GANE GAINS REPUTATION

NZ Truth, Issue 1305, 18 December 1930, Page 17

GANE GAINS REPUTATION

Athletics

Wellington Boy Extends Champion Grose At Petone

WILLS

IS A STYLISH RUNNER

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Athletic Writer.)

There was a goodly muster of New Zeala-nd star wheel atid* trackmen at Petone last Saturday, when the local club staged" the first big meeting of the season. The main attraction was the clash of Gane and Grose m the cycling events.

THESE two fine exponents of pedalling broke even on the clay, and it is a great deal to Gane's credit that he was able to so extend one Avho has come to be regarded as the Avheelman par excellence. Grose had only to Avin the five-mile eA'ent m order to place the Laykold Cup permanently on . the ancestral mantleshelf, as he has already collected it twice m succession. His! luck Avas out, hOAvever, and he to catch Johnston and Tinkler, tAvo long handicap men, Avho teamed Avell together and made a merry pace. In a stirring finish that had the croAVd reaching for the clouds, Gane beat Grose for third place by the barest of margins. The Wellington boy also scored a clear-cut Avin over the champion m, the mile handicap, m Avhich he figured on the scratch mark. In the half-mile and mile scratch events, Grose showed his teeth and. rode m a winner' m an interlocked finish. Two things stood out clearly above the rest m the racing. One Avas that- Gane is a fast im-' proving rider, and the other, is that Grose has evidently been having a spell from the track since . tlie road season finished. ' . Amongst the runners some dashing form Avas seen, even though many of the contestants seemed to imagine that tlie main object m starting Avas to beat the pistol. Charlie Jenkins promises to touch peaks that (have so far been beyond him if. his early running this season may be taken as an augury,' and the writer thinks that it may. In the hundred he ran with rare dash- and clocked 10 sees, from half a yard with a following wind. He didn't get' up m the final, but ran a .delightfully easy heat m the |

furlong handicap and again m the relay. The best has never been seen of Jenkins, and it seems that he is a boy who consistently overtrains. The quarter-mile ' event saw Wellington half-mile champion, Billy Qgg, shoAv up m a good, light. From 10 yards he made the pace a Avelter, and was just nosed out of first place. Oggpromises to be very fit this season. ■ The mile run of the day Avas interesting from the fact that Wills 'of Motueka, who is distance champion of Queensland, was 'having his first N.Z race. He is a stylish runner and on the day his time was excellent. He filled second place m a race m 4 mm* 31 sees. Gordon Bayne, the Wellington ProA'inciar champion, could not foot ii with -Thim over the concluding stages, but m fairness to Bayne. it niust be stated that he has done little trainingv and no racing:" previously, this ; season; Wills is a fine stamp of athlete, and has a nice, free action; This" is accentuated by the amount of sun bronze he is carrying from. . the Queensland, climate. • He will make the mile racing " eA^h more interesting this season, ; -and should be capable of getting nearer 4 mins. 20 sees, than 4mins.. 30 sees. For some . linknoAvn reason, hoAv-rv ever, though he lives m Motueka. he elects to run m the colors of the Kiwi Club, Wellington. This is all- to the' good so far as the Kiwi Club is con,--cerned, as they have no plethora' of runners of the .Wills class and canscarcely be blamed for accepting hihv At the same time it is not sd^gopd for the Motueka Club, which is a keen body for a place of its size, and can certainly do with all the assistance that is offering.