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PEDESTRIANISM

( AMATEUR.)

(By Centre*) The New Zealand Amateur Championships^ were remarkable for three things— the success of the Wellington team, the narrow track and the. indifferent arrangement of the championship events. There was no proper sprinting track and m consequence the sprints were run down the straight, which was not more than twenty feet wide. It took several heats, semi-finals and a final to get at the winner, of the hundred, and the same performance had to be gone through' before the 120 yds hurdles was decided. The biggest bungle of the meeting was the splitting up of the quarter into heats, thus, making the men run two ■quarter-miles m the space of an hour. It did not affeot the winner and runner-up very much, but the two colts, Goodbehere and Wilton, were too much pumped out by their ■exertions m .the heats to start m the final. To expect any man to run three severe hundreds and two quarters m one afternoon is rather 1 more than a joke. . , : Henderson won the 100 yds very 1 easily, being, m a&nger at no time of the race. Goodbehere ran very, well m getting second, even though he didn't trouble Henderson much. The! third man, ' Bass, of Otigo, has improved 5 greaibly within ;the last, yeat And was only beaten a yard for secOnd place. The furlong championship was. rather a hml over, Fisher winning the final easily from Henderson, who won his heat m a canter. The race was started on a very ugly bend and the outside man had Buckley's chance of winning if he couldn't get throukh without going all the way round. Goodbehere drew the , position m his heat and never had a chance and m the final. Henderson was tinlucky enough to be. there. Henderson, by bustling himself at the start, was m front m the straight, but the effort was too .much and Fisher had the finish to himself. The quarter, through being run m heats . was unsatisfactory. : Wilton won the first heat and Goodbehere the second, but neither started m the final.' Fisher should undoubtedly have won the final. It was not greater pace nor stamina on Webster's part ■that beat him, but superior tactics and generalship. At one period of the race' Fisher must have had & leaded abouVfifteen yards. Even-when Webster caught him he was far from be-: ing exhausted, but Pat simply "kidded" him out of the rape. •■..:■- Burk won the half with something, to spare, but Bradbury ran well, enough to suggest that he would have made a. race of it if well. He was m! bed all day on Friday and was fair fromhiriiself on Saturday. Gosling did well and showpd a' true spotting spirit m sacrificing his own chances of winning m favor- of the first strings. ; Burk is a marvel at his best dis-r tance— the mile. Wellington prided herself on Possessing three good nailers m Bradbury, Prendeville, , and Gosling ; but good and all as they are they looked mere second rater's when Burk put m his finishing spurt. Cook's victory m the hurdles was very popular amongst the Wellington men. He is fairly fast between the jumps and an expend fencer, but has one faujt— a tendency; to strike ths fences. *?He>stf uW onFi!iur i afe ' m th# final wittt a crash that would have disheartened a runner with less determination. Halligan fehced ; fast and cleanly m his heat -and semifinal;' but was pumped m the final. The standard of 'merit attained m the field events Was unusually high. Thoniassen and McKay performed very creditably m the weight put-> ting. The winning put— 36" feest 10 inches— does not at the fittrst blush seem very "classy V but it must be remeriibered.that the referee was very severe, on the ' competitors. Any "put" with the slightest suspicion of a throw m it was promptly dis-> qualified. ' ; '■ : Auckland has unearthed a .fine pair of 1 hammer-throwers m - Waljlace and O'Grady, who hurled the implement distances of 127 feet and ; 123 teei Respectively. Wallace' iri' particular is & .very fine thrower.- and :i Tinder- - the ;tuitiqri. .of ; Atth'tif Skinner^ sliouW.in a 'yea!r >: of two, : ' ; prove s ••■equal- to. sni.a'sK(rig y> 'BUly ;:; Meadiirs ; . record ' of Xs'6 :^t,J Which' 1 1 has n<>W >to6d fox Igeyeri '' "■■'■""'■ .c~*\:.: •■:•;■;■ , fumpirig , m the bfqaid jump was better ''than the distances 'would ••seem r to suegest. McKay's' ankle; which was injured a<? the ; Port Nichplson aiid Civil Service gather'iffff- a* r week or two back, pained him considerably and was a great handi-. cap td hiffi The? men received no as- { bisfarioe :from the tracki which was "tery dead. ;?>Billy Pollock surprised! 'eVerybrie, including himself; by get•'tinfc ; siefcbrid.' His performance was very ci?sdita.ble;. v ■ : The high jump was responsible . for two sterling performances. Orbell's sft- B|in ; Wag; 4 effbfti ",;- and ThbnSissen's jump just one inch 'less surprised even the most sanguine of 1 the Wellington ' "-team ? s : supporters .• C66k again' kept ut) his reputation 'as a feons-istent pert o-rmer by -'tying f6r "'thi't'd place.. ' 'V^v-i :".,..- .-,,;.>■■ i ■.•'■■;:■■ ''■ The pole vault was 1 a 'very;'uniritißfesting event- It was a .case of Kay. first, the rest anywhere and nowhere. If ' McKay had not been kept waiting about §q long m the cold it is m-^- firm belief that a- New Zealand record of considerably more than eleven feet would have been hoisted. ' What a sterling runner Prendeville is over his favorite distance— three miles— was shown by his superb performance m that event. Though obviously far from his best he had not the slightest difficulty m retaining his title to -tbe three miles cham-

pionship. He simply ~piayW~ with* Murray and left him ias though standing still m the last 226 yards. The incident of the meeting was the "callinp- off" of Kerr-in the three; mile walk on the first .day, and his subsequent disqualification at the finish of the mile event on the Saturday following. The Wellington -team was even more cut up at the judges' decision than Kerr himself, and that is saying a lot. He made a plucky effort to -conform to the orthodox style m the lesser event, and the opinion expressed by several capable judges of heel and toe outside the enclosure was that his exhibition was as fair as it was possible to be. The details surrounding Kerr's disqualification are already public property, and m the circs, it is unnecessary for me to go further into the matter. Interviewed after Kerr's disqualification m the longer distance, Mr Dick Cdombes, President ol the Amateur Athletic Union of Australasia, and the official judge of the walking events, said the Union has laid down certain * rules m regard to walking, and Kerr did not comply with those rules. When the heel was supposed to touch the ground, he did not have his leg perfectly straight.. He came down' flatfdOted, and his leg was not straight. His body was not upright. When a man" walking leans slightly forward, the weight of 1 the body is on the ; ball of the foot. Under the old definition of walking, that would pass mus,ter, but it is not allowed under' the neW rules. Instead of making the heel the first part of the foot to touch the ground. Kerr was coming down flat-footed, and the leg was not perfectly straight, and the bbdt, as i 1 have said, was slightly inclined forward. Mr Coombes had Kerr down on the ground on Friday morning and illustrated to him the" definition of walking as how laid down by the Australasian body. As Kerr said afterwardSi it was a big task to ask a man to change his style m 24 hours. Mr Coombes, used to walk himself "a many years ago" (he walked se-r co'n'd; to Merrill when 'that ama-teur made the record, but there Were only two starters* and Dick was half, a mile away at the finish), buY his judgment nowadays is hot 'to bti taken too seriouslyj and Kerr wai s undoubtedly harshly treated.; ■- r The Southerners were ; much-' impressed With the galloping; powers of Harrf Henderson and Fisher, and this pair were popular fancies for the 100 and 220 yds events. Fisher '' put in^" a' wonderful run ; : : in: ;i ;-tfoe cl latteri stages of the- longer event, after T getr ting "blocked on .rounding theiberitt. ■ Billy ! Pollock shpwedS'S6methsiig!ft6ii his old turn o<f speed m -.th'ei ; spri»l-i ing handicap, events, aM witti a lft-r tie more training he <• wouldt • have •'copped"' the i 120 vds ; for a :cß r tainty.i •He was just a little -short of condition to breast thei;ape first Wb^i; the final heat came up for decision/i j Wellington's victory m r tfee'o)ie ; mile champion 1 relay race upset th^calSu-, 1 latiaus. qf. the krib:#i*ig o i6fles/' fe Tfie local quartette, ..Williamfe, WMW,' Bridge and Fishery eSth-'di,a a his goljtt share -of graft in-c:6mpassing I !'the lt .Mo' , yafds ■■"! jbiffney. . Bridge - ~avt&&M everybody by • running gamely "oVer; this distance; v whilst - Fisher" I 's'et^fd : the' question of "preaKaeteM^ itf^iinj mistakeable fashi6n l! 'a;t -the finisHv'^;- ' Owing to the extreme pres^trrS V1 on the "Truth" space thte 'week sjinie comments on. the proceedings &s'-'•ss-. conference of Council arid Centres m Christchurch have to be held over; Another chance will likely come , my way of going ihjfeo 1 the njiatter*. = : ~> '■>' • * ;social 'function^ tendered^ to the visiting- athletes, by Sir John Hall, Mayor of Christbhurch, on Saturday evening, Messrs' W; • L.:K6oper; Of Dunedin, arid R. ■ E, -* Bannister- p^of Wellington, announced • ttteir? intention of presenting trophies -\ of -the £3 3s and £.5 ¥ ss,' respebtitely, "'lor . competition' 'at -the" s *n J exi;:' '..eblonld.i ' championship meeting- ;) The ; were given : 'a hurricane J*Ouhii>i lof1 of <*&&* plause for their act of generioisity^^ j The Centre CoftierMco^ti'&s^'fec'oa-j mended to the'Gduii6il*th&.# .ttMr'nekt N.Z. Championship meeting 'shoutd be held m Wellington." The locial ;t<3*a4 tre's delegates modestly wabstaineq from ; voting on the pronosaKput tor 4 ward by the Otago.-.JVridinSouthtanid, 'delegates. -It is said thau^the JJjiituatf ru people are. anxious <to ;jhtye «thd: gathering-held m.. -theirs town. H . r-l ■ ■-■ Mr W. G. Atack, in :.',? eplk^jfco < f <tli€J > toast., of. the ,N. : !?..A.A,^.,yc;a-1i3 l %e smoke m . Chtristcnurch ; pn S.aturday night, said he thou^it that .7the Government should^ do to help -athletics, and the Association was entitled. at least to ask that 'tjie Governiment should provide prices; for the cham'pionships^of the .colony..', Hq proposed next session to', ask, the (x& vertimen^; for.' a sm.aii ■) ' Kri .kjt , which S'tiould be paid tb the Centre entrusted with the, Conduct ' of tne championship meeting. . '^ ; , \... : -'■

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR19070302.2.8

Bibliographic details

NZ Truth, Issue 89, 2 March 1907, Page 2

Word Count
1,752

PEDESTRIANISM NZ Truth, Issue 89, 2 March 1907, Page 2

PEDESTRIANISM NZ Truth, Issue 89, 2 March 1907, Page 2

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