INTERNATIONAL ATHLETIC MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 62

INTERNATIONAL ATHLETIC MEETING.

DUFFET BUEAKS 50 YARDS WORLD'S RECORD. AUSTRALASIAN HALF-MILE RECORD BROKEN BY BURK. Officials. — President, Mr W. Lang ; referee, Dr Roberts; superintendent, Mr P. S. k! Macassey; judges track events— Dr Stanley Batchelor, Messrs R. J. Morrm, A. Courtis, and tL--Grierson ; ijudg&s field events— Mesisrs J. J. Kingston, H. B. Courtis, and Dr Evans; judge of walking, Mr J. B. Holt • timekeepers — Messrs J. E. Hood, F. Townsend, J. B. Nelson, W. Musker; marksman, Mr R. J. Jackson; telegraph board No. 1 Messrs W. L. M'Ciu-dy, It. G. Anderson;' No 2— Messrs M. Shand and A. Cannon; clerk of course, Mr G. M'Millan; scratching stewards — Messrs G. Moreton and J. Faulks" laptaker, Mr R. J. Morrm; Press steward, Mr A. Marryatt; hon. treasurer, Mr R. W. •Brickell; hon. secretary, Mr H. Mackintosh; handicapper and starter. Mr W. M'Donald. The athletic sports meeting arranged by the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, in honour of the visiting world's champion amateur athletes A. H. Shrubb and A. F. Duffey, took place duly at Carisbrcok on Saturday afternoon, and proved a great success in. almost every respect, being characterised by the excellent management usually seen in local athletic gatherings. The attendance j of the public during the afternoon was large, being between three and four thousand, and some £147 was taken at the gates, this "being, of course, exclusive of the amount received from the sale of tickets elsewhere. Had the meeting had the additional attraction of the ljresenee of A. H. Shrubb, who was unfortunately unable to be present owing to illne&-5, undoubtedly the above en-

couraging attendance* would ha\ 0 been considerably augmented

couraging attendance* would ha\ 0 been considerably augmented The day co^ild scarcely have been more favourable for an athletic meeting, there being a total absence of wind, while tho tracks (both grass and cinder) were conducive to fast performances and good times. The racing throughout was decidedly interesting, and the. finishes were close, the judges in several instances having some difficulty in placing the competitors. The feature of the meeting was undoubtedly Duffey's world's record breaking feat in the final of the 50yds Dash on the grass. The result of the 100 yds sprint, though it probably pleased the local runners, I was something- of a disappointment to the general public, who had looked to Duffey to put up a fast performance. This thc-y were robbed of by the American getting away so badly that all chanoe of his getting jup with the leaders was gone. Duffey has a reputation of being one of the best starters ', living, so that his failing to move away with 1 tiiß rest when the gun went off is all the , more surprising. The explanation probably is that furnished by the trainer, who states that, as the men got down on to thenmarks, Duffey said to him : " These foot holes feel small." At that moment the pistol went off, the other five competitors, j jumping away together, getting a break of ' several yards before the American moved out. Duffey's mind must have for the instant been taken off the start, with 1 disastrous results to himself and disappointment to the general public. Had the world's sprinter moved away with the fieJd. he would, taking a line through his. running in the first heat, have clipped the worsted in almost even time. The Australians (Wheatley and Widmer) ran disappointingly. The former has a nioe style of running, but has not the pace or the stamina of Burk, the local runner. Widmer is the lOQyds and 440 yds champion of New } South Wales, but he did not run up to j reputation. In fairness to him, however, it should b& mentioned that he> was suffering I from a severe cold. The visiting Australian j athletes can reasonably be expected to do better in the north. Burk's performance in" the Half-mile stands out as one of the bright features of the meeting, albeit, the young I Dunedin champion ran a badly-judg&d race. j Burk ran on the outside of Wheatley for the , best part of a lap, and then, finding the pace too slow, oommenced to make his running, with the result that only sheer determination carried him to the tape " all out " In this race Patrick, off 25yds, ran splendidly, finishing- bare inches behind Burk, ■who got inside the Australasian amateur record of lmin 59 l-ssec, established by J. F. Dalrymple in 1891. Burk's efforts in the Half-mile took too much out of him to run a mile three-quarters of an hour later, for after going a lap he retired unwell. Wheatley ran on for three-quarters, but without pace had no chance of catching the limit man (Mace), and the Victorian also dropped out. It would have taken Burk running well up to form to have beat&n Mace (140 yds), who won the Mile in 4min 27sec. The Three-mile saw a good race between Bonnin and Murray, the latter winning all out by about 20yds. The Dunedin sprinters (Hoare, O'Kaxie, and Hamann) ran right up to their best form. Another visiting athlete- at the meeting was Smith, of Auckland, who wan the Quarter-mi J e off '15yds in 53sec. Brown put up a good performance the Mile Walk, covering the distance In 7min. The following are the details of the racing: — 120 YARDS FLAT (Handicap). Prizes: Trophies, valued at £2 and £1. First Heat: J. Mooney, Byds, 1; A. B. Christie, 7yds, 2. Also started: G. Nicholson 6yds and J. C. M'Cracken 9yds. Time, 12sec. Second Heat: A. B. Smith, 6yds, 1; G. A. Widmer, lyd, 2. Aiso competed : W. Rudkin B£ydq. Time, 12 2-ssec. Third Heat ■ J. T. Hamann, sgyds, 1 ; J". W. Price, SAyda, 2. Also competed : li. M'Lennan 7yds and H. M'Corkindale 7Jytls. Time, 12 1-osec. Final. J. T. Hamann, s|yds .. . . .. 1 G. A. Widmer, lyd .. .. .. .. 2 J. W. Price, Biyds "3 Also started: A. B. Christie 7yds, J. Mooney Byds, and A. B. Smith 6yds. Price led half the distance, when Hamann came up on the outside and took the lead, beating Widmer for first place by a yard, with Price a good third. Time, 12 l-ssec. 50 YARDS DASH (Handicap). Priz-JS : Medals, valued at JB3, £1 10s, and 10s. First Heat: A. Hoare, 2Jyds, 1; A. F. Duffey, scratch, 2. Also competed : H. M'Leod 3J-yds and D. Macdonald syds. In this event Duffey was making his first appearance. It looked as if he would not get up to the others in time to secure a place, but he won his way into second place on the tape. Time, 5 3-ssec. Second Heat : J. T. Hamann, 2Jyds, 1 ; J. W. Price, 4yds, 2. Also competed : R. M'Lennan 3yds and W. T. Parata syds. Widmer was to have started in this heat, but did not come forward. Hamann beat Price by half a yard. Time, 5 3-ssec. Third Heat: G. Nicolson, 2Syds, 1; W.. Rudkin, 3^yds, 2. Also started: R. Leslie 4Jyds. Nicolson was penalised half a yard for breaking away too soon. Nicolson got a flying start, led from a third of the distance, and beat Rudkin by a yard, the winner, as in the other heats, coming off the two and ahalf yard mark. Time, 5 3-ssec. Final. A. F. Duffey, scratch ff , .. ■„ 1 A. Hoare, 2Jyds « k :'; 2 J. W. Price, 4yds 3 Also competed: J. T. Hamann 2£yds, G. Nicolson 2Jyds, and W. Rudkin 3*yds. Amid hearty applause from the spectators Duffey cut his way through his opponents in great style and won on the tape in the magnificent time of 5 2-ssec. ONE-MILE WALK (Handicap). Pnzes : Trophies, valued at £2 and £1. New Zealand record, 6min 27 2-ssec. R. E. Brown, scratch .. .. .. 1 A. E. M. Rowlands, 145 yds . T . . 2 Also started: A. Greig 25yds and F. B. Morrison 105 yds. Greig retired after going a couple of laps, Brown having then over1 taken him. Half a lap from the finish Brown, walking in fine style, had caught Morrison, , and on entering the straight he took the lead from Rowland?. Rowlands made a good , race to the finish, and was little more than j a yard behind the winner, Morrison being a good third. Time, 7mm. 1 220 YARDS FLAT (Handicap). Prizes: Trophies, valued at £2 and XI New ZealanJ. record, 22 3-sseo. I First Jjp-at: J. T. Hamann, Gvds, 1; H. ' M'Corkindale, 9vds. 2 ; G. A. "Widrner, scr, 3. • Also competed: R. M'Lennan &yds, H. M'Leod 12yds, A. E. Clarke 14yds. Widmer lost 210Ilnng at the start, but failed to pull up on. Hamajin, who came through in great style, and won by a couple of yaids; the second and thiid men being veij close togstker. Time, 2.5 -l-oeeo.

First Jjp-at: J. T. Hamann, &yd% 1; H. M'Oorkindale, 9vds. 2 ; G. A. "Widrner, scr, 3. Also competed: R. M'Lennan &yds, H. M'Leod 12yds, A. E. Clarke 14yds. "Widmer lost 210Ihing at the start, but failed to pull up on Hamajin, who came through in great style, and won by a couple of yaids; the second and thiid men being veij close together. Time, 2.5 <l-seeo.

Second llent- J. A. M •Cracker, 15yds, i; J W Price, 13y-]s, 2, A. Hcare syds, 3. A ] so competed T. A Milroy 7yds, G. Nicolbon 9jds, 3. Moouey 9yds, A.\B. Christie 9yds, and E. A. Sband LGyds. M'Cracken won by half a yard; the second and third men being alnio=i; level. Time, 23 2-ssec. Final. J. A. M'Cracken, 15yds .. .. -.. 1 U. M'Corkindale, 9ycls 2 A. Hoare, syds 3 Also competed : G. A. "Widmer scr, J. T. Hamann 6yds, J. W. Price 13yds. Widmer did not appear to ex&it himself greatly, and pulled outi in the straight. The placed men finished all very close together. Time, 23 3-ssec. ONE-MILE FLAT (Handicap). Prizes: Medals, valued at £3, £1 10s, and 10&. New Zealand record, 4min 28 2-ssec. F. Msce, 140 yds 1 H. T. Leyden" 115ycls 2 A. Melville, 85yds 3 Also competed : E. A. "Wheatley scr, H. Burk, scr, T. Gordon 100 yds, H. S. Reid 115 yds, H. Dowlaud 115 yds, R. E. Bust 120 yds ( D. Melville 125 yds; A. Campbell 125 yds, H. F. I Titchener 130 yds, A. Thomson 130 yds, and de Lautour 135 yds. After running a lap Burk, to the general disappointment of the spectators, retired, apparently suffering from t<he effects of his fine effoit m the Hailf-mile. Wheatley, at the end of two laps, had caught the last of tho handicap men, but a lap later he also retired, evidently finding the pace too hot. Thomson led into the last lap, closely followed by Mace, who then asserted hinuself, and won easily by 10 yards from Leyden; Melville being half a dozen yards behind tha I ferond man. Time, 4inin 27sec. ' TEAMS RELAY RACE. Teams of four men, 1 each man to urn a lap. Prizes: Medals, ' valued at £4, for the winning team. j Civil S-ervioe No. 2 team (W. T. Parata, W. Willett, H. Paton, and J. W. GoodmanI son), 110 yds 1 St. Andiew Harriers (Mearns, Rudkin, Macclonald, and Clarke), 120 yds 2 Also competed : Dunedin Amateur Athletic dub No. 2 (Christie, M'Lennan, Reid, and Mooney) 75yds, who finished third; D.A.A.C. No. 1 (Hamann, Hoare, O'Kane, and Burk), scr, who finished fourth ; and Civil Service No. 1 team (Melville, Titchener, Campbeil, and Brown), 75yd l s, who finished last. The D A.A.C. No. 1 team representatives had obviously done their best running m the earlier ev-ents, and quite failed to overtake the handicap men, though Burk did a particularly good run in the last lap. Time, 4niin 14sec. j HALF-MILE FLAT. New Zealand record, lmin 59 l-ssec. H. Burk, sir 1 W. H. C. Patrick, 25yds .. .. 2 G. A. Wheatley, scr 3 Also competed . H. S. Reid 25yds, T. Gordon j 3Syds, T. Paterson 40yds, D. Melville 45yds, ! H. F. Titchener 45yds, G. W. Brown 50yds, ; A. Campbell 50yds, R. E. Bust 50yds, de \ Lautour 50yds, Mearns 50yfls. All eyes were , centred on Burk and* Wheatley, who j were on the scratch mark. The young Duu- | tdin runner had the outside position from the : Victorian. At the start the limit and middle ' distance men pulled away, with the two scratch men running well together. When thieequarteis of a lap had been covered Burk wag seen to be gradually drawing away from Wheatley, and for the first time the Dunedin i man took the inside running. Going round ■ the back stretch Burk was crowding on the j pace- and going through his field ra rare style-. At the top turn Burk was running with a free stride in the lead, with Patrick a couple of yards away, and Wheatley coming through. At the turn into the straight Patrick challenged Burk, and, passing the pavilion, drew alongside the Dunedin champion. A great race j ensued between the pair to within a couple of yards from home, when Burk threw himself at the tope, and won by the narrowest i of margins in the record time of lmin 58 l-ssec. I Wheatley found the pace too warm, and coiild i not get nearer than third place. 120 YARDS HURDLES. New Zealand record, 15 l-ssec. First Heat: W. J. O'Kane, Byds behind I scratch, 1 ; J. M'Lachlan, 2yds behind. 2. , Also started : J. M'Xamee scratch. Won easily. Time, 19 2-osec. Second Heat: A. Halligan, 2yds behind, 1; J P. B. Frtzherbert, 3yds behind, 2. Won all •the way. Time, 19 2-ssec. Final. O'Kane, Byds behind 1 Halligan, 2yds behind 2 M'Lachlan, 2yds behind 3 The three men jumped away from a- good start, Halligan and M'Lachlan taking the first hurdle together. Approaching the fourth flight O'Kane was rapidly gaining on the leaders, who were going stride for stride, three yards in front. Halligan took the sixth hurdle half a stride in front of M'Lachlan, who was being rapidly overhauled by O'Kane. In the sprint to tie next hurdle O'Kane took tho leading position, and was never headed, winning easily at the finish. Time, 18 3-ssec. LONG JUMP. New Zealand record, 21ft 6in. E. A. Shand (including lft 6in handicap), 20ft 3ftin 1 W. T. Parata (including 2)Et handicap), 19ft 11-iin 2 P. B. Fitzherbert (including 6in handicap), 19ft 4Jin 3 Also competed : Halligan (scr) 19ft lin. J. M'Lachlan (6in) 19ft l^in, H. F. Titchener (6in) 18ft Olm, D. A. M'Farlane (lft 6in) 19ft lm. The best actual jump was Halligan' s 19ft lm, but he was conceding handicaps up to 2ft. 100 YARDS FLAT. World's record by A. F. Duffey, 9 3-ssec, New Zealand record, 9 4-sec. First Heat : J. T. Hamann, 4Jyds, 1 ; A. F. Duffey. scr. 2. Also started: D. MTDonald Sftyds. At 30 yards from the tape Duffey had got up on the leaders, and easing up ran into second place, Hamann winning all out. Time, 10 4-ssec. Second Heat : A. Hoare, 4iyds, 1 ; G. A. Widmer, *yd, 2 . Also started": A. B. Smith syds, H. M'Leod 7yds. Hoare won easily. At three-quarters of the distance the New South Wales sprinter looked hopelessly out of it, but just qualified on the tape. Time. 10 3-ssec. Third Heat: W. J. O'Kane, 4yds, 1 ; A. B. Christie. 6yds, 2. Also started: G Nicolton syds, R. Leslie 81yds, W. T. Parata 9.yds. Won easily. Time, 10 2-ssec. Final. A. Hoare, 42, yds .. .. ». „ „ 1 W. J. O'Kane, 4yds '.. 2 J. T. Hamann, 4Jyds 3 All qualified started. The men got on to their marks quickly, Duffey being the fust down, but he appeared to be concerned about his foot-holes. At the pistol fire the five runneis in front, including Widmer (of New I South Wales), ro^e like one man. but the American sprinter was badly ] e ft. The pace vas a cracker. Hoare was the first to show clear, and at CO voids had a slight lead of I Hamann, who in turn was running a couple of yards clear of Widmer, with O'Kane r>udway between the pjir on the outside. Duff n y, who saw the uttsr hopelessness of it all after being left five yaids At the start, was tailing off in the leai Going on, Hoare swept to the tape a hare wiuner from O'Kane, v.ho came with a great bin fat of speed in the last 20 yards; Hamann was a yard away, third, with ' Wxdnier and Christie finishing level for fouath

place, Duffey treading on their heels. Time, lOsec. THREE-MILE FLAT. H. Munay, 140 yds 1 A. E. Bonnm, 250 yds 2 A. Dawson, 230 yds 3 Also started- A. Melville 170 yds, E. B. Reynolds 230yrts, A. Thomson 280 yds. Burk and Wheatley, who were on the mark, scratched thena=el\es at the last moment. The men swung out on their long journey in the order of their handicaps. At the end of the first mile the limit man (Thompson) was running strongly m the lead, about 40 yards in front of a bunched fie'd. Turning for the straight Melville dropped out. At the fifth lap Thomson had a lead of Murray, who had forged his way from the back mark to second place, by 20 yards, but passing the publio pavilion on the next round Murray assumed the lead, with Dawson, who had passed Thomson, hanging closely to him. At this stage Reynolds cried " enough," and Bonnin, who had been gaining ground all along, came into the race, Thomson meanwhile having dropped back to last place. Entering the third mile Bcnnin, who was running with a free stride, passed Murray and Dawson, and ran for some distance in the lead. Here Thomson retired, leaving the race to ba fought out between Murray, Bonnin, and Dawson. Passing the stand at the end of the eighth lap Bonnin was going well in the lead, with Murray on his heels and Dawson a yard or two in the rearMurray appeared io be foundering, but at ths back stretch took a new lease of life, and, lengthening his stride, passed Bonnin, the latter making a determined effort to get up again with the leader. Turning into the straight Murray drew at? ay, and won " all out" *rom Bonnm by nearly 20 yards, a> similar distance separating second and thirdTime, ISniin 34 2-ssec. 440 YAKDS FLAT. New Zealand record, 50 2-ssec. A. B. Smith, 15yds 1 W. J. O'Kane, syds 2 G-. W. Brown, 19yds 3 Also started: J. T. Hamann 12vds, T. A. Milroy 12yds, A. B. Christie 16yds^ W. Eudkin 17yds, J. Mooney 17yds, H. S. Reid 17yds, E. M'Lennan 18yds, P. B. Pitzherbert 18yds, T. Paterson 18yds, H. F. Titchener 22yds, A. Campbell 22yds, W. Willet 24yds. From a good start the big field swept round the first turn, and were going strongly up ths back straight when a spill occurred, several of the nnddle distanoe men rolling over on the track. Two of the fallen got up and continued the race, but Paterson retired. O'Kane suffered to the extent of three or four yards by the accident, having to pull up and run round the fallen men. G-oing round the top turn before entering the straight Smith (of Auckland) was seen forging his way to the front, with O'Kane coming fast through the field. Once in the straight a great race ensued between Smith, Brown, ajid_ O'Kane. The Aucklander was never headed, but O'Kane, who came with a rush in the last few yards, just beat Brown on the tape for second place. Time, 53sec. OFFICIALS' RACE, 50 Yards. — R.. Brickell 1, , Israel 2. Six others started. Won. by bare inches. FIREMEN'S RELAY RACE. For teams of four men, in uniform, each man to run. half a, lap. Prizes: Trophies, valued at £4 to the whining team. — St. Kilda 1, Dunedin City 2, Caver sham 3. There were no other starters, but the race was very keenly contested, and was won by only a small margin. SCHOOLBOYS' RELAY RACE. Prizes: Medals to boys of winning team; each of four boys to run half a lap. — Industrial School No. 1 (Te Whareumu, Mead, Reid, and Jones) 1, Industrial School No. 2 (Switalli, Smith, Lett, anrl Lund) 2, "Waikouaiti Native School (Taiaroa, Tewahia, Harper, and Harper) 3. Time, 3min 22 2-ssec. In the evening a smoke-social in honour of the visiting athletes was held at the Carlton Dining Rooms, Dowling street, when the-re was a large attendance cf those interested in athletics. Mr W. Lang-, president of the Otago Centre, occupied the/ chair, supported by Mr J. F. Grierson, president of the N.Z.A.A.A. Council. During tho evening Mr Lang presented tfife prizes won at tho afternoon gathering, and altogether a most' enjoyable time was spent, songs being liberally contributed by gentlemen present, and ample justice being clone the good things provided, a toast-list appropriate to the occasion being also most felicitously gone throug-h. Messrs Duffey, Wheatley, and Widmer desire us to thank the members of the Otago Centre for the kind treatment meted out to them during- their stay in Dunedin, and to Mr H. Thompson for his assiduous attention to their training.