Athletics of To-Day 1929

The Steeplechase bell, and, having himself lost count of the laps, did not produce his usual finishing burst of speed in the last lap. In 1921 he reduced the English Championship record to 10 mins. S7t secs. Hodge was succeeded in the championship by that famous distance and cross-country champion, C. E." Joe "Blewitt, and in 1925 J. E. Webster, also of the Birchfield Harriers, commenced his sequence of successes. In 1926 he returned 10 mins 34t secs., and on the same afternoon won the four miles flat championship in 19 mins. 49! secs. He is a fine, robust athlete, and, had not a technical offence against the laws of amateurism prevented him from competing at Amsterdam, I think he might have gone near to retrieving the laurels Great Britain lost at Paris in 1924, when Willie Ritola, Finland, became Olympic hampion in 9 mins. 33! secs. At Amsterdam, 1928, Finland won again, but there were some surprises. No British competitors qualified for the final, and Ritola and Nurmi both far d badly at the water jumps, added to which they had previously battled mightily against each other in the 10,ooo metres and 5,000 metres fiat races. Ritola retired from the final in its early stages, and urmi found himself faced with two younger Finns of exceptional quality. In the last phase T. A. Loukola went right away to win in 9 mins. 21 secs., nearly 12 secs. bett r than Ritola's previous world's b st time, and Nurmi was hard put to it to beat 0. Andersen for second place. Thus Finland secured the first three places. No University man has ever won the English hampionship, and our British teeplechaser , like our British i tance runners, appear to be losing their prowess. At any rate th y ar not showing th same rate of pr gr ss as th -i inns. In the case of steeplechasing, however, we are not entir ly without hopes of b tter things in store. In 1897 that very famous old-time long distance r cor -br aker, Mr. J. E. owl r-Dixon, pr sented a three-quart r mile t pl chase chall nge cup to be corn– pet d for annually at th Public Schools hampionship . The record for this race is 4 mins. 3! s cs. and was made by V. E. Morgan, of Chart rhouse, in 1923. (His portrait is Picture