AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15152, 27 January 1923, Page 17 (Supplement)

AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

(By “Spike.”) With E. W. Carr, the Australian and Olympic sprint champion, appearing against the Americans and New Zealand’s best at Auckland next month there will be a record attendance. It is rarely that such a great opportunity presents itself for seeing the stars in action. The New Zealand championships will be held in Wellington on February 24. That will enable Carr, (he Australian champion sprinter, and the Americans to take part in the principal meeting of the season. The value of a good pacemaker is not fully apprcc.ated, but I should certainly > ut it at Quite equal to four seconds in a mile. That is to say, a man capable of running a mile in 4min 30sec on his own, would get near 4min 25sec if he “hung on" to a miler o •.•Lb of doing 4mm 24 sec. The Ngaruawahia Athletic Club will hold a sports meeting on February 17. Of the nine running events in the programme four are for amateurs. Chopping, field events and novelty competitions are also catered for. The Americans will be in Hamilton on February 7, when they will make an appearance at the Amateur Athletic Club’s sports’ meeting at Seddon Park. The executive has drawn up an attractive list of events. With the local and district competitors in action and the three noted Stars and Stripes athletes the inducement for a record crowd at the convincing ground is high class. M. Kirksey, the sprinter with the American team, is considered second to the world’s top-notcher, Charles Paddock. Though it admittedly was before Paddock was right at his best, Kirksey has beaten the flier and has run second Lo him in 9 3-ssees and 9 4-ssecs, being beaten by a fraction of space only in each event. Kirksey Is now striking top form in New Zealand and should be at his best by the time he reaches Hamilton.

Merchant, the specialist of the American athletes at shot putting, hammer throwing, the ‘discus and javelin contests, is a star of the first magnitude* in the hammer-throwing. His 168 ft 6in at Masterton is 21ft Ofin. beyond the best that has ever been recorded in the Dominion with the wire handle implement. His methods are an education, the maximum of result being achieved with the minimum of energy. In addition to his field endeavours. Merchant is also a sprinter of class. Krogness stars in the field events and in the 120 yards hurdles, in which he was only just defeated by H. E. Wilson, the New Zealand champion, In 15sec at Wellington. This splendid time shows what Krogness is capable of doing when properly in trim. On the same day he jumped 6ft in the high jump, in which his style was an eye-opener to the local men and the spectators too. He lakes a twist in mid-air just as he is at the height of the bar, and lands on all fours facing the side of the bar from-which he took off. He covers 22ft 6in in the broad jump, and is also a a good sprinter. Those who had the chance of seeing Alfred Shrubb run will remember that there was no appreciable pause between each stride, says a sporting writer in an English., exchange. His action 1 was the nearest approach fS continuous movement that I can recall among the fnany athletes whose ktyle’ I have studied. To coin an expression, he always appeared to he “going on with it," and if we take the rolling of a hoop as an example, it will help to Illustrate the continuation of motion I desire to describe. Another excellent trait about Shrubb’s stride was that the feet were never lifted many inches above the ground. A high stepper may be showy to look at, but that style is not the ideal one. The higher the feet are lifted beyond a certain point, the longer they" must be coming down, while the jar and shock is correspondingly greater.