TRACK AND FIELD

Evening Star, Issue 22191, 20 November 1935, Page 5

TRACK AND FIELD

[By Pistol.]

FIXTURES. November 20, 27, December 4 11, and 18.—Otago Centre (N.Z.A.A.A.) . evening sports meetings, Caledonian Otago Centre (IN .Z. A. A. A.) scratch sports meetings, Caledonian Ground. February B.—Otago track and held championships, at Caledonian Ground. February 28 and 29.—New Zealand track and field championships, at Carisbrook. INTERCLUB RELAY CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING AT INVERCARGILL The first interclub relay championship for the George M'Burney memorial trophy, for which all clubs an Otago and Southland are eligible to compete, will be held at Invercargill on Saturday, December 14. To bold the trophy a club must compete in all events, ana a nominal entry fee of 2s 6d for each club is payable. It has been decided to hold one handicap event during the afternoon for competitors not catered for in the relay pa-ogramme, the event being the 880yds ■ The programme is: 440yds (4 x 110yds), 880yds (4 x 220yds), one mile (4 x 440yds), two miles (4 x 880yds), one-mile medley (440. 220, 220, 880 yards), B grade event, one-mile teams race (teams of four), 360yds hurdles (3 x 120yds, shuttle relay), 660yds (3 x 220yds), shot putt (aggregate, of three competitors), javelin throw (aggregate of three competitors), broad jump (aggregate of three competitors), high jump (aggregate of three competitors). There is no individual entry fee, but competitors pay 6d for admission at the gate. STEERE IN FORM R. Steere (the well-known former All Black Rugby player) recently went well in the shot putt, and considering that he has not touched the shot since last season his distance of 37ft 9in was excellent, and augurs well for distances exceeding 40ft soon, as Dick has once more gone into solid training. Steere was unlucky in the New Zealand championships, his last put exceeding by a foot Munro’s best effort but was disallowed on account of touching the top of the stop-board with his foot at the finish ‘ of the reverse. CHAMPION HAMMER THROWER'S VISIT M. E. Rosenblum, New South Wales champion hammer thrower and Australian record-bolder, will be in New Zealand from December 17 to December 30, and: is anxious to compete at meetings in Southland and Otago (says ‘ Sporting Life’). The opportunity of seeing Rosenblum in action against M. R. Spillane and J. G. Leckie should appeal to southerners. Rosenblum’s winning effort at the New South Wales championships was 145 ft 7in. Rosenblum toured New Zealand as a forward in the New South Wales Rugby team of 1928. As the Otago Centre will be holding an evening meeting on December 18 this should afford an opportunity of Rosenblum appearing here if he is able to be in Dunedin by that date. In any case, it should be possible to arrange an evening meeting at which he could appear. GIANTS OF THE TRACK A veteran in athletics who was contemporaneous with the great W. G. George and W. Lang has written to the London ‘ Daily Mail ’ suggesting that the only way to prove whether or not modern runners are equal to those of the past is to get them to race ■under old-time conditions. “George and Lang did not have the benefit of the splendid tracks of to-day,” he •wrote, “ yet Lang ran a mile over Newmarket Heath in 4min 2sec, which beats all the times by Jack Lovelock, S C. Wooderson, and Glen Cunningham, the American. Lang’s time is absolutely authentic, but it did not get into the record book because the course was slightly downhill. However, if Lovelock, Wooderson, and a few others could be induced to run a mile over the identical course on Newmarket Heath we could see just how they compare with the giants of the past.” STAR PROFESSIONAL MILER If the average athletic enthusiast were asked who he considered to be the . best mile runner in New Zealand ho would probably answer by naming Lachie M'Lachlan or Edgar Fornc, but a ‘ Sporting Life ’ writer is of the opinion that Wally Preston is entitled to that honour. Preston started his running career in New Zealand in 1926, and won, a professional title in 1927. Later ho went to Australia, where his • sensational running attracted much attention, his win and a second at Stnwell being two brilliant performances. At Collingwood on March 2, 1932, Preston won the one mile off 10yds in 4mm 17|sec, and three days later won the one mile off 10yds in 4ram 18sec at Warrnambool. Preston is now living in Southland, where he won the Otautau mile on Labour Day in 4min 38sec. Preston formerly ran as “ Wally Kimher,” but his best performances have been in the name of Preston. When the Wellington Cash Club stages a meeting it is hoped to have him as one of the star attractions.

Athletic News and Notes

NEW PRESIDENT TAKES COMMAND Mr Guy Tapley, the new president of the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, has taken charge of the affairs of the centre since returning from his visit to the United States, and, as he has a good idea of the centre’s activities and a wide knowledge of the sport, a very successful season should be experienced locally. Mr Tapley told the writer last week

that it was hoped to put in hand immediately the preliminary arrangements for the New Zealand championships to be held at Carisbrook on February 28 and 29, and he is looking forward to the meeting being one of the most successful yet held here. Given decent weather—which _ was not met with on tho last occasion the championships were held here —the championship meeting offers the centre a good opportunity of placing its finances once more upon a satisfactory basis. NOTES Napier will have a galaxy of athletic stars in action at Christmas time for, besides E. W. Winter, the New South Wales polo vault champion, and Lachie M‘Lachlan, of Dunedin, C. H. Matthews, and J. D. Nelligan, of Christchurch, will also be there, while Hawke’s Bay’s own champion, Edgar Forne, who was recently transferred to Wellington, will be journeyung up just for the meeting (says an exchange). Mr W. M‘lndoe, chairman of the Southland Amateur Athletic Association advises that the secondary schools’ championship meeting at Invercargill on November 2 will show a profit of just over £lO. “ Chum ” Mayne, the Invercargill athlete who won the Southland halfmile championship last season and was later third in the Otago mile chainpionship, started the season in Welfington by strolling homo in a halfmile recently to score an easy win, and on the same day he finished fourth in the mile. Although obviously not yet in form, he appeared to have plenty in reserve. S. Nolan, in the shot putt, showed tho improvement of intensive training by putting the shot 40ft, a very creditable performance. Munro’s crown would certainly fall if Nolan would specialise on this event, for no athlete can excel at three events and by putting all his time to the shot putt. Nolan is capable of beating 43ft this year (says a Wanganui writer). The Harrier Committee of the Wellington Centre of the N.Z.A.A.A. has been granted permission to conduct a harrier marathon race on the same day as the Wellington championships. It was stated that the event was being run with the object of having it ultimately recognised as a. New Zealand championship contest (says an exchange). . The following championship dates were agreed to at the. I’ecent annual meeting of the Wellington Centro of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association in Wellington;—Provincial championships, February 15; Canter-bury-Wellington meeting, March 15; New Zealand championships at Dunedin, February 28 and 29; New Zealand universities’ athletic tourney at Wellington, Easter Monday. J. P. Metcalfe, unchallenged “ star of Australian athletics, is working up to his best performances in the hope, step, and jump (says the Sydney ‘ Referee ). He stretched the tape to 46ft 10m on Saturday without'much pressing. John P., who has won the New South Wales title three times in a row with distances of 46ft Him, 50ft 2in, and 50tt 3Jm (Australian record), is being watched by athletic enthusiasts the world over. And why not, since the best efforts in the whole world this year have been 50ft 6 5-Bin (Oshima, of Japan), 50ft 4 7-Bin (Romero, of the United States of America). Jack looks to be a certain high place-getter in this event if he eventually turns up at the 1936 Olympic Games.