Terrace Standard from Terrace, British Columbia, Canada • 25

Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 1 6, 1 988 Page C1 TERRACE STANDARD ROB WATTS 638-7283 ew wor Clark sets record Terrace wheeler beats old mark by 1 minute TERRACE Paul Clark has shattered the world wheelchair marathon record, beating the old mark by more than a minute. The Terrace wheelchair athlete broke the record at the 42km Oita, Japan, marathon ten days ago. Three hundred wheelers competed, 200 in the half-marathon and 100 going the full distance. Clark and fellow Canadian Andre Viger finished four minutes ahead of the next racers Clark in the record time of 1:38.27 and Viger four seconds slower. The former record was 1:39.31.

I r' li i 2, I ls. -I, 1 1 1- I i 1 'I I 1 1 wl I Tv- jK i I T'T i $.. I A ft course Clark led all the way. "I didn't know I was going to win until the last 100 metres," Clark said. "I don't think you ever know if you're going to win unless you're way out in front." Although Clark knew he would win as he came into the final stretch, he didn't realize his time was as good as it was his onboard computer had malfunctioned.

"I wasn't too concerned about the time I was more concerned about winning." He said as he approached the finish line he heard his wife, Karin, shouting 'Go, Paul', above the crowd. "It was great it gives you that extra little bit," Clark said. "The night before I told her, 'If you're at the finish line I'll win." Clark has won two other marathons Vancouver in 1986 with a time of 2:05 and Calgary in 1983 in 2:19, but he said this was his first win in world-class competition. "This is a big win," Clark said. "It's the open class and it's a world record." The old record was set last May in Switzerland.

Viger's time of 1:38.31 was also faster than the previous record. Clark was introduced to Prince Hiro, son of the Japanese emperor, after the race. It was Clark's second brush with royalty he met Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa in 1981. "This is a big win. It's the open class and it's a world record.

Clark and Viger broke away from the pack at the 7 mark and drafted off each other, taking turns leading every 45 seconds. The idea of drafting is for the first racer to break the wind for the second, allowing the racer behind to rest while the wind resistance is lowered. The chairs are only separated by a few inches drafting is ineffectual if there's too much space between the racers. "If it wasn't for (Viger) I wouldn't have done the time I did," Clark said. "We traded equally for the first 35 km." Over the last 4km of the he had been practicing raising crossing finish lines.

Wife Karin said PAUL CLARK holds aloft some of the medals and trophies he won on his trip to the Orient and demonstrates his traditional stance of the Asian races. his arms in victory well in advance Clark says record will stand at least a year Eleven local archers qualify for Northern B.C. winter games Trudeau, Kitimat; Gil Payne, Terrace; Susan Payne, Terrace; and Sam Baca, Terrace. Wanda Carlton of Terrace is an alternate. Winners at the shoot were: Junior unlimited: Scott Wilson, 722 TERRACE Paul Clark believes he'll be the record holder for a while, although the world record has been broken three times in the last 12 months.

"I think the record's going to stand for at least a year," he said. To beat his record will take a course in good condition, good weather and co-operation in drafting, he said. Within a year or two, though, he believes someone will bring the time for the 42km marathon down to 1:37 or 1:36. Eventually, he predicts, it could be as low as 1:32. Clark said he hopes he'll be the racer to break his own record.

Clark's record Is in the open class, against racers who have some advantages over him. Wheelchair athletes are classified by the nature of their disability. Clark, whose back was broken high up in an accident as a teenager, is in class 2. High-up back injuries mean class 2 athletes lack the use of their abdominal muscles, putting them at a disadvantage in steering and acceleration. Class 2s can have the same top speed as other classes, Clark said, but it takes longer to get up to that top speed.

He said some of the better athletes weren't at Oita. "Three good French guys weren't there. I don't know if I would have beaten them." One of the racers from France was the record holder. Four of the first five finishers at the Oita marathon were Canadians. Clark said Canadians traditionally do well.

Part of the reason is the ready access to training areas in Canada we have a lot of roads without heavy traffic, something hard to find in some other countries. He said another reason was the publicity for other Canadian wheelchair athletes like Rick Hanson. "Get a couple good guys and it's like a snowball," Clark said. Now, Clark says his short-and mid-distance track days are over. "I think I'm going to concentrate on marathons now," he said.

"There's going to be a lot of pressure on me not to retire." "Road racing is more fun." However, he said, "I might come out of retirement someday." In his five marathons this year, Clark has raced four personal bests. Clark said he and Karin will be spending the winter arranging Clark's optometry practice, settling into their new house, and getting to see friends again. He might do some racing in February or March, but "if I don't do any racing until May I won't be disappointed." Mens bowhunter: Gil Payne, 1036; Gerry Mauer, Smithers, 944 Mens bowhunter barebow: Ed Hobenshield, Kitwanga, 923; Sam Baca, 347 Mens unlimited: Wayne Carlton, 1127; Kevin Chenard, Prince Rupert, 1012 Womens unlimited: Wanda Carlton, 1030 Mens freestyle: Jorgen Jorgenson, Kitimat, 1115; Ed Trudeau, 1077; Guy Duguay, 1077. (The tie was broken by counting the number of tens for each archer Trudeau had more and was awarded second place.) Womens freestyle: Gloria Trudeau, Kitimat, 970; Judy Mauer, Smithers, 772; Susan Payne, 695 TERRACE Eleven local archers have qualified for the Northern B.C. Winter Games In Prince Rupert in February.

The Kermodei Archery club's indoor shoot on Nov. 5 was also the games playdowns. The shoot was held In a shop at Northwest Community College In Terrace because it was the only available building large enough to allow shooting from a distance of 23 metres. Qualifying for the nor them winter games were: Wayne Carlton, Terrace; Guy Duguay, Kitimat; Ed Trudeau, Kitimat; Scott Wilson, Terrace; Ed MacKenzie, Terrace; Lance Visentin, Terrace; Zeffy San-tucci, Kitimat; Gloria Mens barebow: Ed MacKenzie, 994 Junior boys freestyle: Zeffy Santucci, 925; Lance Visentin, 746 Junior boys bowhunter: Dustin Storey, Kitimat, 849.