The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1939. THE MILE OF THE CENTURY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 165, 15 July 1939, Page 8

The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1939. THE MILE OF THE CENTURY

j\TEß.\.\Tl<l.\.\l. sporting events have been promoted with tlm uhjcH of developing intorimlional understanding, but like every oilier eii'oiT to break down these mental barriers which arise between eommunities. sports contests have not been wholly siieeessi'nl. This should cause no surprise. Lach community, large and small* develops a consciousness of its own. and because of this they tend Io look at sporting contests in which they are lepresenlcd through spectacles of their own making, When international contests are invested with undue signili- ■ ■ain-e. as is the mile race at Princeton, by calling an event “the mile of tin- century.’’ then the differences in point of view ar< inclined to lieconm exaggi rail'd to an unwarrantable degree, and when an iiiiloi'tiinate incident occurs, that incident, too. takes on an undue significance. The incident which occurred in I lie last race was an linforl nnalc oceurrenc-e, and Wuoderson may have some justification in his belief that lhe Anicrican contestants engaged in team worlr tn encompass his defeat, hecaiisc such practice is a common one in the United States. The cine camera record of the race provides conclusive, evidence that \\ ■ udei 'Ui siii'i'ered an obstruetion from Bideoitt. Itideuiii drew up to Wooderson on the bend and before they entered tin- straight had so far moved in front of Wooderson as to cause tiie latter to throw up his arm and break his stride. The blocking, occurring on the bend, put Woderson al. the maximum of disadvantage, for at that stage of the race a runni r is running with his body slightly inclined toward the inside of the track-, and any obstruction tends to exaggerate this incline of ths body, urn king it much more difficult for a runner to regain his stride than would lie the ease were tic running on the straight part of th" track. The obstruction of Wooderson in the circumstances obtaining vould probably penalise him to the extent of four flu. Manchester Guardian, in its comment on the race, oliservi's: ’’The superiority of the really great miler is established. not in tiie last lap, Inti in lhe preceding three, during which he ri duel's his opponents In such a condition of fatigue that the last lap is inure or less formal. This is the case even when one s.-es a great miler, running' against a moderate field, demolish them by a tremendous burst at the finish. The operative factor is not his speed but their previous exhaustion.’’ With every respect to the Manchester Guardian, its argument is illogical. The superior runner naturally shows up at the end ot' tin mile race because of the exhaustion of his opponents, but a miler has only so much staying ]>ower, and if it i.s exhausted early he cannot draw on it at lhe end of the rare. Every runner, even a hundred yards sprinter, must nurse a reserve of strength to enable, him to accelerate or hold his pace, at the end of the race when the psychological factor plays a dominant part. The superior runner is able to stay the distance at a pace which tests his opponents, but the superior runner i.s able to make his tinal burst over a longer distance than the inferior runner. In I lie Princeton race Wooderson realised that he was not contesting with inferior runners, but with runners who were in the same class as himself. He was therefore engaging in correct tactics when he nursed his strength by running the race at sufficient pace, to draw his opponents along at a contesting pace. It would be difficult, however, for any runner 1o accept a four-yard handicap at the vital stage of the game and go on and win. The obstruction made a win by Wooderson an impossibility. Should’ the race have boon re-run’ That is a matter evidently to be decided, for it is hoped that the race will be re-run by the same contestants at the White City on August Bank Holiday. Should the mile be re-contested, and be free from incidents of obstruetion. it will decide which is the superior runner, but it is unfair to Wooderson to cavil with his tactics when he was so clearly obstructed at a vital stage of the race. Having reviewed tiie race, and having made due allowances .for the leam-work tactics which, in America, are not deemed to be objectionable, the whole of the business should be relegated to its appropriate significance, which, in plain English, docs not amount to much in the scheme of things.