ATHLETICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12650, 30 April 1903, Page 3

ATHLETICS.

; ■ By " Aitatebr." , The next inter-'rarsity athletic tounament will be held in Dunedin during Easi r L. B. Webster's attempt to lower iho New. Zealand record for WOyds at the recent' intor-'mrsity sports in Auckland was good but uneuccessfiil. He had only one opponent to set theJpace, who was- of no jise' whatovofto the youug New Plymouth pprinter., Is.it not high time mattes financial in . cbrinDction with the recent championship . mooting were s.quared up. Nearly two months have elapsed since the meeting was ,:■ hjjld?.'and'the.' treasurer, informs 1 me that ''lie'\is. bn'with : 'the ; balanc.e'Sikeet

now than lie was a few days after the meot.ing. This deplorable stateof affairs i 3 accounted for by the fnct that the returns for tickcU sold have not' yet come to hand. I would urge upon those members who have money and tickets to hand; same to the treasurer at earliest convenience,' and get this portion of the championship meeting, which has been hanging over far (oo long, squared up ar, speedily ns possible. A special meeting of Dunedin' Harriers is called for Wednesday to consider'a rule passed at tlio annual meeting. 'As it is cf vast importance to nil members of Die club, I look , forward to seeing a. large attendance. Other business will also be put before members. ; ".'' ■ ' .

•T. Anderson, the speedy New 'Eealanilcr representing Cambridge-' University. against London Athletic Club, won'v the. -120 yds Hurdles for the Light. Dines, by a yard in 16 2-ssee. Anderson alpo Won the 120 yds Hurdles for Trinity Hall (Cambridge) against University College (Oxford) a. day or two later in 17 l-sscc, and the 100 yds at the same contest in 10 3-ssee. ;

At the recent Presidency athletic sports at Calcutta, Norman Pritchard, so long champion of India at sprinting and hurdling, acted as starter. Ths ' 100 yds amateur championship was won by B. A. Hollow in 10 3-ssgc. On the. same day and- ground, the British Army, Natives' Army, mid Schools championships were-decided, also a number of special amateur athleiie and cycling events. Tho Viceroy ami Lady Oiiraon were amongst a very large and distinguished audience. , . . /,. . . ' Some capital performances ".were put up by Cambridge University atluetcs in their contest against London Athletic Club on March H. Notwithstanding 'the L.A.C. were represented by. such frqnt-rankers as L. F. Tremoer and the TCev. H. W. Workman, the Light Blues won the 10 events. In tho 100 yds .1. Churchill won a good moo by a yard in lOsee; Grcgson won the >filo in 4min 19 4-s?cc, Howard Smith the High Jump with 6ft, J. Andtwori tho 120 yds Hurdles in 16 3-ssee, and O. W. tyickrill the Long .Tump with a leap of 21ft. ■ A. F. Roberts, of.this city, , who is-at present studying nt Cambrids-c University and of whose Rugby fifteen the New Zealander has the honour of being captain, has bc-en elected on the conimittee of the Football Social Club, an institution recently promoted by the secretary of the English Rugby Union, sfr Rowland .Hill..

L. B. Webster' failed to run up to his recent form at the Auckland Domain on Easter Monday. In the 100 yds Handicap ho ran third off scratch, the winner, off Hyde, being credited with lOsec. In tho 44Qyds Handicap Webstw hail only one opponent; who was practically no use to him. Webster's time in' this event was 52 1-53 CC. The New Plymouth sprinter intends to train through tho winter and he fit for the Australasian Championship meeting. J. Butler, the well-known Polytechnic harrier, won the London to, Brighton walk recently, and covered tho. 52| miles in the record time of Bht 43rain 16eec, the previous best being Bht 56min ,44seo by E. Knott.

Ali'Hassan, the immense Turkish wrestler, met Tom Cannon, of Liverpool (one of our ■best)-in a Graco-Roman match for, £25 a-side recently.- The Englishman, who .is list (!) less in weight, and lft 1-iin less in. height than, his opponent—to be exact, 15|st and sft Bjin, as opposed-to 26Jst and 6ft Win—made aplucky 'fight of it, but could do nothing with the enormous bull; of the Turk,. who secured the one throw stipulated for in 12min 15sec. At the annual inter-university boxing and fencing competition un Wednesday, Cambridge defeated Oxford in easy fashion, winning all five boxing events ami two fencing against a second-string fencing; event won by tho Dark Blues Alfred Shrubb's time in the National 10milo Cross-country Championship reported in last week's iame was 59min 56 2-seec. S. J. Robinson was second, in 60min 52scc. Shrubb has won this event three years in succession. Shrubb never performed more grandly (saye a, writer in London Sportsman). The naee which Barker, Robinson, .and others set in the first lulf-milo was tremendous; but the. wonderful runner'from Horsham was not long in- going "one better," and he carried the running on at such a rate that none of tho others could live with him. He will, undoubtedly, equal the record of tho late P. H. Stenning, of the' Thames H, and H.,by Ecoring a fourth consecutive victory, if ho bo fit and well and no greater star he forthcoming next year. But there is something in that "if." B. W. Parry (who,' like H. .Watkinp, A. Aldridge, and others, witnessed last Saturday's race) looked like notching his fourth win just 13 ycara ago, when the fates decreed that ho should play second fiddle to a thon, new-comer in J.^Kibblewhite. , In Shrubb,''however, I fancy we have' a. bettor cross-country runner than Parry—better, indeed, than the great, firong, speedy, and sturdy ex-champion, H. A. Heath: It may not be as generally remembered as it ought to be (says the Field) that 1804 is an Olympicyear. In other words, it will be the date of'the third oslebration of the hiiadronnial meeting which has assumed the denomination of the ancient Greek festival in'order to proclaim the fact that it is open to;.all.nations, which the original Olympica were most emphatically not. 'The first of tho ne.w meoting3.wa's allotted to Athens, where, tlie groundman of the London Athletic Club took in hand the laying out of a track suitable for modern athletes in tho stadium; the second -was c?rried .out more or less satisfactorily in Park In both American athletes took a conspicuous and successful slihre. Nothing, however, can illustrate more forcibly the distance-. that the world has travelled since the penthilnm and the chariot races excited the .assembled Greeke on tho banks of the Alphous than the fact that the honour of furnishing tho arena for'the next celebration-lias been in dispute between the rival'.cities of St. Louie and Chicago. -Originally. Chicago was chosen by the international committee ; but St.- Louis, being about to hold an exhibition, has decided to run a festival of its owm regardless of this fixture..and as there- could be no room for two great meetings in the eame -year, Chicago', has been forced to give up its cherished hope of being the centre of civilisation for a day or two. In the correspondence that has been published the "President of the Olympian (James of 1904," writinsr from Chicago, bows to the inevitable, "recognising that "the Louisiana Purchase Exposition haa 15 million dollars in its treasury," and the Comite International Olympique, from its headquarters in Pans, "while regretting that the games will once more bo-connected , with a Universal Exhibition in view of the inconvenience demonstrated by tho experience of 1900," can find no way of refusing its sanction.

THE INTER'VARSITY ATHLETIC SPORTS. ■ OXFORD v. CAMBRIDGE.

The annual Oxford-Cambridge sports took placo at Queen's Club en. March 28 in dull, showery weather. There wns a fair-sized crowd present, including the Prince and Princess o! Wales. The following were the results: — 100yds.—R. W. Barclay (Cambridge), 1; J. Churchill (Cambridge); 2. Time, lOJspc. One-mile Hun.-P. W. Oregsoh (Cambridge), 1; E. L. Gay-Roberts (Oxford), 2. Time, 4min 2" 2--sec. 120 yds Hurdles.—G. R. Gamier (Oxford), 1; P. R. Teall (Cambridge), 2. Time, lGsec. Throwing the Hammer.—H. A. Leake (Cambridge), 128 ft Bin, making the university record, 1; B. 31. Tomljnsoii (Oxford), llCtt 7Jin, 2. Quarter-mile Hun.—R. W. ■ Barclay (Cambridge), 1; K. Cormvallis (Oxford), 2. Time, 50Jsec. ■ •■•■•-.• - ■■ ' High Jump.-G: Howard Smith (Cambridge), sft IOMn, 1; C. S. Dorly (Cambridge), sft Bin, 2. . Putting the Weight.—H. A. Leake (Cambridge), 37ft Uin, 1; Hon. G. W. Lyllelton (Cambridge), 36ft, 2. . , Half-mile P.un.-T. B. Wilson (Cambridge), 1; H. E. Holding '(Oxford), 2. Time, 2inin Ssec. Long Jiimp.-T. A. Leach (Oxford), 23ft 3in, 1; 6. L. Smith (Oxford), 21ft Jin, 2. Three-mile Ruu.-H. , P."W. MacNnghten (Cambridge), 1; 11. H. Godby (Oxford), 2. Time, lomin 13 2-sscc. Cambridge thus won eight out of ten. events. Cambridge's decisive victory is believed to practically assure the acceptance.of an iuwrv can university challenge if one is sent.