ATHLETICS

Otago Witness, Issue 3743, 8 December 1925, Page 8

ATHLETICS

BY

AMATEUR

At the opening meeting of the season in Invercargill, R. C. Morgan, who deadheated with L. A. Tracy in the 220 yards championship of New Zealand last season, ran tne j DO yards in 10 l-ssec, and won the 300 yards handicap, also from scratch, in Msec. In the 100 yards handicap he was conceding five yards to his old rival, A. G. Harrington, who failed to reproduce form after leaving school. Harrington scored a win, but Morgan put up a great performance for so early in the season, being only a foot behind in great time. A northern athletic authority has been reviewing the Christchurch secondary schools’ records. His items will be interesting to those who advocate the introduction of intercollegiate sports:—“The followin'.” are the best performances of the Christchurch colleges:—Away back in 1677, F. S. Westenra, at Christ’s College, did for the 100 yards, and it still remains unbroken. Lee, at St. Bede’s, is credited with having done lOsec, but there seems to be reasonable grounds for doubting this. The record at the Boys’ High School is 10 3-ssee. The All Black, J. Parker, holds the High School quarter-mile record of 53 2-ssec. Christ’s College has produced a trio of splendid halfmilers of Tate years. The record is held by W. S. Dalgety, and is 2min 6 3-ssec. J. H. Nalder was a Rrevious holder at 2min 7sec, and G. ficholls dead-heated one year with the former in 2min Bsec. T. Milliken, the footballer, has the High School mile to his credit, done in 4min 47sec years ago. Over the 3ft hurdles G. Williams, of Christ’s College, registered the fine performance of 16scc last year at the intercollege sports. In 1898, M. R. Lindsay, of Christ's College, cleared the quarter-mile hurdles in 72 2-ssec. In the high jump, C. E. Low, Rhodes scholar, cleared the bar at sft siin. With regard to the long jump, tho credit must go away down to Invercargill, wher* R. O. Morgan, present New Zealand 220 yard? champion, jumped 22ft sJin as a schoolboy. Records are being whittled down year by vear in different countries until one never knows what will be next recorded. But ifc may be doubted if any runner will ever cover the 100 yards in 9see without material assistance from the wind and track. This subject is discussed interestingly below by “ Harefoot,” in the Athletic News:—“i think the 100 yards in 9seo can bo left to look after itself, though it must not bo forgotten that since the days when it was said to be impossible—quite impossible—for better than lOsec to be done, at least four yards have been found by the men - who now hold tho records. In England we do not, nor have we ever found men to run as fast as our American friends, but we have on occasion found men to run faster than crack Americans when their paces have been shown in Englad. All the same, we shall wait a while for that 100 yards in from a start to a finish, though I am P}dJ ,n g it aside as impossible. It is indeed difficult to see how those four yards or so are going to be found.” An Australian writer states regarding Hyde’s reoords:—“Whenever one of our notable athletes does a notable performance it appears to follow, aa a matter of course, that some of his admirers must map out for him a special mission—either somo

world-famous athlete must be imported to meet him, or he must be placed in line for participation in the next Olympic games, or something of the sort. And in the lay-out of plans all sense of proportion often disappears, doubtless unconsciously. It was but a few weeks ago that, after his meritorious win in a 10,000 metres crosscountry race, ardent admirers of R. A. Rose urged that no other than that athletic marvel, or freak-runner, Paavo Nurmi, should be imported to New Zealand as a vis-a-vis for the Australasian champion. Now comes the case of T. R. Hyde, who, after a series of brilliant wins, capped by two Victorian track record-breaking achievements (mile and two-mile) is described as the little Australian Nurmi, and for whose benofit, as a track rival, the beforementioned R. A. Rose should be invited to visit Melbourne. On his most recent form the popular little Melbourne harrier would surely keep the big Masterton farmer on the move from one to three * miles, but exactly why Rose should be expected to cross tho Tasman for the special purposo of meeting Hyde is hard to see, as in all probability Rose will represent New Zealand and Hyde Victoria in next year’s Australasian one and three miles championships at Brisbane. And until then I should say the cheery little Victorian has had enough of chasing the genial big man from Masterton, commencing with Hobart in 1924, nnd winding up with their meetings during the lengthy tour of the Dominion by the Australian team early this year. At Hobart they met in the one and three miles Australasian championships’,* and at Wanganui in the New Zealand one and three miles championships. They also met, early this vear in mile races at ‘lnvercargill, Dunedin, Masterton, and at Wellington at the test meeting. And in some eight or nine contests Rose was first every time, although during the New Zealand tour Hyde ran him some hard and close races. Admitting that of the redoubtable "air, Hyde is likely to be open to more improvement in pace, there would appear to he no reasonable doubt a? to who is the slightly better man over courses from, say. one to five miles today. And in saving this, let it be thoroughly understood I am a very strong supporter of both these fine runners and most excellent sportsmen.”