The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 31

THE AGE, Monday 31 August 1987 -31 SrqrtExim lta more fiiam sevee raphers, asking, "Is it over?" Amid all By TREVOR GRANT Rome, Sunday I Like every other competitor, Mota complained about the effect of the cobblestones on her feet "It hurts so much because my feet are so smalL It was horrible running on them," she said, com? Wcrtd chsRtpicnships Elfin-faced Rosa Mota shot out of the darkened tunnel like an express train and IIUUUU15 uwi just aner uie iv-uiomeiret mark she began to feel pain in her achitf-les that she carried for the rest of in -wss A i late But no one would have noticed. Mota i one of those unique individuals wh. thrives on adversity. An hour after in which two finishers had to taken from the arena on stretchers was bouncing around, looking ready for 1 night on the town. The only thing stopping her was the dehydration that her from rnmnlvlno with onti-rinnino i-ao.

H7 Said Mota: "I saw Grete in the village yesterday. I could barely look her in the face. I felt so bad for her. But she came up to me and wished me luck. She told me she hoped I'd win.

Those words were, very, very nice and a very big stimulation for me. Grete has always been my hero since the days I started running and she was the world cross-country champion." With Waltz out and Australian Lisa Martin stricken with fatigue problems right from the start, the race's destiny was virtually decided when Mota made her first surge to the front at the five-kilometre mark. As the race wound its way around the sights of the Coliseum, St Peter's Square, the Imperial Forum, the Baths of Cara-calla and the Aventino Hill, it was soon obvious that Martin and the three Russians, Ivanova, Elena Tshuklo, and Eka-terina Khramenkova had been left to run another race. After 10 kilometres Mota led by more than 14 seconds, after 15 kilometres by 85 seconds, at the half marathon 126 seconds, and at 30 kilometres three minutes 23 seconds. At one stage Mota's coach, fearing that she was overstretching in conditions that brought people up in sweat just watching, called to her to slow down.

"I knew he was worried, so I did. Just a little," she said. this confusion, she spied a little girl stationed rather self-consciously in the middle of the track, with a bouquet of pink carnations. Only then was she convinced that it was all over. She took the flowers in her left hand and in the other she took her country's green, red and yellow flag that suddenly materialised from the crowd, before setting off on her victory lap.

The bungling was soon forgotten as she soaked in the adulation of 50,000 chanting Romans. All the way she waved that flag, stopping once to plant a kiss on the tear-stained cheek of a photographer friend from Lisbon. That lap is always a precious moment to any athlete in any major international competition, but probably even more so for her. As she explained later, "My country is very small and very poor, To win for my country is the most important thing for me." Mota, who led from start to finish in 27-degree heat to win in two hours, 25 minutes 17 seconds, had carved up this field so conclusively that there was a seven-minute, 20-second gap between her and the silver medallist, Zoja Ivanova, of the Soviet Union. But instead of being swept away by the sudden swarm of Portuguese supporters and press clamoring for her attention, homed in on the world marathon championship last night as dusk was settling over the Olympic Stadium.

The Portuguese runner, her sweat-stained 157-centimetre, 44-kilogram frame glistening under the floodlights, i skipped through the final deafening lap with the same unrelenting vigor she had shown two-and-a-half hours earlier when she led Australia's Lisa Martini and the other 40 competitors down the same tunnel and off on a picture-postcard journey around the cobblestoned lanes and high-ways of Rome. 1 1 But on a night when Italian mismanage-ment and farce reached a high at the second athletics World Championships, Mota was never quite sure on her return exactly how far she had to go to reach that world title. She kept on running after one lap because an official had told her before the race that she had to complete two laps in the stadium and, of course, none of the biazered buffoons at trackside seemed to know how to stop her. 1 After a few spectators close by yelled out to her, she eased in mid-stride and held her hands out to a bunch of photog- she ignored them all and waited patiently to greet her fellow competitors on the inside of the track. When Ivanova finally emerged, she dropped the flag and bouquet and started clapping her and yelling encouragement When the Russian reached the line, Mota raced over to embrace her.

She did the same to the bronze medallist, Joce-lyne Villeton of France, who stuttered across the line and looked up in disbelief that she had won a World Championship medal. Arm-in-arm the three of them stood, laughing and embracing, almost in tears from the combination of joy and stress. It was a moving sight for anybody saddened by the loss of fellowship in sport and a lasting reminder of how much this particular sport binds people together, no matter how competitive they may be. Later Mota, 29, said she had dedicated this race to her close friend and one-time idol, Norwegian Grete Waltz, the 1983 world champion in Helsinki, who withdrew here only a few days before the event because of an injury. ft 7 ulations for almost two hours.

"It's not difficult for me to run a rnara -thon. The only thing that is hard is the training for one. Once I'm out there I'm' into the easy part," she said. Mota will now head home to Portugal where she will receive another boisterous-reception from her compatriots and' spend her usual few days a week spread--ing the gospel among her young fans. go to schools all over the country and talk to all the little children, mainly about training," she said.

"My life is training and talking about training." And winning. A joyous Rosa Mota of Portugal after winning the world marathon championship. Fieail diaree Seeds of doubt give Martin sleepless night steals gkkM mA f4- Jm io wm SA HI rV jrsiteluuKi 'np. 9 for Seagmlls Picture LES SHORROCK lead. Hellas went on to win 2-1.

movski headed the winning goal in the 58th minute. Polonia's lead at the top of the State League ladder was reduced to four points in a 1-0 loss to Fawkner, whose goal came from a Doug Brown penalty. Arsenal manager George Graham dropped Scottish international striker Charlie Nicholas on Saturday and then sat back and watched the north London side demolish struggling Portsmouth 64). Arsenal's victory on the third Saturday of the English league season was the highest score in the first division on a day when the big-city giants all won convinc-ingly. But less fashionable Queen's Park Rangers remained on top after winning 1-0 at Southampton.

Striker Alan Smith, close-season signing from Leicester, hit a hat-trick in Arsenal's win to claim the day's individual honors and his first goals for his new club. But impressive team performances were delivered by Manchester United, which won 3-1 at Charlton; Chelsea, which crushed Luton 34); Liverpool, 4-1 victor at Coventry, and Everton, which bounced back from a 6-1 midweek loss to Real Madrid in a friendly, to defeat Sheffield Wednesday 4-0. SPORT EXTRA 4: Details. The game is only a minute old as Stuart Stevenson beats St George goalkeeper Mike Gibson to shows up his fellow Socceroos It was an inauspicious start to the final series. Three quarters of a one-sided match had passed, and the crowd had condemned the game by its quietness.

It was the type of quiet that comes when a team is so in control, as Frankston was against Williamstown yesterday in the first semi-final, that after a while even its own supporters do not bother to clap. But things changed in a big way. Williamstown stole the game in a dramatic last quarter, and then the only quiet was in the Frankston rooms after the game. The mechanics of the win are easy to work out it can be attributed to individual performances and positional moves but the reasoning is not so clear. Was it a case of Frankston stopping? Or did Williamstown, after playing three quarters of football with only a passing interest, start? Perhaps the simplest explanation came at the three-quarter time huddle when there was some doubt whether Williamstown coach Terry Wheeler was going to speak to the players at all.

A supporter, almost foaming at the mouth with rage, cut through all the encouraging words with: on Williamstown doesn't lose!" And that is how the Seagulls went on to play as if it were the natural thing for them to win, even though until that stage they had been thoroughly outplayed. It also seemed natural that the win be inspired, in part, by Barry Round. Round and Kim Kershaw shared ruck duties for the early part of the game and the combination was not working. In the third quarter. Round was moved to centre half-forward and Kershaw tp the ruck.

Round gave the players a focal point, and he gave them three goals. Football is often about pressure and, the way teams and individuals cope with it In that last quarter, Frankston could not match the single-minded approach that every Williamstown player had as he went for the ball. Nearly all the an-on-man contests went to Williamstown, and when Frankston did gain possession it suffered from the same hesitation that plagued its opponents when the Dolphins were at their peak. The match-winning qualities of the Seagulls' Ian Rickman were put on display again yesterday as he kicked five inspirational goals in the last quarter. He was assisted by Steven Knight who was one of the few Williamstown players' to have a high profile for most of the day.

He kicked five. Things were looking good early semi, VFA SAM PRENESTI for Frankston as it began to regain some of the form that made it a force in the early part of the season. In particular, Simon Meehan and Tony O'Brien were running the ball well and and played with confidence. But the game turned slightly spiteful with fights erupting around the ground. The biggest of these was in the second quarter and involved trainers, runners and all the players on the field, except Knight The crowd was suitably appreciative of the extra entertainment Williamstown's Lindsay Cahill was reported during the scuffle on a charge of abusive language, while Frankston's Damien Briese was reported on a charge of striking Terry Wheeler.

Frankston coach Jeff Sarau sat dejected at the end of the game. His conclusion is that winning has to become second nature for the players at Frankston if the team is to be successful. They must, he said, realise that winning is the only thing. "They pressured us well mentally and physically," he said. "We were not as desperate in those first five minutes of the last quarter as we were for the rest of the game.

The players have to realise football is an extension of life, you have to be a winner off the field and on the field." Sarau said that good players were players who were consis-tant regardless of ability, and that consistent play had been lacking in the team for some weexs. uur players have not switched on for the pressure games this year," he said. In the euphoric Williamstown rooms after the game Terry Wheeler said that the win was the best he had experienced since being at the club, including last year's grand final. He said the players had met before the game and adopted a positive attitude and it was just a matter of sticking to their plan. "After we established what we were going to do, it was just a matter of persevering," he said.

PRAHRAN defeated SUNSHINE, in the second division first semi-final yesterday. In a close battle all day. Sunshine went into the last quarter 2.1 down and could not hold back Prahran which went on to win easily 19.18 (132) to 15.14 (104). SPORT EXTRA 4: Details. wide).

FBL0O77MEL S3h Tve got no regrets because it-could have ended up such a negh-' tive experience. "My only problem now is to overcome that feeling of doubt, when I next line up for a race. The greatest disappointment is that back in July, when I was training in Belgium, I was at my peak. But by 2 August I'd over shot the mark." Martin says she will make up her mind in the next month or so whether she should try to something out of 1187 or forget the year, recuperate and set herself on a stable course for Seoul next year. Rut.

first Mil fnremncf ttiAfA is the matter of a good nighfs sleep. SPORT EXTRA 4: Details. Kenyan toys with best in the world: By LEN JOHNSON 'f We had been warned. Five, months ago, in the last few days of March in cold and muddy Warsaw, John Ngugi and Paul Kip---koech of Kenya smashed a field of the world's best distance runnei? -to win the World Cross-Country by. a massive 44 seconds.

Ngugi won by a stride. But it -should have sounded warning bells about Kipkoech's at 10,000 metres, a distance for, which he ran a Commonwealth-' leading 27 minutes 43.41 seconds last year. To further underline his poten-' tial, Kipkoech won the 10,000 at; the recent African Championships held at high altitude in Nairobi in 28:34, easily -among others, Ethiopia's Wodajo' -Bulti who had the second fastest time in the world this year of' 27:29.41 To those who had missed it or who still were confident in their' own ability to win the World Championships 10,000 metres Paul Kipkoech provided an em-: phatic answer in Rome's Stadio Olimpico on the championships' opening night with a magnificent', victory. The Kenyan runner toyed with-. a field of the world's best distance: runners.

With a devastating mid- -race surge that saw him run-a, 4:13 1600 metres between 16 and- -20 laps he dropped all but the pre-race favorite, Italy's Francesco" Panetta. Then, as 80,000 Italian spectators screamed for a home-town win, Kipkoech proceeded to destroy Panetta, the world's fastest man this year. He did it not with conventional surging, but by sprinting smoothly around the first bend of each successive lap to such effect that Panetta had no chance of stavine with him. Kipkoech ran the last 5000 metres in 13:25, and looked as if he could have run faster if challenged. The only comparable effort in a 10,000 was the 13:28 run by Fernando Mamede in the 27:13.81 world record Stockholm race in 1984.

Kipkoech did his off a pedestrian 14:13 first 5000 metres. If you run yourself, here is a simple way to experience the difference. Take your best 10-kilometre time. Then try to match it running the first 5000 25 seconds slower than half your best time and the second, correspondingly faster: Then, take two days rest! You will need it Fittingly, Kipkoech was rewarded for his great run with a personal best time by almost five seconds and a championships record. He just missed Werner Schildhauer's Rome stadium record 27:38.43 from the 1981 World Cup.

By TREVOR GRANT, Rome, Sunday Australia's Lisa Martin, her world championship marathon hopes dashed on the cobbled streets of Rome yesterday, was hoping to do nothing today but sleep. After withdrawing from the marathon, won so conclusively by the pre-race favorite, Rosa Mota, of Portugal, Martin, went back to cocoon herself in the silence of the private hotel she has been using as a base throughout her build-up in Rome. As her other competitors were still puzzling over what happened to her expected powerful challenge, Martin, who pulled out after 25 kilometres of the 42-kilometre race, had a quiet dinner with her husband and coach, Ken, and went to bed, hoping to put the day's disastrous events out of her mind. But it was impossible. She tossed and turned all night, unable to settle in her mind one burning question.

"I can accept what happened this time but every time I line up for a race in the immediate future I'm going to ask 'Will it happen again?" she said. The Commonwealth Games marathon champion now accepts that her trip last month to" Florida for heat acclimatisation training was the major reason for her failure. She ran two races within eight days, the last a seven-kilometre event in Massachusetts on II August when she pulled out just past halfway. "I was really concerned about that and thought I would have to withdraw from Rome. I had a blood test in the US and the doctor told me I needed rest," she said.

"So I followed that and did very little In the build-up once I got here. I kept telling people I was over all the problems. Deep down I was worried but once I made up my mind to compete I had to be positive and convince myself I was going to be OK." Martin, 27, said she felt poorly from the start of yesterday's race. "By the time I reached the 21-kllometre mark I was in trouble. My feet were on fire and my whole body was sore," she said.

"But I was in a quandary because I thought this might just be a bad patch yon can go through. "I knew it wasnt when I got close to the 25-kilometre mark and people were passing me. I knew I had no chance for a medal." That's when Martin, in consultation with her husband, decided it was time to stop punishing herself. "In retrospect I'm glad I didnt continue. In those conditions I could have done a lot of damage.

James Crawford's 45-point game for Perth. Like Canberra with Smyth, the Wildcats clearly miss the influence of captain-coach Cal Bruton, who is with the Boomers in New Zealand. which by all logic should have dropped toward the bottom of the table long ago, defied its spate of injuries and ill-fortune to defeat Illawarra 113-109 at home. Former national team member Ian Davies continued his stunning form with 28 points in that match. The hapless Melbourne Tigers, vastly depleted by the absence of sensational shooter Andrew Gaze, lost by a massive 60 points to East-side Melbourne at Albert Park.

It was not, however, the most onesided game in NBL history. Co-burg defeated Sydney by a whopping 88 points in 1984. SPORT EXTRA 4: Detato. Soccer LAURIE SCHWAB Allan Scott scored Croatia's winning goal, escaping the clutches of Marconi's best player, Tony Henderson, to head home a cross from Josip Biskic in the 74th minute. Ugly crowd behavior almost forced referee Arthur Owens to abandon the clash between Sydney Croatia and JUST in Sydney.

JUST goalkeeper Zoran Nikito-vic said afterwards: "I was pelted with rocks, bottles, cans and fruit and even umbrellas. In over 350 matches I have never seen the like of it We came for soccer, not politics." Referee's inspector Ray San-dell was hit by a bottle and needed medical attention. JUST was due to meet Melbourne Croatia at Schintler Reserve, Footscray, next Sunday but has shifted the match to Olympic Park as part of a double-header. The other game will be between Brunswick Juventus and Sydney Croatia. There was trouble at Schintler Reserve when JUST met Sydney Croatia there earlier this year, Sunshine George Cross defender Shaun Parton was sent off in the 39th minute of a 1-1 draw with Heidelberg-Alexander at Chaplin Reserve.

The result leaves George ST give Hellas a 1-0 Cross three points behind Heidelberg, in last place. Coach John Gardiner switched Carl Gilder into defence but brought on Kevin Innes in place of Gilder after Sunshine took the lead in the 51st minute. Robert Markovac shot George Cross into the lead and Andy Dee-ley replied for Heidelberg late in the match. Referee Chris Bambridge incurred the anger of George Cross supporters when he overruled claims for a penalty. He had to be escorted off the field by police and was hit by a glass thrown by a spectator.

Hellas coach Brian Garvey, reappointed during the week for the 1988 season, wasted no time in getting tough. His team had failed to win for six weeks, so Garvey dropped striker Charlie Egan and goalkeeper Peter Laumets. 21-year-old Con Giatas in goal, Hellas beat St George 2-1. The goals came from Stuart Stevenson and Danny Wright Kevin Hagan, who will probably lead the New Zealand attack on Wednesday against Australia, replied for St George. Makedonia's Goce Dimovski, recruited from Yugoslavia in May, scored his first NSL goal in a 2-1 victory over Adelaide Juventus at Connor Reserve.

A back injury, however, led to his substitution late in the game. Steve Smith, with help from Dimovski, scored Makedonia's first goal, Joe Mullen equalised and Di Bob Lambourne, and NBL executives will view videotapes of the incident this week. There were a series of shock results in the 19th weekend of matches, with Victorian clubs providing several upsets. Championship contenders Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats and Illawarra Hawks all had disappointing road with the Hawks losing to Geelong on Saturday night to fol-: low their four-point defeat at the hands of North Melbourne on Friday night i i Adelaide lost to the persistent Hobart Devils in Hobart on Friday night and came within an ace of another shock defeat at Keilor on Saturday against the battling Westside Melbourne Saints. West-side was missing centre Paul Kuiper but drew the match, eventually going down by three points in overtime.

Ken Epperson was the star with 35 points for the Saints. Crino Victorians Robbie Dunn, Oscar Crino and Alan Davidson were among the few Socceroos to shine yesterday in preparation for Wednesday's match against New Zealand at Olympic Park. Sydney Croatia, which has four Socceroos, has failed to win its past six matches. It lost in Sydney yesterday to Footscray JUST, which was led brilliantly by Crino in midfield. Crino scored the first goal and Vlado Bozinovski added the second from a penalty.

Socceroo captain Charlie Yan-kos of APIA scored against his own team in a 1-1 draw with Sydney Olympic. Arno Bertogna equalised in a goalmouth scrimmage late in the game to preserve APIA'S unbeaten record and its eight-point lead at the top of the ladder. Frank Farina, who will be in Australia's attack against New Zealand, had hardly a kick in Marconi's 1-0 loss to Melbourne Croatia at Olympic Park. He was marked out of the game by Davidson as Melbourne Croatia jumped from sixth to third position. While Davidson eclipsed Farina, Dave Mcintosh held Steve Maxwell and Ian Dobson disposed of Geoff Gunning and then David Lowe, who replaced Gunning at half-time.

Anything the markers missed was swept up expertly by Dunn while Ian Wallace was an ever-reliable target in attack and Branko Milosevic strengthened his reputation as one of the most creative midfielders in the NSL. Canberra, that most smooth and efficient of National Basketball League teams over the past nine years, finally showed some holes at the weekend. The low-key Cannons have been one of the NBL's few constants since 1979, always successful, always thereabouts. The high-fliers have come and gone but Canberra has remained as a potent force, with two titles to show for it The men from the national capital seemed to be heading along quite nicely again this year under new coach Jerry Lee, but two losses on the road and the report of centre Simon Cottrell have left them in a decidedly shaky position. The Cannons lost by three points to Brisbane on Friday night and suffered a shock 18-point caning at the hands of lowly West Sydney on Saturday.

They have now slipped to fifth on the ladder and Cannons miss their target twice, slip to fifth IPS CRICKET TICKET MARTIN BLAKE face the prospect of meeting talented North Melbourne this Friday without captain and point guard Phil Smyth, who is in New Zealand with the Australian team. Smyth's absence is serious enough for Canberra, but it has been exacerbated by the loss of his backup point guard. Tad Du-felmeier, through injury. Three straight losses gives the Cannons a 14-8 record, and they could slip to sixth if they cannot regain composure by this week's game, i The laconic Cottrell was reported during the Friday night match before 8,500 people at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. He is charged with chesting referee TIME.

THEY'RE ON SALE NOW. The Benson Hedges Test Series Australia v. New Zealand The Benson Hedges Bicentennial One Day International Australia v. England The Benson Hedges World Series Cup Australia v. New Zealand v.

Sri Lanka Tickets on sale now from all Bass outlets. Credit Card Bookings Bass Sports Charge (03) 11522 or Toll Free 008 33 8998 James Crawford: 45 points for Perth Perth toppled Sydney on Friday but played its part in one of the biggest upsets of the season when it lost to Newcastle Falcons in Newcastle on Saturday. The Falcons, as ever potent in offence but weak in defence, had big games from Jerry Everett and Wayne McDaniels and won by 19, despite (Australia.