ATHLETICS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 11011, 25 January 1926, Page 3

ATHLETICS

AMERICANS SUCCESSFUL AT AUCKLAND'. AUCKLAND, Jan. 24. The American athletes, Schulz and ■Hahn, were very successful in their first appearance in competition in Auckland. Scholz won the 100yds handicap from scratch in lOsccs., and the 220 yds. from scratch in 21 2-5 secs. Hahn won the one mile handicap from scratch in 4min 28sccs., and from scratch dead-heated with F. (J. Gilraour (Now Plymouth) (10yds) in the 440yds in 51 3-s.sec. These were the only races the Americans ran in. Gilmqur (20yds) won the 880yds’ handicap in 2min 2scc.—PA. T HUE si AY’ SEVEN INC MEETING (By “Stride.”) A great crowd and great racing made the evening meeting of the Gisborne Amateur Athletic and Harrier Club the most successful function of the kind yet held in Gisborne. The attendance was a record one, which shows that amateur. athletics is booming in this town. G'ompetition all round was high-class, but a strong wind affected the runners in the sprint events, consequently the times registered were slow. The high jumpers were materially assisted, as they competed with the wind at their backs. CYCLIST v. RUNNER. The much-discussed race between Douglas and Paltridgc resulted in an easy win for tlie runner, although the former was fast gaining ground at the finish. Neither got away with his usual smartness, hut it wns noticeable that Paltridge quickly got into his stride, whilst Douglas wobbled out. A great contest should result when they meet over 100yds, and the margin at the finish should be close. LADIES’ EVENTS. Fourteen athletic girls faced the starter in the 100yds ladies’ handicap. This is excellent for a class of sport which is only in its infancy. Practically all were attired in neat costumes and a great improvement was noticeable in their actual running. r iho fact that a number of the competitors started in the orthodox manner shows that they are being coached in tiie correct style.

The winner turned up in Miss "Wilson, who was making her initial appearance. She is an undoubted acquisition to the ranks of the ladies, being a very speedy runner. "With the necessary coaching, she should greatly improve. .Miss Eastwood, from scratch, failed to concede the winner 7ytis, but ran in great style into second place. Her time in the first heat worked out at better than 12 3-ssec\, which is great time against the stiff wind which was blowing directly down the track. The start obtained' by Miss Eastwood in , the final was excellent, whilst she finished strongly. A most consistent performer in Miss Linton occupied third position, in the events s:o far conducted, this young lady has always "been well placed and. should soon catch the judge’s eye. She appeared to run better in five heat than the final. This young lady has occupied third place in the three ladies’ events so far conducted. Taken all round, the ladies gave a splendid exhibition, which v.ns greatly appreciated by the large attendance. ; HIGH JUMPERS. An excellent exhibition of nigh jumping was given by the four entrants. Sccats was in great form and registered his best performance to date. It is apparent to the most casual observer that this jumper has been well coached and prepares for his leap in a. systematic manner." His display was greatly enjoyed and merited the' rounds of applause which he rtv ■ceived His final effort constitutes a Poverty Bay record, which should take some beating.. Mis jump of sft 7-Vin exceeded the standard set by the N.Z.A.A.A. by half-an-iucli. Jack Carron excelled himself and jumped in great style to dead-heat (handicap 2ins) with Scents for first place. He approaches tho bar in a crouched position, a method greatly favored by some cf the American cracks. Both Findlay and Christophers showed good form and, with practice, should do much better. The former jumped higher than his own height, which is.great leaping. THE CYCLISTS.

. It was quite a change to see new faces filling the placed positions in the cycle race over a mile. At the riders were well-strung out during the race, few thrills resulted nntil in the final lap when Jack Algie set off at a great pace. He passed competitor after competitor, but his effort had been left too late.

The winner turned up in young Simpson, who managed to stall off a challenge from Alex Woods to eventually win by a narrow margin. I his rider showed a big improvement and throughout pedalled strongly. His sprint at the finish was determined and well timed. , Second place went to Alex noons, who, I tipped in my previous notes, • would soon he “up.” This rider is steadily improving, but lacks that very necessary “kick” when nearing the lm Ciiff McCoy, in third place, looked a likely winner with a lap to go, but did hot have that extra reserve so necessary for the final dash. Ho rode well never-the-less. The Roverty Bay crack wheelman, “Digger” Douglas', mounted on a strange machine, seemed all at sea and could not make any impression oil the 1U 11 RELAY RACE. The 440yds relay race proved interesting and exciting, and, perhaps, the officials of the G.A.A. and H.C. will now consider this class of speit worth their attention. Corkery, in particular, ran well and appeared to hold Harry Martin over the 110 yds. More practice and coaching in the ex'change oi : the baton is needed.. 220YDS HANDICAP. Splendid racing was witnessed in the furlong event, the principal feature ol which was the running of Owen 1 aitridge, the Poverty Bay track champion over short distances. Each competitor ran in his own lane—-an innovation hitherto; untried, m Gisborne., To-win the event, Paltridge liad to hustle for the better part of the iourndy, but, at the finish of the final appeared to ease up, although, at the same time, keeping a wavy eye on the rest of the competitors. /Hie crack sprinter appeared to use Iruman as a pace-maker for the better part of the distance, whilst conserving Ins speed for a finishing effort. x altriug© appears to be in great fettlo ana should easily retain his titles of sprint champion of this district. “Oscar” Thorpe finished in second position behind Paltridge and simply tore over the last few yards. His sterling effort to reduce the gap between himself and the winner was worthy of great praise, as he headed oft' such a runner as Truman in the last few yards. Tho delay at the start off of the final appeared to effect Truman, who occupied third position. This runner appears to be the rival of the present sprint champion, ; and is a yards better sprinter than his performances at the beginning of the season indicated." He is very fast out of the “holes” whilst his style has * greatly improved. ’ '■ A sensational. finish was witnessed ! in the first heat, when Frank Debbie litcrallv threw .himself at the tape 5 to defeat Sutcliffe for second- place, j CONDUCT OF THE MEETING: - v Although the events were a great . success, the organisation of such a lengthy programme left much to bo

desired. For some unknown reason after each race a “post mortem” has to be held by those gathered near tlia winning post. If each official does not attend to his own particular duty on the 2f)thj goodness only knows'what will happen! i trust the amateur club has appointed a capable official to supervise the American meeting, and that no other club official will, entile day, interfere with the programme. Each official should do his own particular part'and nothing else.' For instance, a timekeeper has no power to question the judge’s decision, or a marksman should not think he is the starter. At Thursday’s meeting I noticed the marksman as I first thought, preparing to start in the birdies’ event! On closer:-observation he appeared to be acting ‘as a coach, but, eventually, it became clear that he was instructing the girls as to their position on the mark. The correct method would have been to inform so and so that she must not advance herself beyond her allotted start. Again I would suggest to the judges that a new piece of worsted should be put in position after each race. It takes too much time to tie knots and valuable time is sacrificed. In the runner v. cyclist race no tape was on the winning posts. Why P Both Douglas and Paltridge complained about this after the event. The crowd too, once again swarmed all over the track and it was noticeable at the linisli of the 220yds final, that several runners ended up side-stepping children, etc. Again, why did the officials consult the competitors in the high jump as to where they would like the standards placed ? Every jumper thought he would like them in a different place and, after wasting a lot of valuable time, one of the judges finally decided the matter by placing the apparatus himself. A strong official is needed to rectify these faults, as it is realised that the high standard set by the amateur club must be sustained. As athletic critic of this paper, I deem, it advisable to mention these matters for the benefit of the sport. I trust that, after the American meeting, no cause for complaint will be found.