ATHLETICS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 12, 15 January 1936, Page 4

ATHLETICS

' ’By

44 MERCURY. 44 1

The AA’anganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club held its first twilight sports meeting of the year at Cook’s Gardens on Thursday evening last. Following rain during the day the track was on the heavy side, but was in good order. • • • • The club is holding its second electric light sports meeting at Cook’s Gardens to-night and has received excellent entries for the event. Competitors from Palmerston North, Feil-l-ing, Levin, Taihape, and Maiton will be present and it is hoped that the weather will be more kind on this occasion. For the first event in December record entries were received and what would have been an outstanding meeting was marred by heavy rain throughout the day. A. R. AVilson, runner-up to L. C. AlcLac-hlan in the national mile championship in 1933, is keen to make an attempt to. reduce C. 11. Alatthews’ re-cently-created two-mile figures of 9min. 18sec. AVilson is by uo moans thoroughly wound up yet, but once he is there should be no difficulty in arranging a special short-limit handicap race for him. The best time he has recorded for the distance is 9inin. 27sec. made When he defeated J. AV. Savidan at AVhangarei last season. J. E. Lovelock, accoiding to an English exchange, is crossing the Atlantic again this year to meet once more the United States crack, Glenn Cunningham. Phis appears very strange in view of the Olympic Games. One would have thought that the New Zealander would have refused invitations t.o tour this season, until at least after the Gaines, in order to concentrate upon the 1500 metres at Beilin. If he actually does go to America it will be necessary for him t.o be in peak form, and this might reduce his chances of success against the pick of the world next August. It is possible, of course, that Lovelock intends trying his luck indoors, in which event he will have sufficient time to rest after his return to England before getting into seiious work again for the Games. Lovelock defeated both AV. Bonthron, now retired, and Cunningham last July in a special race billed as “the mile of the century” in 4min. 11 1-osev. The New Zealander has had no experience of indoor tracks, and if it should be on one of those that, he encounters Cunningham lhe American will have a definite advantage, indoor tracks with their banked corners and short straight cannot be mastered in one race. Cunningham has made some of his best performances on the boards —he holds the world’s mile record — and would probably have no trouble in defeating Lovelock. It. wiil, however, occasion no surptiso if Lovelock’s next meetimg with the American is at Berlin. The Australian track and field championships at Hubart to-day (January 15) and on Saturday may be the last con-ducted in English measure. A move is being made to introduce the met tic system of measurement. The metric, measure is wanted mainly to enable comparison with overseas form to be made. At present 47 countries, including America and Jaj>an, use the svsteni. Another point is that all events at the Olympic Games have the same measure. There will bo general regret, among both cyclists and athletes at the passing last week of Cyril Flett, a former AVel’lington cycling champion. Although it was oxer a. decade since Cviil was a.t the top of his form, hr was an active competitor until three years ago, when illness compelled his retirement. He did much to re-estab-lish tho popularity of cycling when the sport was rc' ived in A\ ellnngton shortly after the war. both by his sportsmanship ami by his perfoiinane os. Flett, who was a member of the AVcllingron Club, represented his province on several occasions at the New Zealand championships, but, though he alwavs rode prominently, he did n-ot succeed in winning a national title. He competed also with a fair measure ot success on the rond, but this phase was not his forte. Field Events Not since the ’nauguratlnn of the i AVanganui Club has thr.e been so high a sta.nnlard in field events as at the present time. The competitors in this section include E. R. G. Strerc. AVed Coast champion and runner-up for the Now Zealand championship shot putt; .1. Morgan, AVest. Coast champion discus thrower, and S. Nolan, runner-up in the hammer throw at the AA est Coast championships. Sloe re rested during tho winter and recomtlv touched 40 feet with the shot. The AVest Coast standard for Ibis event is 39 feet, and last year I’. Munroe, nf AVellington, won lhe New; Zealand championship with a distance of 41 feet. 8. Nolan trained during the winter and has also recorded 40 feet with the shot, a big improvement on his pcrfornianvos of last season. At the lost sports meeting before Christmas Nolan just headed Steerc in tho shot putt and it will be interesting Io see these two men in action to-night. .T. AVilson and T. Hayes, recruits to this section, are showing distinct promise in their various events. L. Burges®, the club captain and sprinter, competed in the javelin t-hrew-ing competition at a sports meeting during the Christmas holidays. He threw the javelin I3Bft. —a great feat considering that he had never previously competed in this class of event. Bert Couzcns, English long-distance walker, is reported to have up a new record by walking continuously for 25 hours 9 minutes. He walked round and round AVanstead Flats, and covered 97 miles in tho time. Tho previous record for continuous walking was claimed by Albert Monson, an unemployed miner, who walked for 24 hours 12 minuter. Couzens had intended to keep going longer than h« did, but his feet were cut and the weather during the night had been very bad.