1956-12-15 — Page 21

Don't Let

THE CHINA MAIL SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1956,

Gold Medals

Give Britons Big Heads

THE MELBOURNE LESSON IS: OUR ATHLETES MUST SPECIALISE, MUST GET

THE 'BIG MATCH' TEMPERAMENT

Melbourne.

One athlete, one foncer, one swimmer, and a couple We may of boxers made us respectable at Melbourne, pity poor relations, but they are a bit of an embarrass- mont to have around.

our

With five gold medals safely tucked away in pockets, we are coming home with a smile and a swagger. British sport is looking the world in the eye agnin.

We

Our Indisputable feature of You're not likely to bump in. these Games is that

have ke nnyone who anys: "I told you done better than the most wildly so,” optimistle

huve person etuid

foreseen,

For although we have pieces of gold, and

WI

aud of them, we trile mystified as to came by them.

are still p tatow we

DARK BORSES The people we thought might win didn't. Those we ignored came up.

Chris Brasher in the Steeple- chase. Now who would have Hipped him to beat John Disley or Erie Shirley?

Cillian Sheen in the fencing. Whoever hurt of a British fencer winning goid mestals?

Dick McTaggari und Terry ale Spinks

The boxing. We

OL

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would have settled for one, lel aloto two golds after 32 years without any.

Judy Grinham in the swim- ming... Well, Miss Grinham, although I say it myself, was pleked as a gold medal prospect as long ago as last June by one to critic who modestly requests be nameless—but I was

still Eckled pink when she won, Here again we hadn't touched gold since 1924.

Counting the three we won with the aid of horses in Stock- holm, our total medal collection and bronze in gold, silver, stands at 24, our best achieve-

meat since the Comes were stabilised in their present form in *1928,

OLYMPIC POSTSCRIPT

By

Harry Carpenter

Rusda's

Kuts, But

Vladimir peci Pirio concentrated on the 5,000 only, at which he siụ holds the world record, he might have won.

Unless you're Kute speciullez- ton is the essence

of modern athletics success. It may even have to be carried near to the fringes of professionalism,

Brasher shook me the other week at lunch when he suddenly said: "I think I shall be the last gold medalist to come out of on English university." Ho meant that in this hell-bent quest for honours in modern sport there is no time, to mix learning with athletics in the

the leisurely atmo sphere of old-world academies.

What about our women athletes? 013

Disappointing Britain's women have lost only matches since

Incomparably better, for in- stance, than at our last Olympic bid in Helsinki, when we dilt our lowest point in modern sport and won only ten medals only one of which was gold, "and that was won by a horse," we are all so fond of saying.

It's also worth

remembering internation} [2

that this time we thinned our ruiks by more than 100, sending out 235 competitors, agulast 363 to Helsinki.

we are But in

and as a team second only to Russia dividually our girls lack the ex- plosive talents of, roy, Belly Cuthbert, Australip's superb

Money was behind that, of course it cost over £500 10 sprinter, equip and transport each com- petitor, and every penny of it came out of your pocket. I take it you

won't grumble now wu've

MUL

THE ANALYSIS

It would be foolish to imagine

that the five gold medals from Melbourne herald a brave new era in British sport. When our

For example, without decrying the heroic efforts of our boxers, who would dare say that the general standard was high?

1. something to show for Whether it's the right way to exellement has bubbled down we BO about Annncing

Jotx our 01 might force ourselves to CD)~ against the

State-aided mob sider the true worth of them. from other lands la not for dis- cussion here, but you'd better think about it, for they'll be after your cash again before the [next Olympic Games come along. Track and held is the back- bone of

any Olymple Games, and here,

despite appearances, we did slightly better than any reasonably minded crttle had right to expect.

Cali

I suy despite appearances be

in our inos publicised' speciality, middle-distance run- ning, we found several people too good for us.

Bul over all, in track and feld, we picked up seven medals, two | more than at Helsinkl.

the

RARE QUALITY

Brasher's Success In Steeplechase was revelation He was a fine example of a man who can run above himself when the occasion demands. Too many of our athletes Jack inis quality.

Our middle distance men discovered that straightforward competition In Internationci matches at the While City vastly

1rom being

different

jogged by the world's

best

runners when the biggest prize of all is at lake.

Nowhere was this more ap- parent them in the magic "Metric Mile-1,500 Meus the soverest 1cst of apeod, stamina, and judgment.

Brian Howeon, the four-minute miler, struck the front too carly, and when the challenge came trom eventual winner Ron Delaney he folded up to friish

Greatest error of judgment made by a British athlete was that of Gordon Pirie, contro- versial to the last, who allowed

himself and the selectors to

think he had it in him to win two major events, the 5,000 and

10,000. Mutres.

He won neither because those races produced the outstanding competitor, of the Games,

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And would Miss Grinham have won her Back Stroke medal if the Dutch team had been at Melbourne?

Serry to sound a crusty old cynie, "but we've had our egos Infated so much these past seven days that there's a danger we might get swollen-hooded,

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