New Zealanders Fail In Olympic Boxing And Weight-lifting

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26847, 11 August 1948, Page 5

New Zealanders Fail In Olympic Boxing And Weight-lifting

From A. W. Mitchell, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent LONDON, Aug. 9. “ Well done, Kiwi,” came a shout from the stands as the New Zealand boxer, R. H. Goslin, of Wellington, left the ring at the Empire Pool, Wembley, to return to his room after the referee had stopped his bout with the coloured American fighter, E. R. Johnson, just before the end of the third round in the feather-weight section of the Olympic Games boxing.

Goslin entered the feather-weight section because he was ovdr weight for the bantam class for which he originally entered. In the bantam weight-lifting section M. Crow, of Wanganui, was placed eighth equal with Australia and Egypt. Strong Opponent In the Goslin-Johnson bout Johnson, tall, strong, lithe, and the first favourite to win this title, was too good for the New Zealander, who was still suffering from the effects of a heavy cold and touch of flu. But Goslin fought well and pluckily until he was almost out on his feet, and the British crowd, which has always cheers for a game loser, showed appreciation of his fine effort. The luck of the draw for the first round was against Goslin, and, judging by some of the other fights, the standard of his match with Johnson could be rated at least as a semi-final. Had he met a less tough opponent than the American it is fair to say he probably would have got as far as that.

There are three judges to each bout, who award up to 20 points for each round. Goslin and Johnson were the fourth to appear this afternoon. The New Zealander was, of course, in all black with a silver fern, while the American had a white singlet and immaculate satin shorts, which emphasised the colour of his chocolate skin. Fast Opening Round The fight started with the buzz of the bell, which sounded rather like a tired alarm clock. Both boys started at top speed, and there was a terrific flurry of blows which brought a roar of approval from the crowd. Goslin was using his left nicely, and once he sent Johnson reeling back on the ropes with a look of surprise on his face. When the pace slowed down a little Johnson was seen to be hooking effectively and timing his punches better. Goslin, however, was adept at ducking and several times made the American miss. Once the New Zealander lost his balance, but he recovered quickly, and, with perfect footwork, made John : son miss so badly that he ended up hard on the ropes. Halfway through the second round the pace of the fight and the effect of the American’s accurate punching, plus his cold, began to tell on Goslin, and he began to stand his ground waiting for Johnson, who was once warned rather sharply by the referee to break from a clinch. The round ended with another flurry of. blows, but if the first had been slightly in Goslin’s favour, this one had gone to the American. The third and final three minutes began with Johnson cracking on the pace again, with Goslin being warned for holding the American by the glove and swinging him round. Goslin Tires Goslin was now definitely tiring, and as the round proceeded he began to drop his guard. After this occurred once or twice, and it was obvious his strength was spent, the referee sent him to his corner—a game loser. When the verdict was officially announced, Johnson came over to the New Zealander’s corner, and both shook hands with a grin. Goslin was the last to leave the ring, and he was applauded as he stepped out, and again as he made his way over the staging to the dressing room. “Well, I did my best,” he said, as his coach arid trainer, Sol Bloom, sponged him down. Crow Flaced Eighth Equal

Crow finished eighth equal with Australia and Egypt in the Olympic bantam-weight weight-lifting at Empress Hall, Earl’s Court. He lifted a total of 600£lb, made up of: the press 17031 b, the snatch, 18741 b, and the jerk, 242|1b. The winner was the world record holder, De Pietro (United States), who beat his own record of 300 kilos by lifting a total of 307 kilos (677J1W. Crow, in his training, has lifted as much as 6301 b. That he was unable to lift this weight in the Games was probably due to nervousness. He was “jumpy” before his first lift—the press—and was inclined to be tense when he hoisted 17031 b. He did not appear to be at ease, and when he came to lift 18131 b his technique was at fault and the judge’s verdict went against him although he had raised the weight. The same thing occurred at his third and last attempt in this section. He was much more comprised and self-confident for the second and third sections, and lifted his weights cleanly and faultlessly. Successful Venture With the completion of the track and field events of the Olympic Games, the final phase has begun, with' interest switching to boxing, cycling, rowing, hockey, weight-lifting, and gymnastics. Although the Games are little more than halfway through, it can be said here and now that they have been a success—far greater indeed than many people thought at one time, including foreigners who talked a lot of nonsense on arrival' of inadequate publicity and suggesting that London was too big for the Games. Britain, it may be said, has handled the arrangements for the Games without any of the nationalistic ostentation which travestied the Olympic spirit in Berlin in 1936, and, although there has been an odd disagreeable incident, it has not caused more than a ripple on the broad surface of the Games. In spite of the vagaries of the weather and a mixed bag of blazing sunshine and teeming rain, attendance records have been broken, which seems to indicate that those people who were said to be unaware the Games were on were probably among those determined to see them. RESULTS Boxing Feather-weight.—Eliminating round: E. R. Johnson (United States) defeated R. Goslin (New Zealand). Cycling 1000 Metres Scratch.—Semi-finals: R. Harris (Britain) defeated C. Bazzano (Australia) in straight heats; G. Ghella

(Italy) defeated A. Schandoree (Denmark) in straight heats. Final: Ghella defeated Harris in straight heats. 4000 . Metres Team Pursuit. —Semifinals: First heat—ltaly 1, Uruguay 2; time, smin 6.3 sec. Second heat —France 1, Britain 2; time, 4min 59.1 sec. Final: France 1, Italy 2, Britain 3, Uruguay 4; time, 4min 57.8 sec. Weight-lifting Bantam - weight. N. de Pietro (United States) broke, the world’s record in winning the championship with a total lift of 677J1b. Julian Creus (Britain), was runner-up -with 655J1b: Feather-weight.—M. Fayad (Egypt) won the title with a record total lift of 732i1b. Bowing

Single Sculls.—Final: M. Wood (Australia) 1, G. Risso (Uruguay) 2, R. Catasta (Italy) 3. Time, 7min 24.45ec.

Double Sculls—Final: Britain 1, Denmark 2, Uruguay 3. Time, 6min 51.3 sec. . .

Pairs Without Cox.—Final: Britain 1, Switzerland 2, Italy 3. Time, 7min 21 lsec Pairs With Cox—Final: Denmark 1, Italy 2, Hungary 3. Time, Bmin o.ssec. Fours Without Cox.—Final: Italy 1, Denmark 2, United States 3. Time, 6min 39sec. ' , Fours With Cox.—Final: United States 1, Switzerland 2, Denmark 3. Time, 6min 50.3 sec. Eights.. Final: United States 1, Britain 2, Norway 3. Time, smin 56.75ec.