R. J . E. Thurbam, not out

ATHLETIC SPORTS . 607

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

The Annual Athletic Sports took place on the last two days of the Midsummer Term, July 27th and 28th. The first day (Wednesday), was brilliantly fine ; on Thursday there was a steady downpour all the morning, and the outlook was anything but rosy. Fortunately, however, the ground was too hard to be seriously affected, it was perhaps even improved by the rain for the purpose of the day ; and the afternoon proved, if anything, finer than the preceding. The weather being so favourable, there was quite a large company of spectators. The first clay was, as usual, devoted largely to the running of heats . Many of these were of an uninteresting character. For, as the rule is that the first two in each heat run in the final, and as in some heats there were only two competitors, the result was more like a walk over than a race. The Senior throw, we are sorry to say, again fell short of qo yards. The best events were the Pole jump and the Mile. In the former, Walton, jumping in excellent style, cleared 8 ft. 6 in., winning easily with ► 5 inches to spare. The Mile was notable for several reasons. A great many competitors turned out to run, and what is still more gratifying, persevered to the end ; further, it was not so much one race, as two races in one, the contest for the third place being as keen as for the first . (if the individual runners, Bingham the winner, ran with excellent judgment and in excellent time (5 minutes), whilst liirke, Gibbons, and Garland ran pluckily. Finally, we must not omit to congratulate Yeats cn his indomitable perseverance, which, if we are able to judge by a recent example, is a sure prognostication of ultimate success. The junior racing was not so interesting as that of the seniors. The entries were too few, and there was much inequality among the competitors. Both on this and the following day, Bennett, Leonard, and Harrison showed the most promise. Thursday opened with a disappointment, 'I'easdale, who cleared over 5 ft . last year, appears to have lost his cunning and was beaten by Wilson, who only got over :}. ft . r t in . The Quarter Mile was done by Walton in the excellent time of 55 secs . ; Bingham was a good second, whilst Kirke was a good third. The Sack Race proved as popular as