mr "-Merrett added.

In conclusion he mentioned that the health of the team had been splendid, although some of the athletes had suffered from boils as the result of strenuous training. "They were an excellent lot, said Mr. Merrett. "They have earned a great, name for themselves everywhere they have been. They have been thorough gentlemen and true sportsmen, and I am very proud to have been the manager of such a fine team." Of the visit to Ireland he said that Purdy was the idol of the team there, and that Miss Shand had done very wel]. Miss Shand received one of three special gold medals, each valued at £15, presented for the best performances at the Tailteann Games. The other two went to Charlton and Eve.

The members of the party are: Mr. 0. G. H. Merrett (manager), Miss Gwitha Shand . (New Zealand), Miss Gunther (of Sydney), who accompanied Miss Shand throughout tlie tour, C. Purdy (New Zealand), and A. Charlton, M. Christie,, R. Eve, I. Stedman, E. Henry (swimmers), C. Sinclair, R. Jones' (boxers), -S. Ramsden (cyclist), A. W. Winter, J. Newman, M. Boyd, E. Austen, (athletes), W. J. Bayley, and -J. Willard (tennis players), all of Australia.