AMERICAN ATHLETES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16946, 30 January 1926, Page 4

AMERICAN ATHLETES.

SCHOLZ’S MAGNIFICENT FINISH. SPRINTER. EQUALS 220YDS. N.Z. AND AUSTRALIAN RECORD. When Jackson Scliolz, the senior member of the American pair of amateur athletes, made his first official run in New Zealand, it was stated that he had riot quite shaken olf the effects of the sea voyage from Honolulu. He showed great improvement in his Auckland appearances, and yesterday went on the track at the Reserve and ran at what must nearly approach the peak of his form. He" ran 220yds. in 21 3-5 secs., from scratch, and so equalled tho New Zealand and Australian record for the distance, putting up a display that held the spectators bound in astonishment. Lloyd Hahn, the middle distance runner from the States, had a day off, and could not approach the times on which the handicapper had based his calculations.

Public appreciation of athletic form has been educated to a high pitch by the institution of weekly meetings in which the local competitors have given fine displays, and it is safe to say that no more critical audience lias ever witnessed a sports gathering in this centre than that which gathered to see the American athletes in action. The spontaneous burst of cheering which greeted the achievements of the sprint, flier, and the sympathetic applause to which Hahn was treated when he failed to produce his customary form, had therefore much greater value. The visitors earned their ovations, and it will be a long time before their performances will cease to supply food for discussion in local amateur circles. SOHOLZ THE FIGHTER. The sprint champion proved himself a* lighter through and through. His best effort of the day was in the 220yds. handicap, in which he had to concede what appeared to he suicidal starts to all the local cracks —ten yards to Paltridge, fifteen to Truman, nineteen to Sutcliffe, and the'same to T. Corkery. Not one iu ten of the well-informed spectators gave him much hope of winning the race, for on performances the local entrants were likely to put up times., from their handicaps,, that would represent a serious obstacle to even the world’s champion sprinter at his best. And the heats proved that nine out of ten spectators were right: 21 1-5 sec., 21 3-5 sec., and 21 4-5 sec., were the times recorded against the heals, and these tilt: American was called on to run against in the final. He won the race, but the actual victor was of less importance from our point of view than was the time he put up. Right from the start he rapidly came up to his field, and in a third of the distance Scliolz had halved the leads of most of his opponents; in the next third, he had almost eliminated Ins handicap, and was lying just behind the local champion, Paltridge. It appeared, however, that the effort oh getting up to that position had taken full 101 l of his marvellous running powers and condition, and there was a moment when he barely held his own with the Held. Then ensued the remarkable lunge that drove him to the front, and the twist . that hurled his body at the tape, inches ahead of the leader of the local men. Nothing like that final burst has been produced on a local sports ground in many years. The handicapper gained a great deal of credit for his guaging of the possibilities of the race, and for the close finish seen, and much of it was deserved. Only Scholz’s fighting spirit, however, was responsible for the highly popular outcome of the contest. The American sprint champion also added to his Tlst- of successes the 75yds. invitation short limit handicap, winnimr by a narrow margin from Truman and Sutcliffe, with the other local runners, Paltridce and Martin, close up to the placed competitors. HAHN IN POOR SHAPE.

“I’m in very poor shape,” declared Lloyd Hahn at the conclusion of the mile handicap, in which he found liim.self unable to give to local runners the long handicaps allotted. He certainly appeared to be right off form, and possibly was suffering from one of those sudden and temporary “let downs” that occur to most athletes at times. He was visibly distressed when lie finished the course, and while nobody expected him to beat the local lads when it was seen how he started out, the public was disappointed in his general showing. . In the quarter-mile he had to give H. Martin 10yds., and lie never looked like improving his position at any stage of the distance. Martin ran his best quarter to date, and just got lo the tape ahead oi Smith and Thorpe by inches. Halm dropped out before the course had been completed, and his time was not taken for that reason.

aie.lady competitors supplied several ling finishes, and the cyclists were also seen to advantage in a number of tussles. The performance of J. Carron in the high jump handicap, when lie cleared sft. 7in. to win the event from Hewitt, aroused hardly less enthusiasm than the achievements of the overseas visitors, for it was yet another instance of sheer grit carrying the competitor to victory. CONCLUDING RESULTS.

The results of events conducted iu the latter part of the afternoon were as follow :

220yds. Handicap.—First heat: O. Paltridge (10yds) 1, V. Caulton (22yds) 2, J. Humphreys (30yds) 3. Time, 2l 1-5 sec. Second heat: Sutcliffe (19yds) 1, Jackson Scliolz (scr) 2, A. Thorpe (30 yds) 3. Time, 21 3-5 sec. Third heat : F. Truman (15yds) 1, F. Dobbie (32yds) 2. Only starters. Final: Jackson Scliolz, U.S.A. (scij ... f L. Sutcliffe (19yds) 2 O. Paltridge (10yds.) 3 Again tlio “breaking” of the Gisborne contestants resulted in their being put, back, but the visitor seemed to ha\'e only a forlorn hope even under these circumstances. Eventually a perfect start was obtained, ,and when two-thirds of the distance had been covered the six competitors were within a space of a fcouplc of yards,-, with Sutcliffe leading. Scliolz semed to falter,, but; gathering himself for a final effort, he finished with a great burst of speed and threw himself at the worsted, heating Sutcliffe by inches. The time, 21 3-5 sec., equalled the New Zealand and Australian record. Pal.lridge. was about a foot behind Sutcliffe, and Truman only inches out of a place. Two Miles Scratch Cycle Race: J. Algio 1, G. Goldsmith 2, E. Algie 3. Time smin. 42 4-5 see. A fourth competitor, A. Swan, stayed with the three placed men until well into the sixth lap, after which he pulled out. J. Algie sprinted away in the last quarter-mile, and won by four lengths, with Goldsmith threequarters of a length in front of E. Algic. High Jump Handicap: .1. Carron (scr) 1,1,. Hewitt (4in.) 2, IJ. A. Cameron (scr) 3. Carton cleared sft. Tin. Hewitt slopped at sft. 2ni., but the. scratch man had to go five inches beyond that to win. He managed 6in. on his third attempt, and used two chances of gett-iiiir over the next lift of the bar, without success. His third and final attempt carried him over in great style, 1 however, and won the event for him amidst an outburst of enthusiasm.

. 600yds Boys’ Walking Handicap: J, Keane 1, R. Robinson 2, H, Kane 3,

The event gave rise to much merriment, as most of the competitors sacrificed the niceties of the heel-and-toe progression in their eagerness, and disqualifications thinned the big field down considerably. The winner put up a good conscientious performance. 160yds. Ladies’ Handicap. First heat: N. Eastwood (scr) 1, L. Brown (11yds.) 2, It, McCarthy (6yds) 3. Time, 18 1-5 sec. Second heat: N. Wilson (syd.) 1, J. Haisman (15yd) 2, N. Gardiner (12yd) 3. Time, 18 1-5 sec. Final: Miss Eastwood 1, Miss J. Haisman 2, Miss N. Gardiner 3. Time, 18 2-5 sec. Miss Eastwood ran with great dash and determination in both the heat and the final,, winning the latter by two feet in an exciting finish. Three Miles Cycle Handicap: E. Algie (85yds) 1, J. Algie (60yds) 2. P. Benson (130yds) 3 Time, smin. 28 2-5 see.

The'Algie brothers and L. Goldsmith gradually crept up on the middle-mark-ers, but A. Woods, out on the virtual limit of 320yds., seemed likely to hold the lead throughout. He failed over the third mile, and the placed men drew away from the rest In a fast finish, a length separating first and second at the finish, .with the same distance between second and third.

440yds. Handicap: H. Martin (10yds) 1, J. Smith (22yds) 2, 13. Thompson (36vds) 3. Time, 50 4-5 sec. The winner made a fine effort to get on terms with the leaders, and held his own with the American, Hahn, from whom he received a concession of 10yds. Halm dropped out after doing twothirds of the course, leaving Martin to challenge the leaders, and to win by an inch or two from Smith, with Thompson a yard and a-half away. 440yds. Relay-Race: Misses Wilson and Brown, with W. Ingram and Truman, beat Misses Eastwood and 'McCarthy with,Smith and Corkery. The winners had a five-yard handicap,. but lost it at the first transfer. Ingram, running the next distance, effected a smart exchange to Truman, and picked up the lost ground. Miss Wilson had a substantial advantage over Miss Eastwod in the last distance, and won by a yard.