AUSTRALIANS FIND NEW ZEALAND TOUR TOO STRENUOUS

Grey River Argus, 25 February 1949, Page 6

AUSTRALIANS FIND NEW ZEALAND TOUR TOO STRENUOUS

P.A. PALMERSTON NORTH, Feb. 23 Four weary Australian athletes, and their manager, passed through Palmerston North yesterday actually dreading the athletics meetings to come.- They were Morris Curotta, David White, Geoffrey Goodacre, and George Avery, with their manager, Mr C. Graham. The party was on its wav to Napier, where the Australians will compete to-morrow. They were obviously very tired, and, although not complaining, they said so in no diffident manner. The itinerary arranged for them was far too energetic, said Mr Graham. At no stage of the tour, so far, had they been able to do any training, because the meetings came too close together. They found it almost impossible to put their best foot forward in competition, after sitting in a bus all day, and going straight on to a track. The type of athlete they had to come up against in New Zealand, the best the Dominion had, made it essential that time be allowed for training if the full worth of the tour was to be gained. After competing at Napier, . they had to proceed to Christchurcfi for another meeting, which would. take place as soon as they arrived. NAPIER, February 24. Shirley Strickland (Australia) bettered the New Zealand women’s 80 metres hurdles record by two-fifths of a second at a special athletic meeting at McLean Park last night. She beat Colleen Newfick (Hastings) by two yards to win in 11.6 seconds, but the breeze was just too strong for the time to be recognised as a new record. Miss Strickland won the 100 yards flat, in 11.1 secs., one-tenth of a second outside the national record, and the 220 yards in 25.8 secs., one-fifth of a second outside the record