A MYSTERY ATHLETE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 114, 19 June 1914, Page 3

A MYSTERY ATHLETE.

C. S. THOMAS IN ENGLAND. Some interesting references to a crack Canterbury athlete are made by "Strcphon," the writer of "Topics of the Track" in the "Athletic News." Although '' Stfephbn'' wanders over the track a little, his notes are very .interesting,, even when he diverges from his references to Thomas. Here is an extract: —

I When I was in London the other day a young friend told me of a mystery athlete, Who, according to him, was to be kept, as it were, in cotton-wool with a view to landing a A.A.A. championship. Who the man was my -gossip could not tell me. "They say he is a South African—at any rate, he is a colonial—and he is or is going to be a member of the London Athletic Club. From what the old 'heads' are saying he is going to-make Applegarth move some," concluded my; friend. "'""", Now I have been putting two and two together ever since, and no South African'of whom I know has landed in' old England, but I db know of a New Zealander. who : has reached London with a view, I believe, to joining the London Athletic Club, and in the hope of making a showing the Quartermile Championship. • He is C. S. Thomas, who hails from Christchurch, New, Zealand, who has the reputation of being a fine all-round athlete, and can sprint or get a mile. ;'" TOO MUCH VARIETY. There is a lot of variety about this; but I should thing he is wasting a glorious opportunity at some particular distance, for it- almost stands to reason that a man who can run a great mile cannot also get a remarkable 100. And yet there are exceptions, for I read the other day that J. E. Meredith, the halfmile record holder, chased Patterson, the Pennsylvanian sprinter—an undoubted even-timer, by the way—at a distance of* only a few inches at a dual meet between Pennsylvania and Virginia Universities. But then Meredith is.an athletic freak—nothing more and nothing less. There he was in the fall being urged to turn his attention to serious cross-country work. He did not db so, however., and now he is following Patterson home in a race timed to have been run in lOsec. What he may do in intermediate cuts between a mile and 100 yards it is hard to calculate; but I am positive James Edward Meredith is going to have something more to do iii the making of athletic history.

I shall come back to C. S. Thomas directly; but I believe in writing these "Topics"of the' Track" just"as matters strike.me, aud not in sticking fast to one subject. Hence' (to keep at' Meredith for a moment long'er), I have beside me a note from an American trainer, wherein, dealing with the season 's prospects, he tells me lie expects some wonderful form this spring. He looked for Oxford winning the four miles relay, and he has been right, though' the time was slower than he calculated; but then it "poured, and must have affected runners and the track. TWO AMERICAN NOTES.. I shall be interested to read the particulars of the one mile relay. My correspondent figured Penn-to win that from Harvard in something like .".niin ISsec, but they would be-good for better if the weather had only been decent. There had not before April 21 been six good days during .the spring, and nearly all the work of. Penn had had to be done indoors. With Lippiucott and Meredith each able to do about 48 for their quarters they should run well.

1 Here in England we hardly know what relay running, properly speaking, is. Yet in the United States they are wondrous keen on the sport, and even the Germans, while they lack the sheer pace of our lads, can give u.s points in the skilful manner in which they dispose of the baton. Fancy a team of schoolboys in the American mile relay doing i'.m'm 20 1 -i)sec.' Jn a note/James Currau, who brought out Meredith and Robinson (that wonderful schoolboy? sprinter, who had intended coming to England for the championships last summer, but developed mumps instead) tells me that at Mercersburg he has a lad whom he expects to do 51sec,-but the others will only average around s,'!see, and he would be surprised did they beat Jimin .'►Osec. And yet he was hopeful of beating the schools record in 191-1. If (and now we return to our sheep) (VS. Thomas is another Meredith he will be very welcome during his spell in England, but I only know that dowii

under he has done 50 4-sscc for a quarter; the rest of his form is unknown to me. George Nie,ol would not be held by. GO 4-ssec. Nicol ought to run as i well as. ever'this, summer, and I do not think Applegarth will be disturbed by any sprinting stories. -

I do wish, however, Patching or some of the Americans—Howard Drew for preference—would come.across and extract the best out of our champion. The Galiforajan reports of 9 3-ssee running by the little Yankee notwithstanding, I should prefer Applegarth, who is. a better runner..than, he was -when he was at Stockholm. All the same, it would be a. race worth going far. to see. If Thomas is the specially-preserved colonial to whom rumour has referred, he may just as well come out and join in the fun.