Champion Athletes

Evening Star, Issue 21966, 28 February 1935, Page 6

Champion Athletes

L. C. McLachlan’s Impressive Mile

Rampling’s Fast Quarter

Tho appearance of the British and Finnish athletes at the track and field ] meeting at the Caledonian Ground last night marked the first visit to Dunedin of teams front these countries since the formation of the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, and the meeting was characterised by some very fine performances and much spirited competition. Some thirty years ago the Englishman, Alfred Shrubb, visited New Zealand, but he did not come so far south ai Dunedin, and the Otago Centre also had an unofficial visit a few years ago from a Finnish fi<sld athlete, Eino Keskinen. In view; of the fine weather the ' attendance of about 2,000 spectators was disappointing, especially as the meeting did not commence until 4.45 to enable business people to be present. Despite the fact, that they had competed as recently as last Monday and i had travelled all day Tuesday in the train, the Englishmen and the Finns performed well, and even if they did not approach their best performances in the north this would be accounted for to some extent by the deadness of the track and to the nip in the air, a factor which would undoubtedly react on the field men especially. M-LACHLAN’S IMPRESSIVE MILE. As anticipated,,however, the strongest opposition for a visitor came in the one-mile open handicap, in which the English distance runner, R. M. Craske, could’ do no better than fourth place in a race in which two local men, running . from the scratch mark, filled the first two places. The New Zealand mile champion, L. C. M’Lachlan, not only showed the best style pf all the runners in the ‘ race, but ran with excellent judgment, making his, bid about 300yds from home and going through the field fast to win by Byds from the New Zealand cross-country champion, W. A. C. Pullar, who also ran a very solid race from scratch. J. J. Morris, who was off 30yds, appeared to be out of the race a furlong from' home, but came again, and beat Craske up the straight. The Englishman showed himself to be a good milcr with a long stride. He runs with his arms carried fairly high, and does not po'ssess a particularly attractive action. The time was 4min 26 l-ssec, a splendid run on the night and one of the best ever registered on the Caledonian Ground. Craske just managed to get under 4min 30sec for the distance, and like, other distance runners who have come from overseas did not appear to rim with a great deal of life. ,

7 POWELL SECOND IN HALF. To a lesser degree this was noticeable Jb the running of the English middledistance man, J. V. Powell, in the 880yds handicap, in which- he -filled second place to T. Allen, who won in Imin '57 2-ssec from the 20yds mark. Powell was carried along over a fast first quarter, and though he was in a position to challenge entering the straight the last time had taken too much out of himself to get there, and could not get up; He showed very attractive form, and went under 2min for the distance; but had he been running up to form should have been easily capable of conceding 20yds to 'Allen, who, nevertheless, ran a very -. good race. The dead track undoubtedly handicapped Powell, who is a lightlybuiit runner. , RAMPLING’S FINE QUARTER. , ; Th’e most impressive performances of the! visiting runners wer,e registered by the Empire 440yds champion and recordhofder, G. L. Rampling, who won the 440yds invitation handicap decisively in 50 2-osec, one of the best quarters ever rnn on the Caledonian Ground, the time being outstanding in view of the slowness "of the track and the coldness of the atmosphere. Rampling, who is a beautifully smooth and rhythmic runner, uses a long stride, and maintains a very even orco and the same stride all the;way, and he moves off verv quicklv indeed. After seeing his impressive porfdrmajcce in this event one could readily understand why he is classed as one of the ( best qudrter-milers in the world today. Second place in the 440yds event .went, to the improving Civil Service man. H. J.xTyrie. off 11yds. the Otago champion. A. L. Price., finishing out of a jffiace T4yds behind the winner, and running obviously below his best form. Rampling also won a heat of the 220 5-ards short limit handicap in the good time .-of 22 3-ssec, but did not start in the -final, which was won, by the exjWaitaki hoy, D. F. Wilson (who represented New Zealand at the Empire Schools’ Games in Melbourne last November in 23 l-ssec from the six-yard mark. . .. ' The sprinters, had the assistance of the breeze, but a pulled muscle prevented Dr R. Murdock, the _ Scottish sprint champion, from competing, and ho is unlikely to run again during the tour. The 100 yards invitation handicap provided a. good _ race, however, the Otago junior champion, H. D. Ramsay, winning from the three yards’ mark in lOsec, with the Otago champion, B. Tapley, only a yard away. A feature of the race was the way Tapley went away from W. Atley, the Southland champion, who has been spoken of as a strong contender for the Otago sprint titles. Atley ran better in the final of the 220 yards handicap, but did not appear a match for Tapley over the shorter distance. Ramsay also won the 220 yards low hurdles handicap from three yards in the good time of 26 3-sseC. The 100 yards open handicap was won by S. Lon gw or th, off the scratch man in this event being the All Black Rugby player, G. Hart, who was noticeably short of racing. PERFORMANCES OF FINNS. : The Finnish champions, M. Sippala and V. Perasalo, are recognised as two of the greatest field athletes in the world to-day, and although the cold 'snap in the air must have affected them, they showed themselves to be two of the best performers of their type ever seen in Dunedin, and they quickly established themselves as firm favourites with the crowd. Had they shown then

Englishmen and Finns Compete

; best form they would have had a j chance of conceding the handicaps they were called on to do in the discusthrowing handicap in which both Sippala and Perasalo competed. The winner of this event was A. Molt (44ft), whoso actual throw was 91ft 6in, the event being held with the wind. S. C. Wards (40ft) threw 85ft'3in,- and M. R. Spillane (33ft) registered a throw of 102 ft for third place. ‘ Sippala’s best tbrow was 124 ft, and Perasalo, who takes this event merely as a sideline, did about 100 ft. Sippala’s method of throwing was an object lesson to tho local athletes. He takes up his stance extremely loosely, and his. preliminary movement is extremely slow and collected, reminding one of the Australian, J. P. Metcalfe — the athlete being totally relaxed. Then his movement is extremely rapid, and tho missile goes out with a vicious fling, directly forward from the circle, and with a tremendous impetus from the index finger. The missile travels in a very level manner, and judging by the .standard shown by the American, Harlow Rothert,. a greater flight would probably secure the distance which the mere float does not obtain. Suffering from a sore elbow, Sippala, who was second ’in the javelin-throwing event at the last Olympic Games, was unable to produce the .figures with the javelin that he had been credited with further north, but, nevertheless, gave the most wonderful display of javelinhtrowing ever seen in Dnnedni. Taking ten fairiy long strides for his .lie holds the javelin with the middle linger at the grip and the index finger as a guide about the shaft. .Then with a loose and stabbing motion of the arm he comes forward at increasing pace, and at his take-off mark swings the javelin back and down to the full length of the arm. Then with the change of feet, he hurls the weapon with a tremendous bound. Sippala’s best throw was 203 ft 9in, which, though well short of his record figures, was easily tho best ever recorded in Dunedin. • Vi Newall, the Otago champion (who was runner-up in the New Zealand championship last year),_ had a handicap of 50 feet, and with an actual throw of 162 ft Sin won the event, this being his second best performance this season. The ex-New Zealand champion, R. Creeser, was also a competitor, and with no training did very well to take second place, his actual throw being 151 ft lOin. ■ Sippala putt the shot 41ft 3in which was the best actual putt, and his countryman Perasalo, did 39ft. . Sippala has a style all his own in this event, it being quite evident that he makes great use of the flexibility of the wrist in the final flick which completes the movement. He is also unorthodox according to New Zealand standards in the use of his left foot which does not touch the ground at all until he reaches against the guard board with it. * While he showed proficiency in the throwing events, Perasalo’s chief event is, of course, the high jump, and while he perhaps did not show himself as spectacular as the Australian Metcalfe his display last night was sufficient to stamp him as a great high jumper, especially as the conditions at the time wore Hot altogether favourable to jumping. He was scarcely expected to reproduce the same figures as he did in the North Island as tho result of the cold snap as well as the deadness of the ground. He comes ,up to the bar from an angle of about 35 degrees, doing a sort of Western roll, and approaching with the same loose movement that characterises Metcalfe’s jumping. In his 6ft 2in effort he got over , with his third attempt after just tipping the bar twice with his side after clearing the bar. He did not make so impressive an attempt on 6ft 4in, although on his third effort he narrowly missed his objective. In the long jump handicap, won by R. O. Johnson with an actual jump of 20ft 6in, Perasalo. registered the best performance of 22ft 4ih. He did not measure his distance for the run-up and did not get a great deal of speed. He showed good action in the air, employing a hitch kick similar to that of Metcalfe. M. R. Spillanc (the New Zealand champion) gave a display of hammer throwing, registering 146 ft 6in. Four cycling events wore included on the programme, and although the fields were not particularly large the racing was good and tho finishes thrilling. The ex-Christchurch rider, M. Hegerty, had .a very successful evening,. registering wins from scratch in the half mile add mile cycle handicaps, and also carrying off the mile lap race. He displayed a splendid finish and thoroughly deserved his wins. The three mile event was won by tho Palmerston rider, A. Forrest, after a very exciting finish. The manager of the British team (Captain Evan Ay Hunter) was an interested spectator on the ground and was afforded tho opportunity of meet- ■ ing many local officials and competitors. The officials were: Referee, Mr K. L. Mneassey (president of the Otago Centre); superintendent, Mr P. W. Breen; assistant superintendent, Mr J. W. Holley; handicappers, Messrs B. R. MTCernau (track) and W. J. Bennett and H. D. Morgan (field); starter, Mill J C. Mackenzie; timekeepers, Messrs T. P. Williamson, J. B. Nelson, W. E. Matthews; track judges, Messrs B. R. M'Kernan, J. Beatson, and R. Thompson; field judges, Messrs C. W. Clhrk, G. Tapley, H. D. Morgan, and W. J. Bennett; secretary, Mr T. M. Brydone; sports secretary, Mr K. Miller. The cycling events were "controlled by officials of the Dunedin Amateur Cycling Club. Results: — Abbreviations: Alex., _ Alexander; 4ng.. Anglican; C.S., Civil Service; Pac., Pacific; N. 0., North Otago; St. Pi’s., St. Paul’s; H. 8., Hanover Baptist; 0.U., Otago University; Cant., Canterbury; Gt. Brit, Great Britain; Cav., Caversham; St. K., St. Kilda; In., Invercargill. TRACK EVENTS. 100 YARDS OPEN HANDICAP. S. I/ongworth (C.S.) 7Jyds t T. Allen (Ang.) 7yds 2 H. A. Brown (St. EC.) Siyds 3 Also started; G. Hurt (Cant.) scr, J. S. Shepherd (Ang.) 4yds, J. A. M'Lachlan (C.S.) si, G. L. Austin (Cav.) 6, R. E. Johnstone (Alex.) 7. Although he was moving with the gun,

tile All Black Rugby player ami exNew Zealand champion, G. Hart, con d not get up at the finish, being obviously short of work. Longworth led all the way to win by a yard, a similar distance between second and third. 100 YARDS INVITATION HANDICAP. IT. D. Ramsay (Ang.) 3yds 1 B, Tapley (Ang.) scr - W. Atley (St. Pi’s.) scr 3 Also started; A. B. Thomson (C'.S.) 2yds and W. Smith (Cav.) 3yds. Ramsay moved quickly to the front and won by a yard from the fast-finishing Tapley who went away from Atley at the 60yds mark, to beat him easily by a vard and a-half for second place. Tune, lOsec. 440 YARDS INVITATION HANDICAP. G L. Rampling (Gt. Brit.) scr ... .1 H. J. Tyrie (C.S.) llyds 2 J. Gcrken (C.S.) 15yds 1 Also started: A. L. Price (Ang.) scr and D. S. M'Kn'ight (N. 0.) 15yds. Tins race was run in lanes, Rampling being on the inside of the Otago champion, Price. Rampling wont out with ; great burst- of speed, and travelling smoothly and with a long stride, he was almost with Price along the back straight, going ahead of the Otago champion at the furlong mark. M’Knight was in front at the bottom of tlm back straight, but was coming back to Rampling who had not altered his stride. Tyrie overhauled M'Knight and led into the straight, but he could not withstand the strong challenge of Rampling who won with something in in hand by syds from Tyrie, Gerken being a similar distance back third, With Price in fourth position 4yds further back. Time, 50 2-ssec. ONE MILE OPEN HANDICAP. L. C. M'Lachlan (C.S.) scr 1 W. A C. Pull nr (Ang.) scr 2 J. J. Morris (Cav.) 3 Also started; R. M. Crash c (Gt. Brit.) scr, A. M. Atton (H.M.S. Diomede) scr, A. R. Gcdtles (C.S.) 35yds, C. A. Broad (H. 8.) 70. J. S. Asher (C.S.) 105, and J. Whitfield (N. 0.) 105. ' , , This was an exciting race, ami early in proceedings it could be seen that tbo issue would lie among the backmarkersj

who were making a last clip and being well carried along by Atton. At the end of a lap Whitfield led by a yard from Asher, Broad being anotucr 10yds back, and then 30yds back came Geddcs and Morris within a few yards of each other. The scratch men were about 20yds back, with M'Lachlan at their bead and showing good form, followed by Pullar and Craske,.who employed a long stride, but ran with his arms fairly high. The gap was reduced in the next lap, Atton forcing the backmarkers along, and being syds ahead of Craske, witli M'Lachlan .and Pullar following closely. Broad had gone to the front . from Asher and Whitfield, Geddes and Morris also picking up on the leaders. The back men alternated in their positions in the. third lap, at the end of which'Asher hold a lead oi 15yds from Whitfield and Broad, with Craske 10yds further back and ahead of Atton, M'Lachlan, and Pullar. At the bell, M'Lachlan, who was going strongly, moved up and entering the hack straight lie went away from Craske and Atton. being followed by Pullar from the 220yds mark. M'Lachlan caught Asher round the bend, and finishing with a strong burst, won by Byds from Pullar, one of the fastest miles' yet run on the Caledonian Ground. Morris, who had been passed by Craske, came with a late rnn to take third place svds behind Pullar and iust ahead of Craske, who finished fourth. Time, 4mm 26 l-ssec. 220 YARDS .HURDLES HANDICAP. First heat; H. D. Ramsay (Ang.), 2vds, 1; W. Pettet (Ang.). scr, 2; H. W. Milner (N. 0.), 3. Only starters. Won by syds, 2yds between second and third. Time, 26 3-ssec. Second heat: R. O. Johnson (Ang.), lyd, 1; R. G. Mahony (0.8.H.5.), scr, 2. Only starters. Won by t.*?o yards. Time, 28sec. —Final. — Ramsay 1 Pettet 2 Johnson 3 Ramsay led all the way, and won by 2yds, a similar distance between second and third. Time, 20 2-ssec. 220 YARDS SHORT LIMIT HANDICAP. First heat; G. L. Rampling (Gt. Brit.), scr, 1; D. F. Wilson (N. 0.),

(Iyds, 2; E. Fish (Pac.), 2yds, 3. Also started: 1?. E B. Johnstone (Alex.). Rampling took the lead up the straight and-finished with another strong burst to win by 2yds from Wilson, Fish a similar distance back third. Time, 22 3-ssee. Second heat: J. S. Shepherd (Aug.), Syds, 1; W. Atlev (St. Pis.), scr, 2; A. E. Walker (Alex.), Syds, 3. Won bv syds, 7yds between second and third. Time, 23sec. —Final.— Wilson 1 . Shepherd ... ... 2 Atley ... 3 Rampling did not start in the final, which produced a close finish. Wilson caught Shepard up the straight ana won by ,i yard, Atley finishing well only a foot back third. Time, 23 l-ssec. SBO YARDS OPEN HANDICAP. T. Allen (Aug.), 2yds 1 J. V. Powell (Gt. Brit.), scr 2 '" G. L. Austin (Caw), 15yds 3 Also started: J. G. Barnes (C.R.) 18yds, A. E. Walker 25, P. Howden 30, and G. Davie 45. The first lap was run at a very fast pace, Powell, employing a very long stride, cutting down the advantage of the leaders considerably! At the bell Davie led by a couple ot yards from Allen, with Austin next, and then Barnes another syds back. About 300 yds 1 from home, Powell came from the rear of the field to well up with the middle bunch, Allen going to the front at the bottom of the back straight. Powell moved into second place and entered a strong challenge up the straight, but he could not catch Allen, who won by Syds from the Englishman, with Austin another syds back third. Time, Imin 57 2-ssec. ONE MILE MEDLEY RELAY HANDICAP. Civil Service (J. G. Barnes, J'. Gerken, ~). Anderson, and J. iW'Laehlan). scr 1 C'aversham (H. Whittukc, .1. Robertson, J. H. Ramsay, and W. Smith), 50yds ' 2 Anglican, 25yds 3 Only starters. Civil Service were penalised for 3yds for Barnes breaking. Won by syds, 15yds between second and third. Time, 3min 50 l-sscc

100 YARDS LADIES’ HANDICAP. Miss C. Batchelor, liyds 1 Miss S. Morion, 4]yds 2 Miss B. Dick, scr ... .'1 Also started: Misses H. Ferguson, 1. Fogarty, N. Rout, M. Dodds, B. Rout, and M. Fitzgerald. Miss Dodds was put off for breaking twice, and after a good deal of uncertainty at the start the field rose together, Miss Batchelor making a good finishing effort to win by inches, Miss Dick inches back third. Time, 12sec. 440 YARDS LADIES’ RELAY. Misses S. Morton, B. Dick, H. Ferguson, and .1. Fogarty 1 Misses C. Batchelor, N. Rout, B. Rout, and M. Dodds ...2 Only starters. Won by syds. Time, 57sec. FIELD EVENTS. ... throwing the* in sc us HANDICAP. A. Holt (Pac.), 44ft, 135 ft 6in ... I S. C. Wards (C.S.), 40ft. 135 ft 3in 2 M. R. Spillano (N. 0.), 33ft, 135 ft ... 3 M. Sippala (Finland) scr threw 124 ft, and V. Perasalo (Finland), who was in receipt of 16ft, also competed. The other competitors were: H. Parkhill (N. 0.) 35ft, J. Dalgleisli (N. 0.) 35, P. Souter (Ang.) 44, P. G. Ward (Ang.) 46, and R. 0. Johnson (Ang.) 47. BROAD JUMP HANDICAP. R. O. Johnson (Ang.), 3ft, 23ft Gin 1 P. G. Ward (Ang.), 3ft 3in, 23ft lin 2 V. Perasalo (Finland), scr, 22ft 4iu 3 Also competed: D. M. Stuart (Ang.l Ift Gin, J. H. Ramsay (Car.) 2ft, and Patterson (Cromwell) 3ft. JAVELIN THROWING HANDICAP. V. Newall (Ang.), 50ft, 212 ft Sin ... 1 R. Cresser (Car.), 60ft, 211 ft lOin 2 S. C. Wards (C.S.), 65ft, 204 ft Sin 3 M. Sippala (Finland) sjr registered 203 ft Din, the other competitors being P. G. Ward (Ang.) 55ft, V. Perasalo (Finland) 55ft, W. M. Burridge (Ang.) 75. L. Kerse (N. 0.) 80, H. Parkhill (N. 0.) 80, J. Dalgleisli (N. 0.) 80, R. O. Johnson (Ang.) 85, and G. Metcalfe (In.). HIGH JUMP HANDICAP. N. H. Kennedy (Pac.), llin. Gft 3in 1 G. Metcalfe (In.), Ift.Sin, 6ft 3in ... 2 S. Longworth (C.S.), Ift 4in, Gft 3in 3 V. Perasalo (Finland) cleared 6ft 2in, but failed at 6ft 4in. Tire three placed competitors tied at Gft Sin, and in a jump-off Kennedy proved the winner. The others who competed were: T. M‘Donald (Ang.) 9in. D. M. Stuart (Ang.) Ift lin, J. H. Ramsay (Cav.) lft / 2in, O Johnson (Ang.) Ift 4m. PUTTING THE SHOT HANDICAP. H. D. Morgan (Ang.) Bft, 42ft 9in 1 J. Dalgleisli (N. 0.) lltft, 41ft GAin 2 P. G. Ward (Ang.) 14ft, and H. Parkhill (N. 0.) 10ft, 41ft 4in, equal '1 M. Sippala (Finland) scr registered 41ft Sin, and was fifth equal with V. Perasalo (Finland) 2ft 3m, whose actual putt was 39ft. The other competitors. were: J. V. Anderson (US.) lift, L. Kerse (N. 0.) 12, R. O. Johnson (Ang.) 14. • CYCLING. HALF-MILE HANDICAP. M. Hegerty (scr) ... } A. Blackie (25yds) ... - A. Forrest (25yds) 3 Four starters. Won easily by six lengths, half a wheel between second and third. Time, Imin Usee. . ONE-MILE HANDICAP. M. Hegerty (scr) ... •; 1 R. Sivertsen - G, Sinclair (20yds) ••• J Five starters. Hegerty again timed his final sprint nicely, and coming with a great sprint up the straight won by half a wheel a similar distance between second and third. Time, 2mm 23sec. THREE-MILE HANDICAP. A. Forrest (130yds) £ R. Sivertsen (200yds) - G. Homer (200yds) * Nino starters. The field was well bunched at the bell, but in a thrilling finish Forrest crossed the line to win U a wived, a similar distance between second and third. Time. 7mm o3sec. ONE-MILE LAP RACE. M. Hegerty, 23 points } f . G. Homer, 15 points ~ G. Sinclair, 13 points Five competed. The first three men in pnoh lan were awarded o, o, ana i points respectively, and the rider crossing the line first at the finish 10. Hemarty came up fast at the end pi each lap, but Homer managed to win tlie Sprint home which enabled him to fill second place. VISITORS ENTERTAINED OTAGO CENTRE'S DINNER After the track and field 'meet last night tho visiting British and Finnish athletes wore entertained at a at the Grand Hotel by the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateui Athletic Association, the president of which (Mr E. L. Macassey) presided. The toast of “ The Visitors ’ was proposed by the chairman, who said that the Otago Centre was very proud to have the opportunity of wclcQnuug t ie British and Finnish athletes. About thirty years ago the English athlete, Shrubb, had come to New Zealand, but he did not visit Dunedin, while some years ago a Finnish field all. etc,, Emo Keskineii, made an unofficial a Dunedin and did coaching here, there was a link between the English team and the Otago Centro because it was feu Otago that the famous J. E. Lovelock had run his first New Zealand championship mile, and it was Captain Hunter who had managed the OxtoiilCambridge team when Lovelock put up his world record for the mile. I hey regarded the Finns as great athletes m field and distance events, and they had followed the doings of the great Nurmi for years, never imagining that one clay a boy from Dunedin would better his times. The English champions were here at a great disadvantage. “ I think it is disgraceful, declare! Mr Macassey, “ that the New’ Zealand Council should compel them to travel so fast and compete so often. Inej had proved themselves to be true sportsmen. Ho hoped that on future occasions tours would bo arranged so that visitors could spend at least a week m the main centres. Mr Macassey also extended a welcome'to Captain Hunter, tho manager of the team, who was secretary of the British Olympic Association and a great authority on international sport. He was sure the visit would help athletics, and he hoped they

would go away with happy recollections of what they had seen. (Ap Captain Hunter said that he was particularly pleased to be in Dunedin because two of his friends came from here. He referred to .lack Lovelock and Arthur 1 oxntt. New Zealand had never sent two finei suortsmeu or two finer gentlemen to England. (Applause). He congratulated the centre on the splendid sports meeting, and said that it suffered from the same trouble as they did at Hometoo many people in the arena who had ao right to be there. Spectators did not like it, and it reacted on the spoit. Captain Hunter, -id 1« M‘Lachlan s running. Ihe tiack was heavy and the air cold, and his mile was as good as 4.20 at Home, and a man who could do that was a great miler They had met M Lachlan in Melbourne, and all liked him very “clptain Hunter said the visitors would much rather stay a wcek n eat i town, because some good could be done for athletics then in the way of ooacliing. He then asked the preside"t (Mi Macassey) and the secretary (Mi I- M. Brvdone) each to accept one of the English Association’s badges in recognition of their efforts to make the meetin<r u success. _ ../i Messrs Macassey and Brydono ieturned thanks. „ K Other toasts honoured wcie rseu Zealand Council.” proposed by 1 • W Breen and replied to by Mi i.A' Bundle; 11 Otago Centre proposed b.v Mr L. G. Hill and replied to by Mi LC. Isaacs. ... . , Each of the visiting athletes, also Captain Hunter, was presented with greenstone mementoes.