WOMEN ATHLETES

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 April 1933, Page 9

WOMEN ATHLETES

SUCCESS IN AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY, March 16. In recent years the progress of women. in the athletic field has been remarkable. Not long ago a sprint race for girls was one of the. novelties at a Sydney athletic meeting, but now girls compete in practically every kind of event, and each year their prowess grows. Nowadays they run and jump, and hurl the javelin and throw the discus and do all manner of things almost as well as men. At first the girls were content to form branches of existing clubs, and were ruled by men. The fact that they had so little to say in those events that concerned them most led to trouble, and it was not long before they formed their own association, and ran their meetings their own way. The men restricted them greatly and disgusted them by ruling that certain events were unsuitable for the ‘‘fair” sex. The* women conducted their own meeting in Sydney on. Saturday, and what a success it was! Women athletes are no longer regarded as a curiosity, and it. was remarkable that I here was such a crowd to see the events. The women did their part well, for it was a day of records. In all seven new records were established. and even the officials expressed amazement . Miss C. Hannan threw the discus. 107 ft. 10in., which was 19ft. 2Jin. better than the Australian record. The place-getters —Miss F. Waller and Miss V. Hannan—also eclipsed the former record. Miss A. Smith, of Botany, hurled the javelin lOS feet, the State record being 97ft. lOin. The •second and third competitors—Miss C. Kennedy and Miss Hannan, each beat the previous record. Miss E. Robinson was another to beat the Australian record for women. In the 100 yards race her time was 11 l-10sec. Miss Kennedy won the 90 yards hurdlt race in the record time of 12Asec. The Botany relay team also created a record by running 300 yards in 35 l-ssec. Although the performances were meritorious, except in the 100 yards event, they do not approach ■world records. The officials, say, however, that it, is only a. matter of time before the women athletics of Australia, will be equal to those of other lands in every department of field sport. They say hat there has been a sudden improvement. in the standard in Australia, and they are at a loss to explain the reason, except, to say that the girls are taking to sport more seriously than ever before. There had not been any apparent. cha-nge iu training methods, but. the girls had certainly become keener incu they had formed their own association and had adopted the principle of self-government. A Sydney doctor said: “It is not. surprising. Australian girls are becoming accustomed to the open air life. They surf and they swim, and they are no longer afraid to do the things that would have filled their mothers with dread. They have discovered that athletics are not too difficult for them. I’he.v can suffer no harm if they prepare themselves properly. It is all to their own good.”