Good And Bad Starting.

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7298, 27 October 1933, Page 10

Good And Bad Starting.

In I lie Middlesex amateur athletic championships, held at Enfield recently, the county record of 0.10 for the 100yds was equalled four times, and in no ease hy a runner of any but local reputation. Reports of the meeting attribute this to the starter, who is said to have been given to firing almost immediately after the command “Get set.” The result was that the runners anticipated what would happen, and several of them got “flyers”; in other words, though they had not actually put a foot over the starting line, they were moving when the gun was fired. Bad starling of this type is so common in the North (says a North of England paper), and is so generally expected by the runners, that it may account for the fact that one or two northern sprinters credited with fast times have disappointed themselves hy failing in the south. It is common also in Germany, Italy, and other countries, and in consequence English people are sometimes pleasantly surprised when such sprinters as A. Jonath and F. Hendrix, of Germany and E. Toclti, of Italy, come to England and are beaten hy Englishmen. The starters for the Amateur Athletic Association of England hold their men for two seconds after the command “Get set” before they fire; in these circumstances flying starts are impossible, and any man who does 0.10 dead is a real sprinter.

There were seven Scots and one English lad in the last eight places for the hoys’ golf championship of Great Britain, played at Carnoustie a few weeks ago. But the English lad, P. B. Lucas, of Sandy Lodge, Hertfordshire, won by four up and three to play in the 36-hole final. It was the last of live bids that Lucas was making for this title; evidently lie will be 100 old for it next year. No English lad had won it since 1327, and only thrice in the 13 years in which this championship has been in existence has an English boy won it. -x * * Bob Sandler, a one-armed lad, in America, has shown the value of perseverance. He was a right-hander, but lost his right arm in a car accident, when nine years of age, and learned to use his left. He has this year won a district hoys’ tennis title, qualified in a junior golf tournament with an 83, holds the junior ping-pong championship of his district, swims well, is a good bascballer, and also was runnerup in the city marble tournament. * * # James Langridgc, the noted yo*-:g Sussex and England left-handed cricketer, who was very popular i.n New Zealand when he was assistant-coach to the Auckland Cricket Association, some years ago, was married at the beginning of September.