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Alex Krugers best jumping ?

On the 11th June 1989 Liverpool Pembroke attended a Northern League Division 1 match at the, recently opened, Wavertree stadium, Liverpool. Spirits were high for we had our human points machine, sexy-Lexy Kruger in attendance. The former 2.20m high jumper was undergoing the transformation which would later make him only the second British decathlete to top 8,000 points. That day he bagged a double personal best with a 7.57m long jump and 14.18m triple jump (amongst other, fine performances). At this point it's worth noting that I don't think I've ever seen a wind gauge at an NoEAA match (let alone a "spare" official to operate it). No sprinting perfromances that day were recorded as being wind-assisted; indeed AW that week recorded no wind-assisted performances at all. I was present that day (I hit 12.16m as our B string jumper) and did not recall it being an unusually windy day. Yet, 6 months later when the NUTS lists were published, a small (w) appeared after both of Alex's jumps. I recently questioned NUTS over this (his long jump still appears on some all-time lists); the obvious question being, "If this was wind-assisted, what was the wind speed reading ?" A member of NUTS later admitted that the performances were assumed to be wind assisted because they were the best of his career by some distance. I prefer the (equally plausible IMHO) explanation that, at that point in his career Alex had his best combination of jumping ability from his early history and the speed/power combination he was building through his decathlon training. The dispute remains a matter of opinion. Fortunately I've since unearthed better performances for our record lists.

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Marty McLoughlins Dutch masterpiece ?

Unlike many great athletes (and he was a great athlete, only Eamon Martin deprived him of an Olympic vest) Marty came to running as a senior with no junior or schoolboy history. He started life as a 5km & 10km track star but soon found his forte on the road. His performances over 10 miles and the half-marathon would certainly stand alongside the very best today. On the 11th October 1987 he made one of his regular forays to the continent for a 10-miler near Amsterdam. His time of 46:26 min was a performance of the highest quality. It is, however, listed these days with a "course measurement uncertain" footnote. To date no-one has been able to tell me how uncertain the course was supposed to be ? Several races on the Amsterdam-Zaandam course over 5 and 10 miles have been so listed on the GB Athletics website but, curiously, 46:35 by Paul Evans over 10 miles in 1997 was ratified. The site states that performances by Spedding, McLoughlin and several others were run on the course prior to its being certified. We have to conclude that the course changed in some way between the 80's and 90's. The picture shows Marty (red shorts) battling a Northern League 5,000m with Phil Helm.

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Metric JAN Railton ?

Jim Railton (usually referred to as Jan because of his initials) was a truely precocious sprinter as a junior in the early 1950's. He held the AAA's junior 100yds record at 9.9s; furthermore his talent also spread to 49.2s for a 440yds (as a 16 year old !) and a 6.71m long jumper. Those thinking these not particularly stirring performances today should remember what tracks were like in 1950. 1955 saw the young dynamo sent to Germany on National Service. Not long after, on the 31st July that year, news came through of a fabulous run in Dortmund. Jim had run a 6.7s for 60m indoors; a club record to this day, and by no small margin. Somewhere, in the intervening 50 years, a question has arisen with suggestions that this was a 60 yds performance. This would be understandable if the time had been recorded in the UK or, indeed, within the Army base in Germany. But it wasn't, it was run at the German track within the city, against other German athletes. Conversations with friends in Germany have confirmed it is almost unheard of to have races over Imperial distances, even just after the war when most of the country was still occupied by British and US forces. Superb as this performance undoubtedly is; I do not believe it to be beyond an athlete of such proven ability.

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Britains fastest junior ?

On the 6th September 1972 a teenage Kevin Carroll (no relation to Jim, another talented junior distance runner in the club at the same time) entered a 5 mile road race in Altrincham. His time of 23:33 min would still be a junior record to this day. Once again the GB records website (http://www.gbathletics.co.uk/uk/ma20.htm) lists this with a "course measurement uncertain" footnote. This 5 mile race is run every year in September and I've never seen any question of its accuracy before or since; indeed a year later Kevin ran 23:57 min in the same race; not wildly different to his previous performance. On this one, however, I am prepared to cede some ground. Until now we've talked only of good performances (albeit at a national level) but this would actually be a national record and I accept that the degree of rigour would, therefore, need to be considerably tougher. Could the course be measured today ? Probably not, but I'm happy to accept it's good enough for LPS. The photo shows Kevin on his way to 10^th position in the National Junior Cross Country Championships in 1973. No. 177 is Nick Sloane, J85 is is Pete Flavel and in the background our very own Laurie Reilley is battling up the hill with future GB distance international, Julian Goater (Shaftsbury Barnet).

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Upon reading these one could be forgiven for thinking I have some axe to grind with NUTS. Nothing could be further from the truth, indeed, I have received considerable assistance in compiling these lists from several members of the National Union of Track Statistians. The use of the word "controversy" is done with tongue firmly in cheek. The points raised here are merely intended to stimulate debate in the pub after a Winter training session; nothing more.

Dave Brown