ATHLETES TO MAKE NEW ZEALAND TOUR

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 7

ATHLETES TO MAKE NEW ZEALAND TOUR

AMERICAN CHAMPIONS HAVE FINE RECORDS. (Written for the “Star.”) During the past ten years or so the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has brought to the Dominion some outstanding athletes with a view to popularising and improving the standard of the sport in this country, and giving some of our own champions an opportunity of “ breaking a lance ” with them. There have been visits within that period from South Africans, American cracks, and notable runners from Australia and Germany. Last season the famous middle-distance star, Dr Otto Peltzer, and a young compatriot, G. Emton, as well as Leo Lermond (U.S.A.), and George Golding (New South Wales), a veritable Apollo of a man, provided a splendid attraction. For this season the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has booked three American athletes who likely enough will prove as good and as big a draw-card as previous Americans who have toured this country under the auspices of the N.Z.A.A.A. They are George Simpson, internation-ally-known sprinter, from Ohio State University; Harlow Rothert, of Stanford University, one of the most outstanding all-round college athletes in the United States; and Rufus W. Kiser, a fine middle-distance and mile runner.

The American trio is now en route to New Zealand from San Francisco by the Monowai, and is due at Wellington on January 12. The team is to make an extensive tour of the Dominion, opening at Masterton .on January 22, and concluding at Wellington towards the end of March. All the main centres are to be visited. Excellent Reputations.

All three athletes have excellent reputations in the States. They have been boomed by Mr C. George Krogness, representative in America for the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association who can be relied upon, as past experience has shown, to pick out suitable athletes for this country, and it would seem from various American Press cuttings and other information that has come to hand recently about the trio that his words of praise are every bit merited. Undoubtedly the N.Z.A.A.A. has been fortunate in securing three splendid athletes—three of the most outstanding of the American University stars. In a letter, Mr Krogness described the trio as follows; Harlow Rothert, one of the most outstanding all-round college athletes in the United States. He is at present a student at Leland Stanford Jr. University. George Simpson, of Ohio State University, the internationally-known sprinter who has run the 100yds and 220yds in world record time. Rufus W. Kiser, of the University of Washington, at Seattle, one of the best milers and middle-distance runners. Rufus Kiser. Let us now examine their records more closely. Kiser is reported to have a brilliant finishing sprint. On several occasions in inter-collegiate meets he has been what the American sporting writers call the “ iron man *’ for Washington University. In June, 1928, he caused a stir on the Pacific Coast with a great performance in the one mile championship at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s meeting when he won in 4min 17 3-ssec. The time equalled the N.C.A.A. record, but in June last year he did even better. He broke the record with another fine win in 4min 16 4-ssec. This year, in April, he was one of the heroes of the Stanford-Washington University meeting, winning two titles—the mile, which he covered in 4min 24.25ec, and the half-mile in lmin 57.45ec. Kiser is also an excellent quartermiler. Among his list of performances over this distance is a 49 2-ssec run. In New Zealand he will be offered some strong opposition. At the present time it is not certain whether New Zealand’s star, Randolph Rose, will be competing, but doubtless he will be out before the tour is over. His farm in Inglewood is keeping Randolph a very busy man, and he is not in training, but provided he can find the time, past performances—notably his great run at Wellington early this year against Leo Lermond, and later his fine achievement in running away from the field in the New Zealand cross-country championship—have shown that he does not require a great deal of work to get into racing trim. There are others in New Zealand who, no doubt, will provide Kiser with hard contests. D. Evans, the voung Taihape runner, who is present' holder of the New Zealand halfmile and one mile titles, is one. Then there are T. W. Savidan (Auckland), J. T. Fleming (New Zealand 440yds champion), L. C. M’Lachlan (Otago), A. W. Findlay (Otago), as well as several others who have been prominent in recent seasons. “Ohio Buckey© Bullet.” With Frank Wykoff and the Negro, Ed. Tolan, George Simpson is in the first flight of present-day American sprinters. There is, according to reports, little, if any, difference between the three over 100yds—just a question, probably, of who feels most like the race on a given day. But over the furlong Simpson seems to stand supreme. He has consistently broken 10 seconds for the 100yds and 21 seconds for the 220yds. In the States he is known as the “Ohio Buckeye Bullet,” and there are others who him as the “world’s fastest human. ’ His fast times, of course, have been made on cinder tracks, and probably the grass tracks in New Zealand, as also will be the case with Kiser, will be something new to him, but nevertheless he, no doubt, will be too fast for our New Zealand sprinters in races off the scratch mark. Simpson’s -principal opponents in New Zealand probabl}’ - will be A. J. Elliot (Auckland), who since the last New Zealand championships has had the benefit of the trip to the British Empire Games, and C. IT. Jenkins, of Wellington, present 220yds New Zealand champion. Eine Personality.

And now we come to the “strong” man of the team, Harlow Rothert, whose specialty in athletics is the field events. Originally Rothert was not in the team, but in view of his wonderful qualifications and the strong recommendation made by Mr Krogness for his inclusion, he eventually was invited to accompany Simpson and Kiser. Rothert apparently is an athletic personality on the Pacific Coast, and is a splendidly-built athlete. Besides being a notable field events exponent, he is a leading university basketball and football player, and in the latter sport he is recognised as one of the best punters in America. Rothert has hurled the shot 52ft 0 Sin, and the discus 154 ft, which are performances better by some feet than the best accomplished to date by P. Munro, of Wellington, holder of the New Zealand shot and discus championships. Some idea of the qualities of this fine athlete is to be gauged from a recent communication from San Francisco, which reads .as follows; “The award to Harlow Rothert ot the

Glen S. Warner trophy, a 250-dollar watch given annually to the member of the Stanford football squad who is judged first in character and athletic merit, is one that has met with unqualified approval, both on the Stanford campus and with the fans at large. This award goes to the top senior of the year, and there is no question but that Rothert is deserving of the distinction that has fallen upon him.” It is hoped that the presence of Rothert in the team will help considerably in stimulating interest in field events, which have fallen to a low ebb in this country. . . , , One could go on giving further details of these three Americans, they have such fine records; but from the few personal notes given above it should be clear that the New Zealand sporting public is in for an athletic treat. The writer would like to say finally that he hopes that the N.Z.A.A.A. as far as possible will endeavour to arrange for the visitors to give some instruction in the various events in which they specialise to the athletes in the different centres they visit.