N.Z. CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 87, 4 July 1927, Page 3

N.Z. CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

SAVIDAN’S GREAT WIN OTAGO WINS TEAMS RACE (Special to THE SUN.) CHRISTCHURCH, Saturday. The New Zealand Cross Country Championship was won by J. W. Savidan (Auckland), C. Gibbons (Wanganui) second) J. W. Tapp (Otago), third. Time, 39min. 4sec. The teams championship resulted in a win for Otago (27 points); Wellington, second. The Auckland team finished; Savidan (first), Cooper (ninth), Kells (seventeenth) • and Scown (eighteenth). Speed, strength, "heart" and brains were necessary to win the New Zealand cross-country individual championship, and in leading the field home J. W. Savidan, Auckland cross-country champion, and New Zealand one and three miles’ track champion, demonstrated that he has all those qualities. He took the lead soon after the first mile had been covered and thereafter was never headed. He finished 7 seconds ahead of the second man, C. Gibbons, of Wanganui, and in covering the course in 39min. 4sec. he put up the best performance that has been seen at Cashmere since the course was lengthened to 10,000 metres. AUCKLANDER A STYLIST Savidan is of ideal build for a distance runner, short and spare. He is muscled in the right places, and he is a stylist, covering the ground with an easy, clean-cut stride and beautiful free action. During the week he studied the course carefully, and he benefited greatly thereby, for the trail is the hardest in New Zealand with the greatest variety of country it is possible to find. Twenty-six runners lined out for the start, and all finished, R. Kent (Wellington), who was last, not being checked in, and thus escaping mention on Saturday. For the first mile the going is fairly easy, and the mile was covered in smin 17sec. Savidan started slowly, worked his way up to a good position on a stretch of road, and when the course turned into a paddock of plough, he simply walked away from the field. He took command in the second mile of the race and crossed paddock after paddock, running easily and freely. He took the hills at a walk and finished without showing signs of distress. KELLS A GOOD LOSER Last year’s champion, G. Kells, of Auckland, finished seventeenth, and never looked like a winner. But he is a fine sportsman, and he said afterwards that the course was an ideal cross-country one. and very different from the steeplechase course on which he had won the title last year. The field that lined up was the most classy collection of harriers New Zealand has seen for many years. Despite the absence of R. A. Rose, Auckland Wanganui, Otago, Wellington and Canterbury were represented, and all five provinces were represented in the first six places. Gibbons, wh o ran second, is a heavier man than oau dan and so the heavy, slippery going dfd not suit him, but he ran a fine race He has not the style of the Aucklander, but is a very strong and de^o ne f d uny nn sserved the teams’ 5 h - p "; who ffi was a very solid proposition.