Savidan—The Cross Country Empire Runner.

Although W. Savidan, the Auckland marvel, was beaten back to sixth place in the Australian Cross-country Championship in a race run in very fast time, he has such a wonderful record that we all trust and believe that this was only a passing aberration on his part.

He first won the New Zealand Cross-country Championship in 1927, at Christchurch, and the next year he won again at Wanganui in a great race where the world record holder, Randolph Rose, was his chief opponent. A month ago he won the title for the sixth time, the only occasions he did not win it since 1927 being the two years he was out of New Zealand at the Empire or Olympic Games, and in 1934, when he did not defend the title although in New Zealand at the time. In 1930, he won the six mile Empire Championship in Canada in record time for the Empire, and in 1932, at the Olympic Games, he was fourth in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres races, in each case being the first British athlete to finish.

The Australian race, it is reported, was run over what could hardly be regarded as a true “cross-country” course. Savidan is a good track runner over distances above two miles, but it is in the real “cross-country” work that he has achieved his great successes and it is difficult to credit that Pullar, the Otago champion who came second in the Australian race, or any of the four Australians who headed him, would be able to beat Savidan over the real country when our champion was at his best.

In any case Savidan's past performances stamp him as one of the gamest distance runners New Zealand has ever bred, and his modest and sterling personality makes him one of the most respected athletes of his day. If all goes well he will have undeniable claims to represent New Zealand again in the next Olympic contests at Berlin next year, and it is the duty of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic heads to see that the path is made smooth for his journey if he retains his old form.

Lovelock and the Mile.

The statement that Lovelock is “definitely the best English-speaking miler” may not long be true if the sensational improvement that the young Englishman, S. C. Wooderson, is making, continues. Just over a year ago this boy was second to Lovelock in the English Mile Championship run in slow time, while the year before he won the English Public School Championship in the record time of 4 min. 29 4/5secs. This last July, on Love-lock's return from his great American race, Wooderson beat him in the English Championship Mile, and as Wooderson has equalled 4-13 in an Empire Games race (where he was second to Lovelock) and has since equalled (or just broken) 4-12 in a handicap mile, it is evident that he will be in the world's championship fields in at most a few years' time.

Away back in 1886, the great W. G. George startled the athletic world by running the mile at Lillie Bridge in 4 mins. 12 ¾ secs. To many old-timers this record appeared likely to stand for all time, and it was not until about forty years later that it appeared to be in serious danger. Then came the great Finn, Nurmi, who seriously set himself to beat it (as a proof of his seriousness is the fact that he was the first miler to run with a stop-watch on his wrist), and in 1923 he brought the record down to 4 mins. 10 2/5 secs. At that time we in New Zealand were the more keenly interested in this struggle against time because of our own Randolph Rose who was knocking at the same door.

The chances that New Zealand would be hailed as the birthplace of the world's greatest miler looked bright for a time, and particularly to those of us who remembered the red-haired youth who so often scored in one of the world's great sporting events—the morning run for the Eastbourne ferry boat.

The best time Rose was able to achieve was 4 mins. 13 2/5 secs., but with experience and full training he could have bettered this and could probably have broken 4 mins. 10 secs.

So New Zealand settled down to watch with less personal interest the campaigns in France and Finland that in 1931 culminated in the feat of Ladoumegue, who was the first to get below 4 mins. 10 secs. At that time we knew that a New Zealand Rhodes Scholar, J. Lovelock, was running successfully at University meetings in England, but we had no idea that he was quietly preparing to tilt his cap at the world's champions. Although he had established an English record of 4 mins. 12 secs, we did not wake up until the morning we read in the papers that Lovelock had won the inter-University race at Princeton Stadium in the sensational time of 4 mins. 7 2/5 secs.

This was in 1933, and although the great American, Glenn Cunningham, has since lowered the record to 4 mins. 6 4/5 secs., this was in a race where the runners had the advantage of a large “second” clock erected to enable them to judge the pace. Lovelock again beat Cunningham and Bonthron decisively at Princeton a few months ago. To-day he is definitely the best English-speaking miler. He has, however, yet to prove that he is as good as Beccali, the Italian who defeated all the fastest milers the world has seen at the 1932 Olympic Games in the 1500 metres (1650 yards) race. It may be claimed that Lovelock was then not at his best, but Beccali repeated his victory over Lovelock at Turin, in 1933, and clinched his claim to be considered the greatest miler who ever ran.

John Lovelock, who has again put New Zealand on the mile map, was born at Reefton in 1910. He won his scholastic honours from Timaru Boys' High School and subsequently attended the Medical School at Otago University, where he won the mile in 4 mins. 24 secs. Winning the Rhodes Scholarship has enabled him to reduce his time by over 17 secs.