GOSS RANKS AMONG BEST TWO-MILERS

Southland Times, Issue 24109, 24 April 1940, Page 11

GOSS RANKS AMONG BEST TWO-MILERS

By his amazing feats over Easter—the two-mile run at Stawell on Easter Monday, and the one mile and two miles at Bendigo on the next two days —from the back mark, Mick Goss, the Tasmanian, is entitled to rank among the world's best two-milers.

His mentor, Joe Williams, plans that, if the Tasmanian farmer returns to Melbourne next year, he will attack the Australian professional mile record of 4min 18Jsec, made by Joe O'Brien, at Ballarat in 1881. He will also tackle the world’s professional record of 4min. 12j|Sec, standing to the credit of the late W. G. George (England), since 1886, and the world’s two-mile professional record of 9min lljsec, put up in England by W. Lang (England) on August 1, 1863. Four years ago Allan C. Morgan, New South Wales ex-amateur barefoot runner, created a sensation at Stawell not only by his unorthodox style, but by his remarkably fast time of 9min 5 4-ssec off 160 yards. Then last year Albert Gilmore, the powerfully-built New Zealander, made a dramatic appearance at Stawell in winning the one mile handicap off 40 yards by 25 yards easing up in 4min 8 4-ssec —equal to a 4.15 mile. Tire Dominion star amazed onlookers, and many old-time experts declared that he was in world’s class, and that with a proper preparation he was capable of running a mile all the way on a fast track in 4min Bsec to 4min lOsec. SIZZLING EFFORTS Hardly had onlookers, at Stawell recovered from the magnificent effort of Gilmore than they were astounded at the sizzling two miles put up by Goss. From 120 yards he shot to the front with 440 yards to go and, although Gilmore (45yds), moving into second place, appeared dangerous for a while, he had to be content with that position to the end. Goss won handsomely and registered 9min 3 4-ssec, bettering Morgan’s Stawell track record of 9min 5 4-ssec. Then Goss went to Bendigo and collected first-prize money in the mile and two miles.

This year he returned to Victoria with his trainer, Joe Williams, who declared, after a good commission had been completed, that Goss, from the actual scratch mark of 65 yards, would break 9min for the journey. He did Bmin 54sec, smashing his own record made the previous year at Stawell. Experts declared that the run was worth 9min 3sec—a wonderful perfor-

mance, considering that Goss had to pass a field of more than 30 runners, causing him to run wide and add several yards to the journey, which he finished with 60sec for the last lap. The Tasmanian’s two-mile run at Stawell stamps him not only as the greatest professional or amateur Australia has ever known over two miles —a better man over this distance than either Herb Hedeman or Albert Gilmore—but in world class, comments a critic in The Melbourne Sporting Globe.

It will be argued that Goss has done his fast times in handicap events and not in a field of aces starting from scratch. Against this it must not be forgotten that world’s best times are put up in small and select fields with the pressure on all the while and not in big fields as in handicaps, with little opportunity for the back man to hug the line. * I feel sure that Goss would run even better and faster from scratch with his opponents off the same mark. We have not yet seen the best in this 26-year-old superman from Tasmania, who is likely to do sensational things next season if certain plans laid down by his mentor, Joe Williams, materialize.