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Photo by H. W. Ncale.Some ot Britain'* ht%t marathon men in thr S.L.H. "30." W. Kelly (SI)leading. Ton Richard* (behind), lack llolden, I'. Graftal. H. W. Dcnnit and

Jack I'ater.on <S),

JOHN EMMET FARRELL'SRUNNING COMMENTARY.

AUSTRALIAN ATHLETICS. CONFIDENTIALLY.

A.A.A. DECATHLON. RACE DETAILS.

4 THE SCOTS ATHLETE

British record and previous world's bestfigures of 2 mins. 59.6 sees., finishing in3 mins. I see. or 1.4 aces, outside.Nankoville's pace-Judgment was faulty.After a too-fast first lap of 56.6 sees., hedid a too-slow 2nd lap of 62.9 sees.leaving himself too much to do in thefinal lap. Still it was a brave andcourageous effort.

The 9.000 spectators at the Perry Barrstadium found the flood-light meeting athorougly enjoyable spectacle. Appar¬ently the artificial lighting conveys animpression of speed by the athletes andcyclists not apparent under natural con¬ditions. and though illusfonory this en¬hances the spectacle.

On their part the athletes themselvesadmit to a strange feeling of exhilarationwhile in action under the arc-lights whichadds to their personal enjoyment, especi¬ally as they too feel themselves travellingfaster than normal though this is alsoan illusion not substantiated by the stop¬watch.

Zatopek on the War-path.Zatopek, recently deprived of his 10.0X»

metres world record by the narrow-margin of one second by Finnish rivalViljo Hcino, is not content to take thiserasion of his name from the record-books lying down. Doubtless the " IronMan " of the track, as Olympic championover this distance, feels that the prestigeof his position is enhanced by beingworld record-holder also, and if recentreports arc correct, intends to try torecapture the record as soon as possible.To this end he has invited some of thecream of track distance experts to assisthim in his bid. Including A. Mimoun ofFrance, his runner-up in the Olympic10.000 metres and winner of last year'scross-country International in Dublin.Perhaps before this appears in printZatopek may have made his attempt.

It would have been even more intrigu¬ing had Zatopek invited his arch-rivalHeino for a joint attempt ! Yet onsecond thoughts this might have beenunfair to Hcino whose recent successfulbid may have temporarily deprived himof the "sting " required for these super-efforts.

Gailly Running Gaily Again.Mention of Zatopek reminds one of the

annual cross-country rnce for the

Britannia Shield, competed for by alliedservice athletes, which the Czech hashimself won on more than one occasion.

This time France won both the indi¬vidual race and team event. CorporalAbdullah Ben Said breaking the tape in29 mins. 43 sees.

It was interesting to find Etlenne Gadlyrunning prominently in 4th place. Thegallant Belgian whose heroic failure in

the Olympic marathon at Wembley hasmade him almost a household name anda world figure, prrhnps better known thanthe winner Dclfo Cabrorn himself, hasrecovered well froin the gruelling hereceived In that exhausting event.

He has since kept away from marathonwork, but has Set up Belgian recordsaround the 12 miles mark, and has avictory to his credit over the Finn.Mikko Hictanncn (present holder of theEuropean Marathon Championship), at

20.000 metres (just under 12) miles).Nevertheless I believe that Gailly stillhas marathon aspirations. Iwould notbe in the least surprised to find him outnext year over the marathon distance.especially as the European championshipsarc to be held in Brussels next August.

Story of 7 Feet High JumpersRecalled.

A few weeks ago a North Africanathlete under French Jurisdiction. PhinmPapalla. cleared 6 ft. 6j ins. for a newFrench National record. This is itself asuperb jump, but recalls the story putout by an explorer some years ago—" that he had seen raw natives in NorthAfrica who could leap 7 feet with ease."Unfortunately none of these talentednatives were spirited into civilisa'ionwhere their performances could be check¬ed and 7 feet still remains futuristic.

a consummation devoutly to be wished.'"but so far unattained.

Scots Earn British Rankings.It is most gratifying to find several

Scots performing well enough during theseason to entitle them to rank among thebest in Britain. In the high jump. AlanPaterson leads with his 6 ft. 7 ins,,while Duncan Clark's magnificent recordthrow of 178 ft. 1J ins. naturally putshim well ahead In the hammer event, asdid Scottish champion S. O. Williams'24 fr. 2 ins. in the long jump. J. G. M.

THE SCOTS ATHLETE 5

Hart's best time in the high hurdles of15 sees, dead gave him 2nd place to DonFinlay's record 14.4 sees. SimilarlyAndy Forbes' 14 mins. 18.4 sees, effortinin the S.A.A.A. 3 miles championshipwith John Joe Barry, not only providedhim with a new native record but gavehim a position in British rankings secondonly to A. H. Chivers of Reading whoclocked 14 mins. 12.6 sees, in his besteffort.

Scottish pole-vault champion. N. Grcgorof Herat Hill, soared 12 ft. 6 ins. or just4 inches short of Britain's best, T. D.Anderson while E. C. K. Douglas ofEdinburgh Varsity tossed the hammer163 ft. 4 J Ins., .i most promising effortwhich put him second only to brilliantcompatriot Duncan Clark.

Chasing Rainbows?Apart from Scotland in particular, the

advance of field events in Britain ingeneral is most heartening. In the highjump we have of course in Paterson.Wells and Pavitt a trio of world class.while Duncan Clark, at his best, wouldgrace any International contest.

Perhaps the greatest field event dis¬covery of recent years is that diamondin the rough Corporal J. A. Savidge(R.N. and R.M.) who since receivingexpert coaching has made almos: phen¬omenal progress culminating in his recentputt of 49 ft. 2i ins. Will he be the firstBritisher to putt the shot 50 feet ?

Yet. even should Savidge reach thesemighty figures, we must rmoember thatthe world figures themselves do notremain stationary and the gap has to bebridged anew. Recently in Oslo, forexample, big Jim Fuchs of U.S.A. heavedthe putt the colossal distance of 5S ft.4J ins. for a new world record. Similar¬ly Yankee Fortune Gordien also set anew world record for the discus—thealmost unbelievable distance of 186 ft.102 ins.

Splendid Junior Talent.We in Britain have some exceptionally

promising juniors in the field events, andnow that the coaching scheme is wellunder way who can set a limit on theiradvance ' Apart from the two brilliantScots. Kane and Piper, we have such asMark Pharonh and A. G. Wood. Theformer Is a well-built versatile athlete

excelling in the discus and in a lesserdegree the putt. Stocky A. G. Wood'sforte is undoubtedly the shot putt at

which event he is the present A.A.A.junior champion, while M. Denley ofThames Valley, besides being A.A.A.junior champion at his speciality, hashurled the standard javelin 172 ft. 9 ins.which Is good enough to give him senior

ranking.

Scotland's Selection for Empire Games.

Scotland's selection for the EmpireGames in the athletic section is undoubt¬edly a tiny one. Still within the limitsof its numbers it Is a team that shouldgive a good account of itself. It is

unfortunate that such as Alan Patersonand Andrew Forbes were unable to makethe trip, still we wish the very best tothe lucky four. Duncan Clark (hammerthrow). J. G. M. Hart (120 yds. hurdles).

J. Paterson (marathon), and Miss E.Anderson (long jump). Duncan Clarkand Miss Anderson have been furtherhonoured by being given the captaincyof respectively the men's and ladies' team.

The selection of Miss Anderson andJ. Paterson (Poly.) may occasion somesurprise at first sight, yet on secondthoughts It must be conceded that MissAnderson, for a comparative new-comer,has put up some remarkable long-jumpsand looks capable of vast improvement.while Scottish marathon champion JackPaterson is the acme of consistency andalso looks capable of Improvement.

In addition Iiis spell in the Middle Eastmay prove invaluable should the con¬ditions be on the warm side especiallyas the marathon event can be so unpre¬dictable.

Victoria Park Break their " Duck."After bidding for so many years

hearty congratulations are due thepromoting club Victoria Park on winningtheir annual Road Relay (4 men at3* miles).

In the Kingsway Relay Race, Dundee(4 men at 2J miles). Victoria Park havefound a happier hunting ground. Onwinning once again after a thrilling race

with Shettleston's grand new young team.they set up a series of new records. Firstof all they equalled Marylnll Harriers'feat of 3 consecutive wins, and secondly

« .5 : RACE DETAILSVICTORIA PARK A.A.C.

ROAD RELAY RACEl>t October. 1949.

Virion* P«fk A.A.C.-J D. Stirling. 16.23 :I Wall*. 16 29: f. EUii. 1607 : A.

Porb«». 15.47.-61 ora. 46

Sheulf»toa Harrier*.—C. Wallace. 16.22 : P..B..IOD, 16.11 ; R. Barton. 16 32 ; B.Blelrrtoa, I6.02.-65 mint. 10 uu

Grrrnoek Glrtipark If—W. Elder. 16.50 : A.McLean. 1 6.03 : S- Willuim-on 16.37 :W. WtlUaBIMU I6.20.-65 mini. 45 M(i.

Springhurn Harrier*—R. McLean. I6.I8: T.McGlll, I7.I0: |. Morion. 16.25 I T.Iracey. 16.03 -65 cim. 56 teci.

Shettlriton II. " B."—D. Morrlioa. 16.15 :A. Mntwell. I6.5I : J. C. Ploclhart. 16.73;T. CUrke. I6.50.-66 mini. 49 tecs.

Garxube Harrier*—R. Smith. 16.19: R.Black. 16 36: |.J. Dvly. 16.44 s A. Kidd.16 31. -66 Bins. 52 icc.

8.

9.

10.

II.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

24.

30.

37.

37.

S«. MoJaa a A.A.C.—A. Crawford. 16.25:A. Mcll'jjh. 16-51 : T. McGhre. 17.09.D. Clellaad 16.35.-67 mis.

Vale of Uvea A-A.C.—D. McPhrÿea. 16.17W. GalUcher. 16-37: W. Crowe. 17.07:A. M<Do«g.lt. 16.35.-67 mini. .06 xct.

Brllahoailoa Harrfcr*.—|. Kelly. 17.06: W.McAu.Un 16.46: H. O'Neill. 16.15: R.Clinic. 16.36.—67 mini. 13 ire.

Grernock Wrllpark II—G. King. 16.14 ; R.Beaton. 17.55 : ) Stevrnnon. I6.3I ; T.Stevenson, I6.12- —67 mint. 22 sees.

Maryhill Harrier*—|. Wright. 16 37 : RMardoaald. I7.CO: T. K. WiImm. 17.01:R Bryamrr. 16.57.—67 mios. 38 sees.

Motherwell Y.M.C.A. II—D. Nelton. 17.19:G. Wood 16 33: W. Watson 17.46,I Pleating. 16.03.—67 niios. 16 tecs.

Victoria P. A.A.C. " B."-C. Forbei. 16.47 :A. Johnston 16.18: D. Macf.rLn.. 17.00 :| Adam. 17.3I.—68 trios. 01 sec,.

Plebeian Harriers.-1 Ba'rber. 16.43: II. S.Paicnoa. 16-52: A. Smith. 17 1$; A. C.Robertson. I7.II.-6S =ms. 0.1 tees.

H. M. S. Caledonia.— Paslry. 16.58 : Berry.17.2 1: Humphrirs. 17.10: Qaigley. 16.17.—68 mint. 16 sees.

Monkland Harriers.—A. McPherion 16.46 :' Brown. 17.37: F. Bradley. 16.57: W.

noon. I7.85.-6S tains. 20 sees.Irvine Y.M.C.A. H.-F. Mclr, 18 16

tJ18.16 1 S.16 34 : T.Cuthbert. 17.10; I. Lawson

McNciih. 16.29.—68 mini. 78 aecs.

Garscabr H. " B. '-H. Halrick. 16 48 : P.Robertson 16.55; T. McGinley. 17.30:A Wartoa, 17.26.—68 nun. 39 sees.

Shettlcitoa H. " C."_H. Malloy. 17.07: D.Campbell. 17.25: H. Howard 16.33; T.Fletcher. 17.39.-68 mins. 44 sees.

K,,."r*rr°<fc Harjfcw—W. Morion. 16 11 : I.McPheely. 17.41 : R. Miller 17.18 : C.Martin 17.19 —68 oias. 59 sees.

Ofll'Ml Harrser*.—G. White. 17.21 : P.Reynolds. 17.50: Home. 17.55: R.Boyd 17.09.-64 .... 32 tees.

Beith Harriers—M. Walker 18.00: H.Walker. 17.50: ). Philips. 17.26; G.Liflkibody. 17.29.-70 mins. 40 sees.

Auehmoantaln Harriers—), McLean. 18.04 :R Smith. 17.11: I. Bowoe. 18.13: W.Lindsay. 17,01.—70 nun. 59 sees.

Hamilton Harrier*—H. Gibson. 17.72: »Donald 19.06 : J. Stewart. 18.07: A.Gibson, 16.56.—71 mini. 31 sec.

38. Glasgow Y.M.C.A. H—D Macfarlane. 17.20:L Herd. 18.03: D. Mac Lean 18.25: R.Donald. 18.31—72 mins. 19 wci

39. Vale of Uvea Aÿ.C. I". Wilson. 17.19;H. Coll. 18.20 : A. Campbell I8.II . I.McNab 18.03—72 mm. 73

40. Airdrie Harriers.-R. MeVey. 17.47: R.NicoLoa. 18.17; N. Taylor. 19 16; |.Marshall. 17.38.—77 m.ns. 58 area.

43. St. Machan'* A.A.C—| |. Barry, 15.51 .P |Kelly. 18.58: C. P. Sh.r.itf*. 18.47;S. Tennant. 19.17—73 mins. 71 sees.

48. Olympic Harriers. -R. Wright, 18 26 : A.Steel. 1917: R. Hutchison 19.11 i J.Gilford. 18.50—75 mint 39 sec.

19. Coinbu-lang Harriers. -G. Russell, 17.54 ; R.McKendtlck, I8.3I : R. McElhtwicy. 19.37:) Brew. 19.34—75 mini. 10 sees.

PASTES TIMES—I. A Forbes (Victoria Park A.A.C.J—15.47.2. ). |. Barry (St. M.ch.n's AAC K-I55I.3. B. Bickerton (SbritlcMon Harriers)—16.02.4. T. Tracer (Spriagbarn Harrier.)—16 03.5. A. McUan (Greenock Glrnpark II.)—16 03.6. |. A. Fleming (Motherwell Y.M.1-16.03.

DUMBARTONSHIRE10 MILES C.C.

RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPWcstcrton, 1Sth October.

Highly thought of youth on the trackHugh Hatrick {Garscube) mode .i finecross-country debut by handing over anice lead at the first change-over.

The county road champion. WillieGallagher (Vale of Lcven). was in finefettle and overtook and passed the '47National Youths' mile champion BobbySmith (Garscube) to give his club thelead. Then George White, the county Jmile champion, with a grand effort, tookhis club (Clydesdale) to the front overthe 3rd sector.

But the most brilliant running wasreserved for the last leg. And It was the20-years-old county mile champion, W.I.ennic (Vale of Leven), who showed it.Taking the lead early on he left classmen Bobby Boyd (Clydesdale) and Alex.Kidd (Garscube) as if they were novicesand was over half-a-minute fa'ter thanthe next best.

Details :—I. Vale Of Uvea A.A.C. (holder*>-D. McPfcritoo

13.16: W. Gallagher. 17.35 : A Mc Dongall13.03: W. Lcnnie. 12.00 -50 mis.. 57 ,ec>

7. Clydesdale Harritrt.-D S<o:t 13 78 : R.Younger. 12.51: G. White. 17.35: R.Boyd. I2.54.—51 aim. 48 .«.

3 -Garscubc Harrier*.—H. Hatrkk 13.06: R.Smith. 13.11; R Black 13.07: A. Kidd.12.36—51 mmj. 55 tecs.

4—Gancabc Harriers " B."—F. Robrit.on. 13.25;Gunn. 13.13: R. Hepburn. 13.15: A.

W. Warton. I3.40.—51 aim .03 ......

THE SCOTS ATHLETETO STIMULATE INTEREST IN

SCOTTISH AND WORLD ATHLETICS

EDITED BY - WALTER J ROSS

Eoitorial Orricrs-69 St. Vincent Street. Glasgow. C.2 Tcl.-CENi

OCT./NOV.. I949. Vol. 4. No. 7 6 8. Annual Subscription. 6/6

JOHN EMMETFARRELL'S

TJNLIKE the British track seasonwhich tends to taper off around

September, the Continental seasonoften reaches its climax as late asOctober, and certainly the extendedsummer-like autumn was more inaccord with Summer than Winterpursuits and news of track and fieldathletics are not out of place despite theofficial start of the crass-country season.

Nankeville in Form.Early in September our brilliant but

erratic A.A.A. mile champion beatOlympic 5.000 metres champion GastonRciff over 1.000 metres in 2 mins. 24.8sees, for a new Belgian record. Despitethe fact that this shorter distance favoursour champion Nankeville's performancecertainly comes into the category ofhighly meritorious.

John Joe Barry was not so fortunatein his Joust with Willy Slykhuis ofHolland who beat him in a mile race

clocking 4 nins. 12.4 sees, toBarry's 4 mins. 16 sees. TheDutchman sprinted away from theIrishman over, the last 100 yards

to win by some 20 yards. AlthoughSlykhuis may have the heels ofBarry at this distance. 1 have n

shrewd suspicion that John Joe haspassed his peak for the season and histime certainly suggests that he was not

at his best on this occasion.

Unless he changes his mind Barryintends to settle in U.S.A. after appear¬ing in the indoor season early next year.and if so. we may see him in action onlyon rare occasions if at all. 1 feel certain

that the colourful " Ballycurren Hare "will prove a popular figure over there.Our loss will be America's gain.

Impressive Flood-light Gala." Bill " Nankeville again captured the

lime light in the flood-lit Blrchflcld pro¬motion with a creditable but unsuccessfulattempt on Sydney Wooderson's :} mile

THE SCOTS ATHLETE

they beat that club's record aggregatetime by 26 sees., the new time being 57mins. 42 sees.

In addition the race was a personaltriumph for Andrew Forbes who. inleading his team to the tape, knockedanother second off his own record figures.the new time being 13 mins. 48 sees.,terrific running in the rather fresh, gustyconditions.

Maryhill's advance to 3rd place, atremendous improvement on their 1 1thplace in the Victoria Park relay is worthyof mention especially as three of theirteam are youngsters barely out of thenovice class but improving each time out.

The race at Dundee between VictoriaPark and Shettlcston was a particularlythrilling affair with the Issue in doubt upto the last 20 yards.

The chief feature of these relay racesapart from the running of Andrew Forbeshas been the sterling performances putup by youngsters Ben Bickcrton (Shcttlc-ston Harriers) and Tom Tracey (Spring-burn Harriers). If they can maintainsuch form over the longer stretches theseyoung men will be challenging for placesin the cross-country team for Brussels.Scotland could certainly do with somespeed merchants, especially to cope withthe fast start of the continentals.

Hamilton a Tough Course.To sum up. however, present form can

be a pointer to the future but is not

entirely conclusive. 9 to 10 miles country

is something different and while speedis a handy thing to have—in fact anessential, stamina too is required. AsHamilton is likely to be the venue forthe National this year it should providean adequate speed—stamina trial for thiscourse has always been regarded as

offering a particularly stiff test. Thereis a whisper thus early that the Inter¬national course at Brussels is fairly stiff.and a thoroughly representative cross¬country test. If such is the case, thenperhaps Hamilton race-course is a wise

venue.

Shettlcston Harriers Should Repeat.

After the district relays are over thestage will be set for the Edinburgh—Glasgow relay (44 miles) on November19th. Shcttleston Harriers are hot

favourites to retain their title won inApril as they have an adequate blend ofyouth and experience to select from.They have any amount of classy con¬tenders for places in their team and theirchief problem will be whom to leave out.I can well visualise some of their Inter¬national stars finding it difficult to gain aplace. Victoria Park, last year's runncrs-up, have not the same resources as theirShettleston rivals, but they may muster

up a useful eight. If they can. then.with the addition of the brilliant AndrewForbes, even the holders will have to puttheir best foot forward. Still it is achancy thing trying to sum up a race ofthis nature. Inparticular one man havinga bad day can put his team right out ofthe running despite the brilliance of hismates.

Birchficld Retain ManchestcrBlackpoolRelay.

Tipton Harriers had their share of badluck in the recent Manchester-Blackpoolrelay in their bid to wrest the title fromthe holders. Birchfield. who have held therace since 1932. Leading at the 10thstage one of their star men failed to putin an appearance and they had to fielda substitute.

Eventually Bobby Reid of Birchfieldled his men home to victory in 4 hours53 mins: 25 sees, or 5 mins. 29 sees.faster than last year. Tipton were goodrunners-up in 4 hours 54 mins. 48 sees.with the remarkable Sutton combination3rd in 4 hours 56 mins. 2 sees.

Incidentally Bobby Reid tells me hehas been resting during the summer butfeels he is running faster than ever andmeans to make another bid for a Scottishsinglet. So we are warned for one more

classy contender.

Plea for Inter-Club Runs.The competitive urge gives zest and

flavour to any sport and none the less soin the case of cross-country running.There is a fairly comprehensive pro¬gramme of racing already, however, andit Is to be hoped that this will not shoveinter-club running into the back-groundas it sometimes tend to do. For thelatter captures the essential spirit of thesport, an exhilarating pastime to be en¬joyed in the company of one's fellowsin packs suitable to one's pace. Who

THE SCOTS ATHLETE 7

will forget the giant muster runs arrangedby the Cross-Counlry Association duringthe emergency ? The large packs ranover some grand and varied trails andin the process of keeping fit enjoyedthemselves immensely. When the signalwas given for a mile finish home, whowill forget the jockeying for position andthe earnest endeavour to gain a leadingplace ? There were no prizes. There

was nothing at stake. Only the lust ofhonest contest and the spirit of the chase.

Good luck to those enthusiasts whoare endeavouring to re-create the spiritof the muster runs, for 1 believe they aredoing the sport a service. The fiercespirit of competition has command of ourwork-a-day world. Let us not rationfun in our sport.

Canada's Empire track and field team(23 men and 8 women! includes one1938 Games champion—Eric Coy. win¬ner of the discus throw at Sydney, andwho later made an Australian record of147 ft 23 ins. in Melbourne.

This time Coy. who competed in the1948 Olympics, has been selected for theshot putt. His season's best effort is46 ft. 2\ ins., so he'li find tough oppositionfrom Australian champion. Trevor Evans.who hopes to beat his 50 ft., and H.Sadie(South Africa), an established 49 ft.performer.

Coy's discus record was broken lastFebruary by the young Victorian. IanReed, a firm Empiad favourite who threw152 ft. 10] ins. (In training recently.Ian topped 167 f:.)

Outstanding members of the Canadianteam are Ted Haggis, a sprint threatwho clocked 20.8 sees, over 220 yards inSeptember ; Bob McFarlane, a 47.5 sees.quartcr-miler. and Bill Parnell. a 1 min.51.5 sees, half-milcr who, as a studentat Washington State College, has hadtons of top-class U.S. competition.

JOE GALL!.

SPORTS SECRETARIESAND RECORD-BREAKERS.TAKE NOTE.—A new form available

from the Hon. Sccy. S.A.A.A., MUSTbe used in all future record claims.Rightly so. competent rcfereeing is de¬manded for both track and field events.and. the referee must certify on the form.

* * *Miss Sheila Burns, the Ladies Scottish

Sprints Champion will be competing infuture under the colours of EdinburghSouthern Harriers' Ladies Section.

Dumbartonshire A.A.A. arc holding a16 tniles road race (individual and team)from Helensburgh to Clydebank on Mon¬day. 2nd January. 1950. Pity the dateclashes with the Morpeth race.

All interested should contact theDumbartonshire Hon. Secretary, W.Stevenson. Esq., 59 Wilson Street.Alexandria.

We are always surprised to see thenumber of star men that arc kepi for thelast leg in a relay in teams that havn'tthe slightest chance of winning. Wccame to the conclusion long ago that itis very unimaginative but would agreethat if you're not wanting the best outof your team, then that's the way torun it !

» * ' *Would correspondents kindly note thatevery letter, and bit of news, or, presscutting Is greatly appreciated. If we donot reply promptly it arises from over¬work.

KINGSWAY ROAD RELAYDUNDEE

15th October. 1949.I. Victoria Park A.A.C.—I. Stirling. 11.41 ; C.

Forbet. 14.46 . |. Ellis. 14.27; A. Forbes.13.18.—57 mini. 42 sees.

( New Course Record.)2. ShrttlcMon Harrier*.—C. Wallace, H.27 : J.Burton. I4.4I ; E. Bannon. 14.30 ; B.

Bickrrton. 14.07.—3. Maryhill Harriers.—J. Wright. 14.33 ; I. E.

Farrrll. 14.24 ; R. McDonald. 14.56 ; R.Brysurer. 14.56.—58 mint. 49 $ee».

4. Sprtnobum Harriers.—R. McLean. 14.29 : S.McFaddcn. 15.18: J. Morion. 14.58; T.Iracey. 14.10.—58 mini. 55 lees.

5. Shcllleston Harriers " B."—T. Clark. 14.50;I. C Plockhort. 14.45 : A. Maxwell. 14.56 ;H. Howard. 11.46.—59 taint. 15 sect.

6. Bellahoo.fon Harriers—R. Cllmle. I4-3S; J.Kelly. 14.53; J. Lindsay. 15.0I : J. GiUord.I5.ll -59 mint 18 tecs.

8 THE SCO TS ATHLETE

TOE A.A.A. DECATHLONBISLAND MAKES HIGHEST SCOTTISH POINTAGE

By T. MONTGOMERY

J-JAVING competed in the BritishDecathlon Championship held at the

Royal Military Academy, 2nd and 3rdSeptember, has, if anything, strengthenediny opinion that the Decathlon is thebest event of all. an opinion that is pro¬bably not shared by many but neverthe¬less 22 entered for this year's event,

First of all I would like to congratulateyoung W. Bisland of Bellahouston H, onhis excellent showing at his first attemptalso being the youngest competitor, gain¬ing a higher pointagc, 1 believe than anyScot so far. Secondly the A.A.A.Committee who organised this Champion¬ship are to be complimented on theexcellent organisation and arrangementsmade, an object lesson for most sportspromoting bodies this side of the border.The choice of venue. Sandhurst, situatedas it is in beautifully wooded parklandwas absolutely ideal for a decathlon, andthe condition of the track, pits. etc..prepared by diligent and knowledgablegroundsmen well nigh perfect and thatunder restrictions on the use of water.The meeting was favoured with excellentweather, a bit too humid for me. but twogrand days. The breeze on the Fridaywas against the sprint and long jump butwas hardly strong enough to affect per¬formances materially and was non-existenton Saturday which was a real scorcher.

As will be seen from the points chartprinted. H. J. Moesgaard-Kjeldsen ofPoly. Harriers, a Dane. tall, well-builtathlete typical of his race, won with arecord pointage of 6,138. Second wasHarry Whittle of Reading A.C.. well-known for his long jump and -140 yardshurdles, and third a youngster of 21 fromDoncastcr, L. Pinder. A standard of5.000 points was introduced this year andnine competitors beat this total to gainawards. The standard of performance isdefinitely on the upgrade, as it should be.and if the event is given the prominenceit deserves 1 see no reason why 7.000points should not be passed in the next

year or two. and allow Britain to com¬pete at International level in this event.

The order of events is as shown on thechart the first five being completed on thefirst day. and the heats as drawn for the100 metres formed the pools for the otherevents allowing the events to be carriedthrough quickly and smoothly. A notablefeature was the expeditious way the longjump and the throwing events weremeasured, the long jumps being squaredby a permanently fixed metal measuringstrip at the side of the pit and thethrowing events measured very quicklyfrom a pre-d*'termined arc.

As was expected Whittle showed upextremely well on the first day. his run¬ning and Jumping being the feature ofthe meet, but his weight putt showed hisweakness in field events. However his400 metres. 50.2 sees., 862 points wasthe best event of the meet, with his longjump next with 22 ft. 7J ins., 775 points.Mocsgaard-Kjcldsen. known better asjust " Moes." had a good average through¬out and scored heavily in the field events.At the end of the first day the placingsafter five events were. ( I) Whittle. 3,437 ;(2) Moesgaard-Kjeldsen. 3.061 ; (3)Pinder and Payne, 2.984 ; (4) Dear andChapman. 2.954; (5) Bisland. 2.920;and another 7 showing 2.500 or better,making the position quite exciting for thenext day.

The times shown in the hurdles did not

do justice to the track which had beenattended to overnight and was againperfect. The excitement began to growas the placings were not materially alteredby the hurdles nor by the discus, whichproved to be the weakest event of allpartly due to the looseness of the circle.unfortunately, but the groundsman wasforbidden to use water. So to lunch, astart had been made at 10.30 aun. Com¬petition was restarted with the pole vault.all competitors in one pool, and 3s com¬petitors failed so they formed pools forthe javelin and 1.500 metres. To thosewho understood the competition theexcitement was rising, and in fact was

now quite tense, but 1 must add that thefriendliness and the sportsmanship among

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10 THE SCOTS ATHLETE

the competitors did not lessen, in fact. Ibelieve it grew more apparent as the timewent on. Whittle having failed fairlyearly on in the pole vault was an earlyfinisher, with a new native record and5.997 points. Vanhegan and Iran withhim in the 1.500 metres, unfortunatelyfor Harry as neither of us was any goodas pacemakers and he ran a grand raceon his own in 4 mins, 25 sees. Had hehad some of the faster boys with him hemight have reduced his time by say 5sees., a difference of HO odd points andfinished the winner. However his totalwas 5.997 and with the pole vault Justfinishing, several competitors hada chanceto beat it and so the tenseness grew andeverything depended on the last heat ofthe 1.500 metres which included Moes,Dear and Chapman ; Pinder and Bislandhaving finished earlier were also inter¬ested waiting to know their final placing.Moes had to do better than 5 mins. 15sees, to win. well he did, but anythingcould have happened. Interest andexcitement to the very last gasp of atwo day effort ' Moes was a popularwinner as was indicated by the applausewhen he accepted custody of the A. B.George Trophy for the third year running.

For next year nearly all competitorsindicated their intention of again enteringeven the lowly ones and some who retired.Iexpect the two youngest, Bisland andPinder, to show up better next year andto keep Bisland company how about someother Scottish up and coming youngstershaving a go ?

Comparisons are sometimes odious, butnevertheless 1 am going to make some.In the points chart I have shown thedetails of G. E. Morris's world record of7,900 points. Taking the best perfor¬mance in each event at Sandhurst wcget a total of only 7.149 points. Thistotal cannot be got from the chart as.Vanhegan (Southgate H.) had the bestputt of 42 ft. 2 ins.. 701 points, andFlackc (Leeds A.C.) had the best discusof 1 17 ft. 9 ins.. 594 points. Taking eachevent on its own we see that in only thelong jump. 400 metres, pole vault, javelinand 1.500 metres, Morris's performanceis approached or bettered. Again, onlyin the mile would Morris's performanceshave failed to win or gain a place ineach of the events in the last ScottishChampionships. On the Sandhurst results

it would need a team comprised ofWhittle. Moesgaard-Kjeldsen. Dear. Van¬hegan and Flacke to beat Bob Mathias'sOlympic total by 10 points. It must beremembered that Morris's and Mathias'sperformances were made under Decathlonconditions, which means 10 events in twodays and the figures are not their bestfor each event.

These figures are worth a clos. studyand provide plenty of food for thought.and for our part action and plenty of it.We may not breed the number of bigfast fellows that the U.S.A. produce butwe have first class materials if it is onlygiven the chance. What do Imean by" a chance ? " Well, coaching, butcoaching by coaches who have satisfiedthe powers that be by examination sothat no youngster is given anything butthe proper schooling and the sooner thecoaches exams, commence the better.

Clubs, District Associations, and theS.A.A.A. must do everything in theirpower to provide the necessary facilities.Ihear voices shouting that means money.as assuredly it does. Clubs usually knowhow to find money when they want itand I dare to suggest that the RulingBody should levy all sports promoters.say \0c/i or 5r/c on their gate instead ofthe nominal fee now charged, and soprovide the whcrcwithail to give ouryoungsters a chance.

However back to the Decathlon, whynot have next year (1950), (a) the firstScottish Decathlon Championship, and(b) District Decathlon Championships.The National one, say mid-August withthe district ones before it as convenientto the districts concerned. These, alas,would not be great money-makers butthey would cost little to run and theexperience gained by the competitors wellworth the effort. As far as the EasternDistrict is concerned I feel sure that anexcellent entry would be obtained. Twocome very readily to my mind. Bell ofHcriots (who I think would do very wellin the A.A.A.'s) and Hunter of EdinburghUniversity. In the West I'm sure Bislandwould give the lead.

A glance at the points table shows thatcoaching is indeed required especially inthe field events. Technique is the be alland end all in these events and withoutit in the field events an athlete can only

THE SCOTS ATHLETE 11

CONFIDENTIALLY.In the dressing room at the " Kings-

way " Relay. Jimmy Ellis, now V.P.'sNo. 2 man was worrying a bit. He wasgoing the 3rd leg and his team wererunning behind. To Andy Forbes theirgreat 3 miler. he says—" What's ourchances of winning to-day Andy ? " AndAndy replied that he thought they coulddo it provided he took off no more than16 sees, behind for the last leg. Hecouldn't stand any more.' "

After Jimmy Ellis had covered morethan half his sector someone shouted" You're 25 seconds behind." That andAndy's last words buzzed in his ear. Hegot his head down and in his own words" murdered " himself. What do youthink ? He handed over exactly 16 sees.behind I

We all know the epic race it was andthat Andy just scraped home to win.

Some fight, some judgment !

* * • *Reflecting after the great struggle be¬

tween Andy Forbes and Ben Bickerton(Shettleston H.) in the " Kingsway." Bensaid " I learnt a lor. Approaching thefinish Icould see the crowd at the tape,I came out from behind Andy and put inmy effort. Ithought I was getting there.but Imisjudged the distance to go andcouldn't hold it. Andy came up again

Continued Iron Page 10.get so far but seldom. Ishould say never.gets to the top. For example, how manyjumpers know that the path of the centreof gravity of his body cannot be alteredonce he has left the ground and howmany throwing men know, that powercomes from the ground, and what effectrotation and angle of release have on his

i throw ? You can take it from mc thatthe two. Morris and Mathias. know allthe answers and Ihave a feeling, a strongone, that they could teach the writer alot more about athletics and hence theirability to take their places as the world'sbest.

(We arc grateful to our contributorfor stirring up interest in theDecathlon. All Scots interested inthis event should link up with him.his address:—9 Parkhead View,Edinburgh, 11.)

and that was that. He's too old' totake chances with."

* * •Youthful Willie Gallagher of Vale of

Leven A.A.C. is going to go for the fulldistance marathon next season. He wonthe Dumbartonshire 12 miles road cham¬pionship in record time last April.

With stars. Harry Howard. Alex.McLean, Emmet Farrcll. Charlie Robert¬son. Jack Paterson and lim McDonald,all keen to show what they really cando, there's gonna be some dust-up !

CONVERSATION PIECE.When congratulating Steve McCookc.

the uncrowned hero of last year's Inter¬national cross-country race at the even¬ing "bean-feast" after the event, theEditor learnt a thing or two.

To those looking for tips and insideinformation now that the " country " isin again, the conversation went somethinglike this according to a fading memory :—

Ross:Congratulations. Steve, that wasa thrilling show to-day.

McCooke (with a warm beam on hisface and with typical Irish friendli¬ness) : Aye. well 1 did my bestonyway.

Rossi Maybe next year you'll pull itoff.* I'd love to sec you do it.

Steves I'll be out to do it. I'll do mybest.

Walter J. : Ihope you will manage torun in Scotland again, this year.

Steve s Hope so too. Ilike the Scotsboys, just like oorsel's. a" guid sports

Walter J. : How old arc you, Steve ?Steve (still beaming and fondling a

pretty doll in national costume, pre¬sented in admiration from one of theWelsh team) : 36 and I never feltbetter in my life.

Walter J. (note the discretion in work¬up to the big question !) : And howdo you train, mostly over thecountry ?

Steves No, on the road. 3 times aweek on the road and over thecountry on Saturdays, but mostly onmc own. I'm too far away from theclub.

Your Editors And do you go easy, orsteady. ...or do you mix it ?... (no reply coming) ...or do yougo hard ?

The Irish Hero s Hard ? Aye. I godamn hard !!

12 THE SCOTS ATHLETE

30 MILES ROAD RACEJACK HOLDENS FOURTH SUCCESSIVE WIN

By H. W. NEALE

gOUTH LONDON H. promoted theirannual 30 miles road race on 10th

September over the usual course of 4laps of 7J miles. The weather was verywarm and this fact precluded any ideathat the race would be run in extremelyfast time. Of the 79 entries (a recordfor the event), 59 started ; and this fieldwas composed of some of the most

important marathon runners in the BritishIsles.

After the first 7J miles had beencovered, the leaders came round in abunch in the relatively fast time of 48mins. 11 sees. The group was comprisedof W. H. Kelly (Isle of Man). T.Richards (South (.ondon H.).J.T.Holden(Tipton H.). F.Gratton (Macclesfield H.).H. W. Dennis (Thames Valley H.) andJ. Paterson (Polytechnic H.).

During next 7\ miles Holden speededup the pace and gradually drew awayfrom the rest, and lead at this stage bynearly a minute, from Gratton. Paterson.and Dennis, who all passed the timekeep¬ers in I hour 34 mins. 7 sees. Behindthese three. Olympic hero, Tom Richardsand Kelly (from Isle of Man) cameround; being about IJ-2 mins. behindthe leader. By this time the rest of thefield had strung out. and the last man wasabout 48 mins. behind Holden.

It was in the 3rd lap that Holdenshowed his supremacy, by gaining nearly|mile on the next competitors. Whenhe had finished his 3rd lap (in 2 hours20 mins. 13 sees.), he had already lappedquite a few of the slower runners.

Gratton and Paterson were timed at

2 hours 23 mins. 31 sees. ; while Dennis.Kelly, and Richards were strung out

behind them, in that order, a terrifficstruggle was going on between theScottish champion. Paterson and theyouthful Gratton. These two ran sideby side all through the race, with nothingmore than a yard or so between them ;

while the timekeepers differed their timeby only a second throughout the whole

Photo by II W. Nrnlr.JACK HOLDEN (Tip«in Harrier*) one ol thegrc«U*l ilfelincc raniicri ever, winning the

W mile* race.

race. When one speeded up the pacethe other matched his efforts, and whenthe one leading, slowed, there was thefollowing runner, to always come up to

take the lead. At the end of the 30 milesthey were still together ;and they actuallySPRINTED the last 100 yards. Grattoncaught Patcrson with about 40 yards togo and actually lead by a yard, butPatcrson managed to find another effortto cross the finishing line by approxi¬mately 4 feet to spare. The excitementwas so terrific that 1 was shut in andonly managed to get a photo after plough¬ing through the crowd of onlookers.

THE SCOTS ATHI.ETE 13

THEY RAN LIKE THISFOR 30 MILESThe Scoiii.Ii Champion JACK PATERSONniul ever improving ami imich-lancird PRED

GRATTON (M.cclc.BcId 11.).

—AND FINISHEDLIKE THIS

PATERSON Jbm gaining the Judge'* verdict alter

Pboio by H W. Neal*.

Holden won at the end by about 7 within the standard medal time of 3.50.minutes, and Paterson beat Gratton (as „ ...previously describedI by I see. Kelly , '"J1* Sc°'"'h Mdrathonwho had run the last lap in 53.53. had McDonald (Thames Valley H.) ran

gained about a minute on the 2nd pa,r. WcU toJfinuh * flood 7th in 3 hours 26and finished only a short distance in front m,ns' 48 esoof Dennis. Of the 59 starters. 32 finished ; The lap times of the first 6 are asand of these 19 completed the course follows:—

LAPS OF 7} MILES EACH.1st 2nd 3rd 4th

1. J. T. Holden (Tipton H.) 48-11. 45-5(1-33-13) 46-57(2-20 13) 51-36(3-11-49)2. J. Paterson (Poly H ) ... 48-11. 45-55(1-34-6) 49-25(2-23-31) 55-21(3-18-52)3. F. Gratton (Maccles. H.) 48-11. 45-56(1-34-7) 48-21(2-23-31) 55-22(3-18-53)4. W. H Kelly (Isle of Man) 48-11. 47-5(1-35-16) 51-12(2-26-28) 53-53(3-20-17)5. H. W. Dennis (T. V. H.) 48-11. 46-55(1-35-6) 49-30(2-24-36) 57-53(3-20-42)6. T. Richards (S. London) 48-11. 46-21(1-31-33) 55-53(2-30-26)54-13(3-24-35)

14 THE SCOTS ATHLETE

JOE GALLI'SAUSTRALIAN GOSSIP.

N.S.W. lliyh School's Championships.David Johnson. 17-ycar-old Wollon-

gong lad. eclipsed Olympian lohnTrcloar's N.S.W. high schools 100 yds.record when he clocked 9.8 sees, to win

his open championship heat on September21st.

On the following day. against a crossbreeze. Johnson won the final in 9.9 sees..which equalled the old record. Then.after winning his 220 yards heat in 22.3.Dave lost the final by inches to R. Lyons.who returned the same time.

Johnson, who showed promise byplacing third in the Australian 100 yds.championship (won by Lloyd La Bench)last January, also won the broad Jumpwith a leap of 21 ft. 4 J ins.

A new high school's championshipopen 440 yards record of 50.5 sees, wasposted by K. Windsor of North Sydney—Trcloar's old school.

Star of the under 16 division wasKevin Gosper (Newcastle), who set newrecords of 10.1 in the 100 yards. 22.4 inthe 220 yards and 21 ft. 1 in. in thebroad Jump.

Other notable performers were G.Pearson, who made an under 15 broadjump record of 20 ft. 5J ins., and A.Rymer. who won the under 14 100 yds.dash in 11 sees.

• • •Australia's first-ever National marathon

championship, held at Perth. W.A.. onSeptember 17th. resulted in a surprisewin for ex-cyclist Bob Prentice (Victoria).who clocked 2 hours 43 rnins. 46 sees.

The time, although disappointing, maybe considered good in view of the very-warm day and the hilly course—no morethan 5 miles of it was flat.

It was Prentice's second ince over thedistance, and he did a remarkable Job in

defeating the hot lavouiite. GordonStanley (Victoria), by I min. 36 sees.

Merv. Harburn. who had never racedthe distance before, made an auspiciousdebut—and clean-sweep for Victoria—by taking third place in 2 hours 53 mins.46 sees.: while Rowley Guy. N.S.W.champion, was a poor fourth in 3 hours7 mins. 6 sees.

Prentice and Stanley drew away fromthe field at 16 miles, but with 21 up. thefavourite couldn't hold the pace, andPrentice went away to a comfortablevictory.

Prentice and Stanley (he clocked 2hours 35 mins. 1 sec. a year ago) arenow almost certain to represent Australiain the Empiad marathon. They meetagain in the Victorian title race in

November—and I'll " go " for Stanleyagain !

Continued from following page.

beloved hobby—running. Only thoseintimately connected with Tommy realisedhow very little time he actually spenttraining for competitive athletics, thismay seem a paradoxical statement for aman who reached International class, buttrue nevertheless. Every spare moment

was not for himself, but lecturing anddebating at his youth clubs.

An office manager, he had gained high¬est honours in accountancy after longtedious hours of hard work and study.

He was only 34 years of age when hepassed from us. Bellahouston havesuffered a hard blow in the loss of anideal sportsman and President. The widecircle of the youth of the city in whichhe moved have lost a great servant. Allhis dynamic energy and enthusiasm hethrew in for their guidance and welfareand he had the true qualities for leader¬ship. He gave everything he had forthem, every spare moment, every ounceof energy—he even gave his life.

THE SCOTS ATHLETE 15

TOM GIBSONA Tribute from Jack Gilford.

QN 27th August a very good friend ofmine slipped quietly away after a

lifetime Spent in service to youth move¬ment and athletics in the city of Glasgow.

Universally .admired by all who knewhim. he was well known in the politicaland business world of the city, but in thesphere of Scottish athltekcs was a well-kent figure recognised by all participantsas Tommy Gibson. Scottish Internationalrunner and President of the BellahoustonHarriers' Club. Tommy Joined Bella-houston in 1932 and I actually believehis first race for the club was in a youthevent at Hamilton Racecourse that sameseason, when he revealed natural abilityby finishing 8th individual in a fairlystrong field. Next season found Tommyrunncr-up to A. Hamilton in the ClubNovice Championship, and a fortnightlater he finished 14th in the NationalNovice race.

He made it an auspicious first seniorseason by gaining a winning medal inboth the " Bella " teams which won theRenfrewshire and Midland District 7miles races.

Just about this time was the start ofBellahouston's peak era, when theygradually built a team which in the fiveyears between 1934 and 1939 woneverything except the Midland Districtrelay. In all these teams Gibson was a" key " man and could always be de¬pended upon to produce his best formfor the big occasion. The best race Isaw Tommy run was in the National atAyr in 1938. A fortnight previous hehad been runner-up to T. Lamb in theClub Championship. We had hopes thatLamb would gain a place in the Scottishteam, and he justified our confidence byfinishing sixth, but Tommy Gibson de¬lighted the " Bella " supporters bygaining a place in the Scots team also.He turned the tables on his team-mate.who had defeated him in their last race.and actually finished fourth.

On two or three occasions Tommywas reserve for the Scots team, and againhe turned out for his country in 1946when club-mate G. Anderson unfortun¬ately had to decline his place throughillness, and Tommy, as first reserve.stepped into his p.'acc.

When I think back, of all the races Ihave seen and had with Tommy, the onethat strikes me most vividly was theRenfrewshire 7 miles at Thornlicbank in1937. At the 4 miles stage Iwas leadingTommy by 300 yards, at 5 mi es it wastwo hundred, and a mile from the finishTommy had cut it down to 100 yards.Prom my point of view worse was tohappen. 880 yards to go and Tommywas tenaciously cutting down my leaduntil I was barely fifty yards in front.He had the cruellest of luck. I crossedthe finishing line at a snail s pace whilstTommy came tearing up behind mestrong and full of running only about 30yards at my back.

Throughout the years as we recalledpast races, never once did Tommy men¬tion that I had been lucky to beat him.No athlete ever more deserved the com¬pliment of being known as " mcdest in

victory and generous in defeat." TommyGibson, one of the most popular runnersever to wear the Bellahouston St.Andrews Cross, has set an example ofof sportsmanship which we in Bclla-houston impress on all our members todo their best to emulate.

When his illness came upon him, heshowed courage in adversity wh ch wasan inspiration to all who visi ed him.The Bellahouston motto is "Nil Desper-andum " and as President of the club noman ever lived up to that inspiring sloganmore worthily.

Whenever Ivisited him he was alwaysasking how the club was faring and wasdelighted when Itold him that a younglad whom he had brought into the clubhad won a first prize at an open sportsmeeting, but he was more than delightedwhen he heard that our Ladies' team hadbroken the relay record at the Ladies'Relay Championship at Ibiox.

At the early part of this past season.Iwatched Tommy, whilst far from well.coaching these girls in that vital part ofrelay racing—baton changing. Most ofthese girls were comparative novices, andone can readily understand his delightat their success.

He gave all his time to the youth ofthe city, lecturing and coaching, with ahurriedly snatched hour or two at his