Athletics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 407, 12 May 1898, Page 15

Athletics

Vigilant.]

|By ?

Geo. Smith, Auckland’s crack hurdler and sprinter, who last week gave it out as his intention to give football' best, in view of a sound preparation in stick jumping, has found the attraction of the Rugby game too strong for him and was out for City District last Saturday. Hardingham, who will bey remembered as having won the sprint double at the recent Domain Pavilion sports, plays football for the Grafton senior.fifteen. •' J. McKean, the well-known half-mile cham pion, is also an adept in the game of football, and last week donned the jersey for City. Dick Neagle, who came to Auckland sometime since, in company with Jack Ryan, of long jump fame, to take part in one of. our amateur athletic gatherings, is talking of paying us another visit. He is at present at his home in Taradale, just outside of Napier. 1 G. B. Bowser, who came to light as one of the surprises at one of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club’s gatherings of last year, and is subsequently credited with having scooped the pool at one of our up-Country districts, under an assumed name, is competing in professional ranks in Victoria. ' ' - The Thames Cycling Clubs inaugural meeting of. Queen’s Birthday, embraces several attractive pedestrian events, and I understand that several Auckland runners will go down to Quartzopolis. In future the NIS. Wales A.A.A. will run all races on circular tracks left side in, this direction being in vogue in all the sister colonies. The records passed by the N.S. Wales A.A,A. for last year, are as under May 24, Throwing 161 b hammer, 108 ft o£iri, by J. Milward. October 2, 100yds flat, lOsec, by S. Rowley; one mile walk, 6min 41isec, by D. Wilson (N.Z.)r 3 120yds hurdles, 16 l-sth sec, by J. Laidlaw; putting 161 b shot, 37ft 9in, by J. English. October 4, 220yds flat, 22 2-sth sec, by S. Rowley; pole vault, 10ft 6in, by Hori Eruera (N.Z.); three mile walk. 22min 37 l-sth sec, by D. Wilson (N.Z.) ; 440yds hurdles, 62sec, by A. H. Holder (N.Z.).- October 9th, high jump, sft ll|in, by J. English. \ — c Prodigal ” of the Sydney Referee in reviewing a communication from our Auckland correspondent anent the fine performance recorded by George Smith in the 120yds hurdles at the recent Domain Pavilion sports here, in which the latter says : Smith would make matters very interesting for the ex Irishman Roseingrave. “ Prodigal ” admits that Smith must be a good man, but states that he would be inclined to have a few cigars on Roseingrave against all-comers in the Australasian -colonies over the jumps, including Smith. The cunning of the, professional ped. is proverbial, and to be as . cunning as a professional ped. is to be cunning indeed, but there is one ped. in New Zealand who has been kicking- himself for a'month, and who is still kicking (says a Sydneyjexchange). I shall call him Blank. He is a ch amnion distance runner of a sister eolonv. who

went to Maoriland, called himself, say, Dash, nominated for the Half and One Mile Handicaps as a maiden, got 40yds in the Half and 60yds in the Mile, and then smiled in anticipation. He we won the Half easily, so easily to cause suspicion. He therefore made a dead heat in the Mile. A protest was entered, but the protestors could not prove anything ; they only thought his name was Blank, and that Dash was assumedBlank—or, as he called himself, Dash —was brought in, swore his name was Dash, did not know anyone named Blank, never ran under the name of Blank, was a maiden runner, The committee having no proof otherwise were about to award the races to him, and asked him to sign an affidavit He did so, but in his anxiety signed his proper name, J. Blank Tableau I We received recently the following telegram from our Nowra correspondent (says a Sydney paper of April 19th) : A man, who says he says he is walking round the world for a wager, arrived at Nowra lately on his way from Melbourne. He lunched at the Prince of Wales Hotel, the proprietor entertaining him gratuitously. The traveller states that he has completed over 50,000 miles. He goes to Cooktown (Q.) and thence to Singapore across India and back to England. In conversation, he said he was engaged in a dual contest; he was racing a man round the world to decide a wager of £40,000 made by the Earl of Dudley with another English gentleman, and was also to receive £4OOO if he did the journey in a certain time. He has, he alleges, now virtually won the wager for the Earl of Dudley, as he as left his opponent in the Melbourne Hospital suffering from typhoid fever. He was offered money by a citizen, and refused it, as it was against his agreement. He also refused to take some food with him, as this was also contrary to agreement. The traveller, who has not revealed his name, said the worst part of his journey was from Westralia to Adelaide, where, for 600 miles, he never saw a living soul, and he would’t do that journey again for anything. A gentleman, thinking he was a Yankee, remarked to him that he out to be in America now that war was pending. “What have I got to do with America ?” he replied. I’m an Irishman.” He only remained in Nowra a short space, and left again for Sydney.