Athletics and Football (extract)

A MODERN CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING 61 home. This time, however, he appears to tire a little—and no wonder,for sprinting is a violenteffort and leaves the bones and muscles aching ; Wood and Ritchie close on him a little, and Wharton wins by a good yard, with Wood this time a foot in front of Ritchie. The time again is id sec.,' level time ' twice in an afternoon—a marvelindeed ! Meanwhile between the heats and final of the hundred a gigantic Irishman, J. S. Mitchell, of the Gaelic Athletic Club, from Emly,County Limerick, has won the hammer throwing(a 16 lb. hammer, four feet long, thrown froma 7ft. circle),with a throwof no ft. 4 in.,his opponent, J. D. Gruer, of the London Scottish R.V., making but a poor show this year; and the two heats of the 120 yards hurdle race have been run off. In the first,C. F. Daft, of the Notts Forest Football Club, and S. Joyce, of the Cambridge U.A.C., are first and second, while in the other heat (from which Croome, the Oxonian, who won the Inter-'Varsity Hurdles, is an absentee), G. B. Shaw, of the Ealing Harriers, and S. O. Purves, another Cantab, fill the first two places. Then comes the pole jump, in which F. G. F. Thompson, of the L.A.C., fails at 10 ft., and Tom Ray, of Ulverstone(who is never beaten at this sport, and has won four championships, besides holding the record of 11 ft. 4^ in.), wins his fifthchampionship with a leap of 11 ft. Amarvellousjumper is Ray. He is a tall, rather heavy man, of fine proportions. Graspingthe pole about its middle, he takes his leap, and when the pole is perpendicular, poises it almost at a standstill, raiseshimself clear up it by sheer force of arm, and shoots him­ selfover the bar. Sometimeshe poises the pole too long, and the presentwritercan once recollect,when he wasacting as one of the judgesat the Northern Counties Championship, seeing the pole and jumper, after a moment of suspense, fall (to his great relief) upon the other judge. Then comes the final heat of the hurdle race. Daft, last year's champion, and Joyce, the Cantab, have another rattling race. For the first eight hurdles they rise together; at the ninth. Daft has the slightest possibleadvantage, and, as neitherman is risingan inch too high.