ATHLETICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2004, 21 July 1892, Page 32

ATHLETICS.

NOTES BY AMATEUR.

Batger did another spleudid performance at Manchester on Wednesday, the 13th inst, when he at last succeeded in winning a 440 yds hurdles in England, accomplishing the distance in world's record time— s9 4-ssec. This equals his best previous time. Batger has undoubtedly proved himself the best quarter-mile hurdler in the world ; and also a most reliable and consistent performer, and his win will be very popular. P. Wood is stated to have finished third, but I don't think he has taken to the sticks. Most likely the cable in referring to him meant that he was placed in the Quartermile fiat. At the Blackhcath Harriers Sports, on Saturday, I am pleased to see Peter Wood won the 100 yds Handicap, while Cuff secured second place. The second spring meeting of the London Athletic Club was held at Stamford Bridge on May 21. Godfrey Shaw accomplished a good performance in the 120 yds hurdles, which, owing 20yds, he won by a yard and a-half in 18 2-ssec, and ho supplemented this by winning the 440 yds Hurdles in 60sec. E. H. Pelling won the 220 yds Challenge Cup Race easily by two yards in 231-ssec. . On the same day the Ashton Harriers held a successful meeting, at which C. A. Bradley, of Hudderslield, who defeated Hempton at Tufnell Park three weeks later, won the 120 yds Handicap from scratch after a desperate race. The time was very fast — 11 4-ssec, but the runners were aided by a strong wind and the track was slightly down hill. . The principal interest at the Ashton Harriers meeting attached to the Four-mile Scratch Race, for which eight competitors toed the mark. Sid Thomas, J. Kibblewhite, and C. Pearce (the four mile Midland Counties' Amateur Champion), made the pace pretty hot, and only four were left in after completing the first mile, where Thomas went to the front, with Kibblewhite at his heels, and Pearce about 30yds behind. Thomas continued to make the running, although the mile champion spurted to the front two or three times, and ho was in front for about a lap. At two miles Thomas again took the lead, with Kibblewhite close up, and Pearce now about 40yds behind. They ran in this order until 220 yds from home, where Kibblewhite drew level, and although Thomas stayed] With him for a few yards Kibblewhite shook him off, and won a fine race by 3yds, in 20min 41 3-ssec. Pearce ran splendidly all through the race, and created great surprise by his burst of speed when he saw the winner make his effort. Ho made up a lot of ground in the last 200 yds, being only 10yds behind Thomas, and finished fresher than either of his opponents* At the East Lancashire Cricket Club sports at Blackburn on May 28, Godfrey Shaw won the Northern Counties' A.A. 440 yds Hurdle Championship, which was the chief event of the meeting. In common with other championship contests, this event was this year, for the first time, closed to the north, the qualification to compete being either birth or residence in that very large part of England over which the'jurisdiction of the N.C.A.A. extends. Birth qualification let in the ex-New Zealander, London, A.C., and the entry of /Daft was also accepted, although, as a matter of fact, he was not eligible, the town of Nottingham being just, though only just, outside the northern district. Daft, however, did not put in an appearance, so any possible objection as to his qualification was obviated, aud Shaw, virtually without opposition, though not actually unopposed, won literally anyhow in the moderate time of 62 2-ssec. The hurdles, it should be said, were only 3ft. A. Findlay, the well-known walker, was reinstated as an amateur by the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association at a meeting held last week. It will be remembered that he was formerly a member of the Dunedin Amateur Athletic Club, but about three years ago, thinking that that body would not recover from the financial difficulties it was then in, Findlay joined the professional ranks, a step evidently regretted, for he soon afterwards applied to be reinstated. The association did not, however, deem it advisable to grant his request at the time, and he was informed that it would be necessary for him to make another application after a stated term. In deciding his case on a second application, I understand that the association were guided a good deal by the opinion of the committee of the Dunedin Club, who made considerable allowance in favour of the applicant on account of his youth at the time of severing connection with the local amateur club.

A meeting of the committee of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held on the 12th inst. It was decided not to send a team of New Zealanders over to the New South Wales Championship meeting which has been postponed till September. A sub-com-mittee was appointed to consider the question of holding Australasian Championship meetings as proposed by the New South Wales Association. A letter was read from the Alexandra Club, Auckland, stating that it intended holding a meeting, consisting of amateur and professional events. The club asked permission to hold the amateur events. The Secretary said he had forwarded a reply declining to grant permission, and his action in the matter was confirmed. The following re. instatements were passed : — J. P. M'Phail, D. Bockett, J. Gardiner (Auckland), G. N. Goldie (Wellington), E. Langford (Hawke's Bay), P. G. Clark (Wairarapa), A. Findlay (Dunedin), D. J. Page (Lyttelton), and J. Fitzpatrick (Balcairn). The balance sheet of the last New Zealand Championship meeting was laid on the table. The amount to credit of the association was reported to be L 35 14s 9d, the liabilities being nil. The annual meeting of the association was fixed for July 29. The English mail which arrived this week contains accounts of several athletic gatherings, at which among the performers were some who will probably be found to have since taken a prominent part in the Championship meeting. At the Queen's College sports, at Belfast, on May 28, L. Q. Bulger, of Dublin University, who was said to be running very well at the time, secured the scratch 100 yds, after running a dead heat in 10 4-ssec with J. T. Magee, of the Harrington Harriers. In the Northern Counties A. A. Steeplechase Championship, three quarters of a mile, run at the Lancaster Athletic Association Sports on June 7, H. Parry, of the Salford Harriers, who was palpably unfit and wofully short of work, had to put up without even a place, the winner turning up in F. E. Bason, of the Ashton Harriers, who was followed home by G. H. Morris, of the Salford Harriers, and J. J. Crook, of Blackburn. At the Wolverton sports on Whit Monday, C. Pearce, an aspirant for championship honours, accomplished a very five performance in the open mile— equal io 4niiu 27sec for the full distance. TLis club's ground is, according to the Field, the best sheltered track in the country, aud if the committee only bank it in accordance with modern l requirements, it will probably be the fastest in exi&teuce, and is likely to be the home of future

record breakers. The track is of hard gravel is 422 yds to the lap, and has a good surface" Times were very fast throughout, the mile being the fastest since July 29, 1882, when a handicap at that distance was won at Stamford Bridge in 4min 13 4-ssec. The half was taken in lmin 55sec.

A large amount of interest centred in the 300 yds record race at the Rauelagh Harriers' meeting on June 4, for in it E. H. Polling attempted to lower the record. The wind was in a fitful mood, and just before the race it was thought to be blowing from the spot in which the stand is situated, but in the race it was neither behind nor in front of the runners, and though there was a fine finish between Pelling, D. Basan, and G. W. Turk, there was no record, the time of the first-named, who won in 31 4-ssec, being three-tenths of a second slower than that accomplished by C. G. Wood at the same ground iv 1887. At the Rauelagh Harriers' meeting J. Kibblewhite repeated his achievement of a fortnight before by winning the Four Miles Invitation Race. A strong field of 11 opposed him, and W. J. Fowler showed the way for a fourth of the distance, which he covered in 4min 50 l-ssec. At the half distance (time lOmin 2 l-ssec, F. J. Strange was in the lead ) while Kibblewhite went to the front for the first time at two and a-quarter miles, but he did not keep the position long, and at the finish of the third mile (done in 15mm 18 3-ssec), the lead was held by Sid. Thomas, C. E. Willers being next. About 1000 yds from home, Willers and Kibblewhite, in close company, drew away from the't rest, of whom Thomas was the most prominent. So the race proceeded, Willers just heading Kibblewhite until about 200 yds remained to be covered, when the latter passed his fellow club man, who, despite a most galknt effort, was beaten by Byds ; 20yds separating Willers and Bacon, who had passed Thomas in the straight. Time, 20min 17 l-ssec.

Sid. Thomas was unfortunate enough to be unplaced in the the Mile Handicap at the Walthamston Harriers on Whit Monday, though he probably did his best performance at the distance, as he was only about 25yds away from the winner, who reached home in 4min 27scc. Running with excellent judgment, in the Two Miles, however, Thomas just managed to get level with the leader when the bell rang, and, although hard pressed by F. Latham, the Ten Miles champion won by 6yds iv 9min 42 l-ssec. In a two miles' walking match at the same meeting between H. Curtis (the champion) and H. J. Cheverton, the former showed in a marked manner his superiorit} over his opponent, whom he led from start to finish, winning iv faultless style, with the watch showing 14min 23sec. Two hours latter he turned out for the handicap at that distance, and again going grandly was only beaten for first place by about 20yds in 14miu 22 2-ssec. G. W. Terk won both the club championships in good time — the 100 yds in 10 l-ssec, and the 440 yds in 53 l-ssec.

In a letter to the Field, a correspondent, who subscribes himself "X," inquires why the athletic visitors from New Zealand were so advised that the only.appearance they would make in London, previous to the Championship meeting, would be at Tufnell Park. Searching for some ostensible reason for this, "X" says ho finds it stated, in a presumably inspired paragraph, that "the object of the team in competing at Tufnell Park is to fall in with the advice of a prominent representative of English athletics by not competing at Stamford Bridge before the championship" and he asks why in the name of anything that is just and sensible, should the New Zealanders remain perfect strangers to the Stamford Bridge track, when many of their most "dangerous opponents would appear to compete at the championships with a perfect knowledge of the ground ? In conclusion, he says :—": — " The only possible explanation, until somecne lets in some light, is that the New Zealanders have been advised not to run at Stamford Bridge before the Championshipjneeting, in order that the takings on that day may not be prejudiced. If this is so, and the proceeding is acquiesced in by the Amateur Athletic Association, then, in my opinion, that body is pursuing a course which they should be the first to discourage." At the Darlington sports Godfrey Shaw annexed another of the Northern Counties' Championships, the 120 yds Hurdles. The race was simply a gift to him, as he won by 10yds yards in 16 4-ssec. C. A. Bradley, of Huddesfield, who, says the Athletic News, is perhaps the champion amateur sprinter •of the day, won the 100 yds Scratch Race easily by a couple of yards. The time was 10 2-ssec, and the Huddersfield man said that on such a piece of splendid turf he ought to have done nearer level time. Bradley also won the 120 yds Handicap, in which he started from scratch, and beat O. W. Hutchinson (9^yds) in the splendid time of 12 3-ssec, by a yard and a-half . The first of the events in the walking matches arranged to take place between Scott and Bowen, the 50 miles, will be held at the Garrison Hall on Monday. I have n<jt heard anything of Bowen, but Scott is going well and should, I think, judging from his previous performances, win all three events. Scott made his first appearance on a racing track iv January 1873 at Dunedin, when with the assistance of a handicap he won the one-mile and twomile walks ; at that time he was under 10 years of age, and weighed 4st 21b. In the following year he defeated Edwards in a 100 mile walk, covering the distance in 23hr 55min ; and also beat the same man in a seven-mile walk, doing the distance in five seconds over the hour. Against time in 1879 Scott walked 113 miles in 23hr 20min. Scott has almost an unbroken record, and particulars of his performances would fill columns, so that I can only mention a few of the best. In 1885 he beat Hancock, the English champion, on several occasions in Dunedin. In one of these events Scott walked 114 miles in 24- hours. Against the same opponent he did a wonderful performance, covering 72 miles 640 yds in 12 hours. In 1888 when Scott went to England he was stated to have won 71 events out of 72 he had started in. At Home he put down all the best walkers, including Howes, Hibberd, Hancock, and Munro in competitions varying from 12 hours to six days. In a six days' contest, walking 12 hours a day, he covered 363 miles 6 laps ; while the next best man Hibberd walked 337 miles. All the sporting'papers wrote in very flattering terms about his performances. One writer declared : ". . . It proved that on a boarded track or cinder path Scott has no superior — if an equal — among the pedestrians of England." Another in regard to his style of walking said : " As regards his mode of progression, he is absolutely bej ond suspicion and scrupulously fair. The New Ze.-iHiuler is a magnificent walker. "When pushed ho can yo at almost any pace, but without the fxiintfst hu-spicion of unfairness. If there is a man iv England oi th' 1 world who can heat him then we should bo glad for him to be found.' 1 In 1882 Scott won a two milo running handicap from bCi-.itc-li in ]omi:i s=cc ; so thai his ability as an athlete is not confined to walking.

— Nat ii r.i li-.ls say that a single swallow will devour 6000 flies iv aday.