ONLY ONE RECALL

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 69, 19 September 1932, Page 13

ONLY ONE RECALL

ME. LESLIE'S KECORD

OLYMPIC GAMES STARTER

Cables received in New Zealand during the Olympic Games gave little inforaation about Mr. T. W. Leslie, of Wellington, New Zealand's veteran starter, who, with "Mrs. Leslie, was a member of New Zealand's contingent. Mr. Leslie, however, played a very big part in the starting of the track events. There were only two starters, Franz Mueller (Germany) and Mr. Leslie. The genial "Dome's" ambition was to start the final of the 100 metres. He did not achieve this ambition, but he had the honour of starting the first event on the programme of the track section, the 400 metres hurdles, and the last event, the 1600 metres relay. Mr. Leslie, on his return yesterday, talked interestingly, and he has brought back with him a number of fine souvenirs. The German, Mueller, was selected as No. 1 starter, and this no doubt was due to the fact that, having been a starter at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928, his qualifications were known. After the Games, though, Mr. Leslie was paid a high tribute by Mr. Eastrbm, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. Actually Mr. Leslie started more events than. Herr Mueller, and only" once did he have to fire a second shot for a recall. That was in the final 6f the 800 metres when Dr. Otto Peltger, the German who ran in Wellington, broke. It was this race, dispatched by Mr. Leslie, and won by T. Sampson in worjd record time, that the manager of the New Zealand team (Mr. P. N. Rundle) described as being the one which impressed him most. Mr. Leslie started all the ladies' events and also all the track events in the Decathlon contest, in. which he said there were some wonderful athletes. The position taken up by Mr. Leslie immediately behind the athletes wag BOihething new to most of the competitors. Mr. Leslie's view is that it is the only way to start a "field" properly, and bis methods were very favourably commented upon. After the Games Mr. Leslie also acted as starter at the British" Empiro v. U.S.A. meeting, jn San Francisco. Mr. Leslie kept the cartridge case of every round he fired, and he has these carefully numbered. INTERESTING APPARATUS. Attached to the starting pistols used by H6rr Mueller and Mr. Leslie was an electric wire, and as soon as the starter's pistol' was fired a combined moving-picture and stop-watch machine was set in operation. This apparatus, which had been approved by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, was used for checking purposes. , The machine recorded a picture of the start and finish in conjunction with an electrical stop-watch, and "caught" the runners as they crossed the finishing line, splitting their time into hundredths of a second. In the event of a dispute among the judges or the timekeepers, reference was made to the pictures recorded by the machine., In one case, in the 400 metres, the picture taken by the machine showed that the judges' placings were wrong. An American had been awarded third place, whereas the picture showed that Findlay, of Great Britain, -was third. There was little fault to find with the officials generally, their work being described as excellent. Thirty special stop-watches, inanur factured in Switzerland, were used, and for each event, in addition to the electrical timing apparatus, there were five timekeepers. The Swiss watches, before being sent to America, wore tested, at Greenwich' Observatory for, sixty days. Each morning the watches, wero, delivered to -the various; stadia in a-specially-designed case, and at the close of each; day's events they were collected and stored for the" night in a vault. ■ NEW ZEALAND'S TEAM. Mr. Leslie said 'that throughout the Games the weather was gloriously fine, and he agreed with the view expressed by other members of the team that the climate might have affected New Zealand's representatives to some' extent. His candid opinion, however, was that although m6st ofth©:team did as well as could_ reasonably be expected, the competition they encountered! was too strong; He" said r that":; Miss Kehch 's form was disappointing, and the quarter-miler, S3. A. Black, did not produce his best. The sprinter, Elliot, had shown definitely that he was ii'the front rank.' Savidau also had done well in high-class 'company^ but he had no finish and appeared to be past his best. The Rhodes Scholar, J. E. Lovelock, was a finished artist, and in Mr. Leslie's opinion would have won the 1500 metres if he had had another week's training. . Evans :had> trained hard, buthe also had been.,tmable to show his best form. As regards ! the oarsmen, Mr. Leslie said that their coach had not. spared himself in his endeavours to get th& best out of the crew, but by the time the rowing events were decided they appeared to be "stale." ' Mr. Leslie said that it would be advisable in the future to have some definite and systematic course of thorough preparation in the selection of New Zealand teams. Ho thought also that better progress would be shown t>y New Zealand athletes if they had the benefit of. running on cinders in their own country. Unfortunately Mrs. Leslie, while in San Francisco, slipped and fractured her left wrist. On the same day sho also received news of the death in Wellington of Her brother, Mr. James Taylor, the well-known athletic and Rugby coach.