ATHLETICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XX, Issue 1135, 11 January 1912, Page 14

ATHLETICS.

CARNIVAL IN AUCKLAND.

REDMOND DEFEATS OPIE. DORMER IN FINE FORM. The Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycle Clad were favourea with fine weather for their summer carnival on Saturday, out the attendance was not up to expectations, the trotting meeting at Alexandra Park being in progress the same afternoon. A feature of the gathering. was the appearance of lue Australasian champions R. Opie (sprinter), of Canterbury, and G' JSF. Hill (long-distance runner), of zviicKiand, wmie other prominent athletes competing at the gathering were P. T. Redmond (the New South Wales champion sprinter), L. H. Kelly (Aus' tralasian high jump champion), of Victoria, C. D. Carter (a Victorian athlete), and Winkelmann (a Welling' ton jumper). The visitors, however, with the exception of Redmond, were not seen at their best, the strain of the Ausralasian championships no ■doubt having affected them slightly. Those who assembled at the Domain in the anticipation of a good after- " noon’s .sport were fully rewarded, for the majority of the events were productive.of keen competition, while.the presence on the running track of the crack Australasian athletes was in itself well worth a visit to the Domain for the occasion. The fields were, with few exceptions, highly satisfac-

tory, and the. varied nature of the afternoon’s programme was su:h as could not fail to meet with universal .appreciation from those present, Mr J. P. Jerrat, the club’s secretary, was again to the fore in ensuring the suc'Cess of - the carnival by the completeness of all arrangements in connection therewith, the programme being carried out with satisfaction and . despatch. The following officials rendered valuable assistance during the -progress of the sports: —Referee, Mr. H. Frost; stewards, Messrs, M. J. Sheahan, J. Hardwick, and G. Donaldson; judges, Messrs. F. J. Ohlson, W. Speight, F. Hull, A. Plugge, and R. B. Lusk; timekeepers, Messrs. F. McManemin, S. H. Heald, F. Burns, F. Pickford, and J. Russell; handicapper and starter, Mr. H. J. Fielder; clerk of course, Mr. W. H. Moyes; marksmen, Messrs. A. Tilly, W\ Martin, A. Twiriame, D. Gallagher, and H. G. •Che Vis result steward, Mr. W. Winks; result-board stewards, Messrs A. Li Sheppard, W. F. Berry, A. Camp' bell, and J. E. Fagan; judges of field events, Messrs. - F. Hull and T. B. O’Connor; lap steward, Mr. H. D. Crawford; press steward, Mr. P. R. Fraser; call stewards, Messrs. F. J. Baildon and T. H. Hansen; hon. trea-

surer, Mr. C. V. Langsford. Chief interest was centred in the second meeting of Ronald Opie, of Canterbury, and P. T. Redmond, of New South Wales, in a 75 yards Invitation Race. When the pair met a fortnight ago in the final of the 100 yards at the Australasian championships, it will be remembered the Australian led Opie to, within a yard of the tape, when the crack Canterbury sprinter, with a supreme effort, dived across the finishing line, snatching a victory by • inches only. Saturday’s race being over a 75 yards course, the distance was fully expected to be to Redmond’s liking, and such it -proved, for the Australian was in the lead before they had gone ten yards and he won rather easily from Opie by a couple of yards in 7 3-ssec.

The One Mile Handicap was made one of the principal events of the day, -the fact that G. N Hill was to make an attack upon Alfred Shrubb’s Australasian record of 4min 2 2sec attaching considerable importance to the race. A dozen competitors toed the mark in this event, Hill, the scratch man, conceding starts up to 200 yards. The result of the race again afforded proof of what a champion little distance runner A. A. Dormer is. This youth, who was on the 65 yards mark, finished in brilliant fashion, winning by close on 20 yards from T. A..Sansbury (170 yards), with G. N. Hill third. I/orrnor’s time for the distance was 4 mln 21 2-ssec, which even al-

lowing for his 65 yards handicap, is ‘ an excellent performance. Hill aid not run with his usual judgment, sprinting too hard at the start, and so robbing himself of his finishing powers. The strenuous work put in on the track lately by the Australasian one and three miles champion is commencing to tell its tale already, and Hill must realise that he will have to ease up in his training in order to avoid the danger of going stale. Hill may safely lay claim to being the greatest distance runner New Zealand has ever known, and as his trip to Stockholm to represent the Dominion at the Olympia Sports is practically as' sured, it is unlikely that he will exert himself much on the running track during the next few months. Hill’s times were: Quarter 5 9 2-ssec, halfmile 2min 8 2-5 sec, three quarter mile 3min 19 3-ssec; mile, 4min 25 l-ssec. * * * Ronald Opie was responsible for a good performance in his heat of the 220 yards Handicap, which he won from scratch from two others, W. T. Kielty (20 yards) and J. D. Thomson (18 yards) who finished second and third respectively, in the. fast time of 22 l-ssec.: In the final, however, Opie failed to “make good,” finishing. outside of a .the winner proving to be L. J. Mark (9 yards). Opie also

contested his heat in the 100 yards, in which he gave away starts up to 9 yards, but he found the task beyond him, being unplaced in his first effort of the day. * * * A. A. Dormer was the hero of the gather.ng, his showing in the long distance events proving him to be a runner of exceptional ability. He was first seen out in the 880yds Handicap, in which he was virtually scratch man, being on the 18yds mark, and this event he won from ten others in lm. 58 2-55., T. A. Sansbury (55yds) being half-a-dozen yards away second, and C. R. Robertson (50yds) third. Dormor’s next effort was in the One Mile Handicap, which he won as mentioned above in 4m. 21 ’ 2-55., He then competed in the 440yds Handicap, which he also annexed off 12yds in 50 l-ssec., L. J. Mark (10yds) being several yards away second, and C. R. Robertson (28yds.) third * « • Another competitor who displayed brilliancy in each of the events he contested, was L. J. Mark, of whom big things are expected on the running track. Mark (6%yds) won his heat, and the final of the 100yds Handicap from a very strong field, his time in the final being 9 4-55., M. Kalman (11yds.) being second, and C. N. Creeks (8% yds.) third. In his heat in the 220yds Handicap, Mark (9yds) finished second, while he carried off honours, in the final, winning by a yard from R. E. Fordham (22yds), with M. Kalman (22yds.) a similar distance away third. Mark’s time for the distance was 21 3-ss. L. J.

Mark (10yds) also performed creditably in the 440yds. Handicap, finishing second to Dormor. • * *

The bicycle races attracted good fields, and the racing was with one or two exceptions of an interesting chara’cter. In the One Mile Cycle Race (open), A. Brown (120yds.), and J. iPorter (130yds) each captured their heats, while the former won the final, with Porter second, and B. Hunt (110yds) third, the time being 2m. 22 2-ss. The Two- Mile Cycle Handicap (open) saw J. Adlam (scr.), and E. W. Burton (20yds) each win a heat, with H. W. Roberts (140yds), >and G. R. Harrington (230yds.) in second places respectively. The final was won. by- E. W. Burton after a desperate finish with Adlam, half a wheel separating the pair at the finish, the winner’s time being sm. 12s. The other riders all fell.. The 'Haif-Mile |Cyicle ip.ace was won by J. Lecky (scr.), with C. C. Smith (20yds) half a wheel away second. * * * The jumping events brought out some good material, L. H. Kelly (Victoria), scr., and Winkelmann (Wellington) 9in., both contesting the High' Jump, in which C. C. Laurie 6in, and L. W. Basley 6in, were also competitors. Basley failed at sft 2in, and Winkelmann and Laurie at sft Sin. As the latter two had jumped

sft sin, Kelly had to jump over sft Ilin to win. This, however, the failed to do, and the.trio, thus tied for first place. The Long Jump only attracted two competitors, Winkelmann (18in handicap), and R. E. Fordham (2ft 6in), the former proving the victor, with a jump of 17ft.

Other events at the carnival were:

75yds; Maiden Handicap.'—M. Kalman (4yds), 1; W. Bust (2yds), 2; Carter (Victoria), 3yds, 3. Won by inches. Time, 7 4-ss. 600yds. Novice Handicap.—J. Seal, (18yds), 1; W. Kidd (18yds), 2; F. C. Coombe (10yds), 3. Six others started. Won by a yard. Time lm. 20s.

220yds. Hurdle Handicap.—J.. D. Stewart (syds), ■1; L. W. Basley (owes 2yds), 2; W. H. Kaighan (owes 10yds), 3. Two others started. Won by 3yds. Time, 30 4-ss. Mercantile Firms’ Relay Race, 880yds.—Laidlaw, Leeds, and Co.’s team, 1; Briscoe and Co.’s team, 2. Teams representing A. and T. Burt and P. Hayman and Co. also started. The winning team consisted of Bust, Mcllwraith, Courtney, and Corby. Won by syds. Time, lm. 41s. 440yds. Blindfold Race. —C. N. Creeks, 1; R. E. Fordham, 2; T. Virtue, 3. Time, lm. 4 4-ss.

The Richmond Cruising Club’s race to the Wade on Saturday resulted as follows: —Sadie, 6h. 55m., 1; Emerald, 7h. 10m. 2 55., 2; Venus, 7h. 2 6m. 95., 3; Puawanga 7h. 40m. 65., 4; Dulcie, 7h. 5 6m. Bs., 5. Ivy did not finish.