ATHLETICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11200, 21 October 1899, Page 7

ATHLETICS.

I tlie New Zealand athletic team for the | Australasian championships at Brisbane leaves I on ISaturday next. I' Meeting a brother of D, Wilson's in town g> ast Saturday afternoon, I was pleased to. | learn that the Australasian champion is in | 'raining, and will bo a competitor at the. & November carnival of the Auckland Amateur I- Athletic and Cycle Club. As P. H. Creamer § 13 anxious to measure strides with the holder | • of the coveted title, and to attempt to lower | ; the three-mile record before finally retiring I from the path, the mooting between the -two j| should be one of the " tit-bits" on the sports menu for November 25. . - » §' . , A telegram received on Saturday last from I [ho New Zealand Amateur Athletic Assoc;!- ?; "on announced the selection of H. Goodwin, g . of Wellington, as the New Zealand walking A V representative for the Australasian championfr > B "'Pi but hardly had the ink dried on the H announcement than a wire reached me from Hf, a ,friend in Wellington stating that "Good1} li. - ttin having been chosen witbent a trial had rightly refused to go." Then | followed a ft i:. further communication from Chrntchurch to 1 SV, the effect that as Goodwin was "unable ; to ft ' i 0| McAffer, of Auckland, had beeiv selected if lor the WflUf*.! [The fifatomonja a.*** enroa-

\ but ° n reading between the i fine'thS l re r\i 8 L th ?V Good,rin declined- ' by tha flficnn' cast u P on him f to So a trial °»? m not ,!PS ' ted him . not fp ßl t„ r £ ? earlier date, and then, AucUandpr 6at ' S - fied Wltl ! tho trial of the ,m 3 tu ™ Dg round and choosing him isrnZT; ° the , team - the deduction badly men have been _ii uj • by the association, as on t.he far'tnl 14 U,d have ken Palpably un- ' of A ff»r 6 'l e ! Goodwin over the head ! ,5f- Y lthout a trial - as il is an open i question, as to which is the better man of , the two at the present time. ! t™Lm A Te ? k !? ° tes 1 stated that it was : probable that R. Brownlee, long and highI jump ohampion of New Zealand, would he I i a.i- ?°mpany the athletic team to ■ | Australia, and now regret to learn that he i. s definitely notified the association that ha 1 I will not ho able to make the trip. While it i, is doubtful as to whether his presence at : Brisbane would have affected the ohampion- ■ ship points-only firsts count, and he would ' | be opposed by English and Roseingrave, both .I oi whom possess higher credentialsit is a ■ | great pity that this sterling athlete cannot i; journey to Queensland to try conclusions with ' the big guns" across the water. i! S. Pentecost not having put in an appear'l ™' c ? t a i ™e recent cross-country meeting at Chnstchurch, the association have no recent 1 ,„ e ? 1 to I ) is . form, and it has not yet been definitely decided as to whether he will 1 c sent to Australia with the New Zealand team, rj excellent performance by Malthin in the 1 three-mile .cross-country event at the fixture i , referred to has decided the Selection ComI mi r tee definitely on including him. A cablo announces that New Zealand will ~ send James Te Paa, the Maori boy, for the high and pole jumps at the "Australasian meetI mg in Brisbane next month; G. Smith for the i i sprints and hurdles, R. Brownlee for the high . I jump and W. H. Madill for shot, hammer, i ; and long jump (says " Harrier" in the AusI tralasian). I presume the best distance man : t«. Pentecost, -perhaps) and D. Wilson for ' the walks will also be sent (Wilson, of course, cannot go, and MoAffer takes his place), and, i if so, New Zealand should bulk largely in the i results. The Victorians will be selected after next Saturday. I trust A. 0. Barrett will be induced to go for the walks, and that D. Bevan will be sufficiently recovered to join i the team. The New Zealand League of Wheelmen talk of forming a new body tr control cash and amateur ahtletics in New Zealand, such i body to work in conjunction with the league. As professional running is already governed by the Caledonian Societies' Association, and amateurs joining any body suoh as that yggosted would find themselves isolatedthe New Zealand Amatour Athletio Association being recognised throughout the Australasian colonies as the sole governing body of amatpur athletics in this colonyit is hardly likely that tho league would meet with any great measure of success in the direction indicated. _ The New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has resolved to grant a standard badgo to E. Martin for a hammer throw of 111 ft 6in, with a non-flexible handle, at the 1899 championship meeting at Dunedin. In a letter to his brother (Air. Frank Coombes), " Prodigal," the well-known athletio authority, states that Laidlaw, the New South Wales hurdler, will not be a competitor at, tho Australasian championships, lie not being able to spare the necessary time to attend the Brisbane meeting. His loss will prove a severe blow to the strength of the New South Wales contingent, as it is hardly likely that Roseingravo will be Been out in the hurdle events (he still suffers from leg troubles), and the colony will have to depend upon Lindsay, the promising young Great Public Schools' colt, who, good though ho certainly is, doos not strike me as quite I in the same class as George Smith. More-1 over, we on this side have long been looking forward to a meeting between the Wilcannio athlete and the Aucklandcr. At the field day of the National Irish Athletic Association at Oak Island, Mass., on September 4, J. Mahoney broke the professional record for the one-handed 561b weight' throw, landing it 30ft 7in. I With the exception of Mai thus, and pro- I bably Pentecost, the New Zealand athletic i team for Australia will bo confined to mem- ; bers of the Auckland club, and I doubt not I but that this doughty littlo band—Smith, j Madill, To Paa, and McAffer—will render a good account of themselves. As the New | South Wales, Victorim, and Queensland ] teams have not yet been finally selected, I I i shall defer my forecast until full details as I to the constitution of the teams ol the lister j I colonies come to hand, but meanwhile might : : say on present appearances that the New Zea- i landers should make a bold bid for champion- j ship honours. In the absence of Laidlaw, and leaving Eoseingrave out of the question, owing to his boing a doubtful starter, George Smith should account for both hurdle races, Madill the hammer throwing, and Te Paa the pole vault. While other events cannot ; bo spoken of with any degreo of confidence, | it would not come as a surprise, to mo on the day to hear that the Maorilanders had won one or two other championships. An effort is to bo made by the Victorian As-! sociation to induce A. 0. Barratt j to represent that colony in the walks, and i if the Victorian walker, who somo timo since retired from the track, can return to anything like his form of 1897, when he walked second in the mile to D. Wilson, beaten only by a yard in 6m. then he should beat the selected of New Zealand; but should lie fail to put in an appearancc, or show any marked deterioration, McAffer should prove a hard nut to crack, as his time, in form, will be very handy to seven minutes. Then, again, the distance men on tho other side will find Pentecost and Malthus a pair well worthy of their steel— fact, a comparison of performances goes to show that the latter in particular must have a big lay in the three-mile championship, an event in which Madill will also probably beat more than beat him. The Victorian A.A.A. track championships were held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, October 7, the trick being i i good order and tho weather fine As he results will he read with interest, in view of Die forthcoming Australasian championship meeting, I append brief details:— Championship: W. Shea (Carlton), 1. Won easily. Time, 10 2-ss. 220 yds Championship: W. Shea (Carlton), 1. Won easily. Time, 21 2-ss. 140 yds Championship: E. Mitchell (East Melbourne), 1. Won by half a-yard. Time, 55 l-ss. Half-mile Championship: A. H. Willis (Essendon), 1. Won by 6in. Time, 2m. 6 3-ss. One Mile Olinmpionsiilo: S Dtni can (Footscray), 1. Time, 4m. 40 l-ss. ThreeMilcs Championship: F. W. Durham (Essendon), 1. Won easily. . Time, 15m. 365. 120 yds Hurdles Championship: C. H. Gardner (Melburnians). 1. Won by a yard. Time, 17s. 440 yds Hurdles Championship: L. M. Mocpherson (Molburnians), 1. Won easily. Time, lm. 6 2-ss. Running Broad Jump Championship: H. A. Hay (East Melbourne), 20ft 4£in, 1. Running High Jump Championship: J. W. Doyle (Melbourne), sft 4in. ; Pole Vault Championship: A. M. Greenfield I (Ballarat), 10ft lin, 1. One Mile Wallvii.g 1 Championship: R. Purbrick (Melburnians), I 1. Won by 10yds. Time, 7m. 18 3-ss. Three- ] Miles Walking Championship: J. Sovior ; (Malvern), 1. No timo taken. Putting the ] Weight Championship: A. M. Greenfield | (Ballarat), 37ft 2iin. Throwing the Hammer - Championship: J. P. Maher (Ballarat), 96ft j Bin. Shea is the reinstated professional I spri.i'er to whom tho Victorians look to lower I the colours of Stanley Rowley. The New Zealand correspondent of the I Sydney Referee sums up the prospects of the ' various colonies at the Australasian championships as under:-Smith will probably bo downed by Stanley Rowley in the 100 yds and 220 yds flat, but should account for both hurdle races. James Te Paa will probably repeat Hori Eruera's performances at Sydney. Madill should win the hammer-throwing, though George Hawlces may beat him with the shot. The distance events may go to Victoria if Cumming puts in an appearance. C. Campbell should, if ho runs, again account for the 440 yds and 880 yds Hat races. The long jump may go to New South Wales. The result of the tests 1 predict as follows:— Zealand, 6; New South Wales, 4; Queens- ! land 3; Viotoria, 2. [McAffer takes the place of Goodwin in the New Zealand team.]