SPORT OF CYCLING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22247, 23 October 1935, Page 22

SPORT OF CYCLING

PROFESSIONAL CONTEST RECORD TIME REGISTERED H. WATSON'S SUCCESSIVE WINS Since its introduction in 1926, tho annual Hamilton to Auckland road race has been the principal professional cycling event in tho .province. Last Saturday's race was the fastest yet, to which the general improvements to the route during the past year contributed chiefly. A westerly wind was against the riders for nioro than twothirds of the 80 miles. Professional cycling is not very strong ia tho Auckland Province, where the amateur sport has a strong hold, but, notwithstanding this fact, a field of 52 started in the race. Tho Dominion's leading professional rider, H. G. Watson, returned the fastest time and broke the old record held by A. N. Ralston, of Otago, by 8m 48s. Watson averaged almost 23 miles per hour to clock 3h 25m 31s. Like all the leading road riders, ho used a three-speed chain gear and again found it of great assistance. Ho used gear ratios of 67 inches, 81 and 92 inchos. Watson competed in tho 1931 race, when ho used a three-speed hub gear and was fastest in 3m 50m 30s. His latest performances over tho last three successive Saturdays stamp him as a real champion. He was fastest in tho southern classic, tho WaimatoChristchurch event, in the record time of 6h 13m 20s for the 145 miles. Tho following week ho created a sensation by covering the Paimerston North to Wellington course of 101 miles in tho record time of 4h 6m lis. Next Saturday he intends to compete in the Taranaki the "Round the Mountain" race, and few will be surprised if he again returns fastest time. His team mate, L. Thomas, of Christchurch, also performed well last Saturday, and was only beaten in the final sprint by Watson after helping to force the pace. This pair finished 9m 16s after tho winner and over the last 18 uiiles caught up five minutes on him. C. Rae, who won tho race off 31m by 20 seconds, is of small stature and 21 years of age. Ho pedalled a fairly low gear of 75 inches and used a freewheel clutch. He trained for several months prior to the race on extremely low gears ranging around the 65-inch mark. Rae used the identical Australian machine which Mr. Wordsworth, his trainer, rode in the 1923 and 1925 Warrnambool events of 165 miles. Rae has been racing for four seasons, but had never previously been prominent over a distance. PAPATOETOE EVENTS TRACK SEASON COMMENCED The Papatoetoe Club commenced its track season 'last week, when wins were recorded by W. Bayly, the promising junior member, and J. Middleton, who is only 15 years of age. The lightinc arrangements were not completed in time for the opening evening meeting, but future meetings will be conducted under the floodlighting system which promises to make the Papatoetoe banked track of six laps to the mile the most popular in the provinco. Sports meetings will bo held at ihe Auckland Domain, Takapuna and Ngaruawahia on Labour Day. The re-cently-formed Horotiu Club will conduct its initial track carnival at Ngaruawahia. T. Bassett. off lm 15s, rode splen- j didly to win the Takapuna Club's concluding road race of 18J miles in 51m 565. Bassett has been consistently successful this season. His time was only 22 seconds slower than that returned by the fastest rider. V. S. Blomfield. OVERSEAS SPORT OUTSTANDING ATHLETES REMARKABLE BROAD JUMPER In the Oxford and Cambridge v. Harvard and Yale Universities contest in England recently A. G. K. Brown, of Cambridge, won the 440 yds easily in 48.65. Brown's best time for the 440 yds: for this last season was 48.15, the best performance recorded by any European runner during the 1935 season. Keith Brown, of Yale, cleared 14ft. in the polo vault —a British record for that event. Brown has cleared 6ft. Gin in the high jump and holds the world's record of 14ft. 5 l-Bin. for the pole vault. Walter Marty, of the United States, holds the world's high jump record with 6ft. 9 l-Bin. One of the best high jumpers in the United States at present is Cornelius Johnson, a negro, a pure western roll jumper, who in 1934 at tho national United States championships cleared 6ft. BJin. In practice Johnson has an authenticated jump of 6ft. lOiin. He uses only a 10yds approach run at an angle of 50 degrees, but he has two check marks about which he is most careful. One is three yards from tho bar and the other five yards from the first. In the publication Amateur Athletics for September, the official organ of the English Amateur Athletic Association, there appears a paragraph showing the long jump world's records made since 1883. In that year J. W. Parsons jumped 23ft. 0 J t in., the first man to beat 23ft. In 1891, C. S. Reber, and in 1893, the great all round athlete, C. B. Fry, cleared 23ft. 6sin. The paragraph does not include Mat Roseingrave's world's record jump of 23ft. 7iin. in New South Wales, beating Fry's record by an inch. W. J. M. Newburn, in 1899, with 24ft. OJin., was the first man to better 24ft., while P. O'Connor's jump of 24ft. 11 Jin. made in 1901, was not beaten until, in 1921, E. 0. Goudin, of the United States, did 25ft. lOJin. The first man to clear 26ft. was S. Cator, 26ft. 0 l-Bin. in 1928. C. Namhu, the Japanese, did 26ft. 2 l-Bin. in 1931, while this year the United States negro sprinter, j. Owens, jumped the truly astounding distance of 26ft. Biin. ENGLISH ATHLETES TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA A party of Oxford and Cambridge University athletes, together with the British Empire sprint champion, A. McSweeney, toured South Africa _in September. At their first meeting against Eastern Provinces at Capetown Sweeney won the 100 yds in 10 l-10s and the 220 yds in 21 8-10s. A. G. Pilbrow won tho 120 yds hurdles in 15 l-ss, and the 220 yds hurdles event. R. G. Howland won the 161b. shot with 47ft. 2in., and F. R. Webster annexed the polo jump with lift. 2in. Against the combined universities of Capetown and Steilenbosch, Howland won the 161b. shot with 47ft. lljin., F. R. W'ebstcr tho pole jump with- lift. lsin., A. G. K. Brown the 880 yds. in lm 56 3-ss, and W. T. Squires the mile in 4m 33 2-ss. The South African winners included .). H. Schoeman, who was successful in the 100 yds in 9 8-10s, and the 220 yds iii 22 1-lOs, beating Sweeney by a yard in the 100 yds. and by inches in the 220 yds. S. Kiel beat A. G. Pilbrow in the 120 yds. hurdles by a foiyt in 15s, but Pilbrow won the 220 yds. hurdles in 23 7-10s.