The sun., 1891-07-12
HIS LEGS ARE MIGHTY.
THE PRINCE OF ENGLISH RuNNERA
A Parton Lna who Cnn Run Like n Fissh
for % Mile aud Over

James kibbew OF the spartan Hhrrtefe
the famons milo and long distance amateuI
champion OF England, is q machinist at swim.
don. in the employ OF the Great Western Rail.
way Company. His employers take deal Of
interest In HIN. so that he can get away when.
ever he wants to run In races. besides getting
a reduced fare whenever required. His coll
lection OF prizes is probably the best and larC-
est ever won by any athlete. II is not unusual
10 I'm his nrizes on public exhibition In the
locnlity Of Swindon.
1t is in tho quiet little village Of Purton, four
miles from Swindon whore kibblewhite was
| born, and he has always lived there. He was25
year, old on tho 9th OF last February. He
stands s foot 9Js inches tall and weighs even
whom in tho best OF condition. 146 pounds. He
is n man who would gain deal OF flesh II he
led IN inactive life, and so to keep flt he has to
| put in n lot OF training work. which he always
does on a grass course near his homo. He is .
strong runner and usos the usual long. sweep.
ing stride OF most OF the English runners who
| train on grass tracks.
1t was in May. 1884. that Kibblewhits en-
tered his first race Mt Swindon sports. BEING
allotted the usual start allowed a man In his
first venture. Kibblewhite began his career By
| winning. He followed up the sport and was
| quite successful. His career, OF urse. was
| not without isappointments. Ono OF his great
est setbacks was when he was q hot favorite Tor
tho famous Kildare mile" which at that time
was at tho height OF its popularity. The knock.
down blow wa. delivered By A. b. George. who
had only Just started running, ana was boy
Of II. George did . wonderful performances
for one so young. boating Kibblewhits on the
| post and doing equal to minutes 30 seconds.
| deductinG his start.
Finally Kibblswhtte got to tho mark o: honor.
He naturally developed a taste for scratch
racas. In 1886 he won ths Mile Challenge Cup
put up for competition by the btourbrldRe
| Athletic Club. This CUP. valued at 20 gutneas
| had TO be won twice in succession before It be-
| came any ones personal property. Kibbe-
white succeeded In getting the cup By beating
L. W. Parry by a foot In 1887.
1t was In the championship Of 1887. at Stour.
bridge. that Klbblewhte met the little Irish.
man. T. +. Conneff. Conneir had Just come
over from tho Emerald Isle. and when he
turned out to meet Kibblewhits and r.
J. X. Cross for the mile. he had
previously run in the one. half mile race.
in which he was pulled back some
yards. Cross lay behind the first three.
quarters and passing kibblewh hite and Conner
along the further end, he won by TWO y ards
from KibbIswhite. who got by Connefr In the
sprint Iot the tape. II appeared then that II
Connef did as we'll as his youthful endeavor
promised lie would mako the finest miller that
ever breathed. This event was just before
Carter was defeated In Ireland by Conner.
Cross made wonderful time. considering the
poor track. namely. 4 minutes 25 seconds
In the autumn OF tho same year, at Kenning.
ton Oval. Kibbewhite easily won the four.
mile match against w. II. Coad. ex-ten. mile
champion, and G. Rogers, OK -four-mile cham-
pion. In this year Klbblewh,e collected
twenty-seven prizes. nearly all being frsts.
He also won the Chetenhsm Mile Challenge
Cup by again beating Parry in 1883. 1t was In
\ t., sI,n Do L. Lt, k-tl1 -
being the holder Of seven championships at
ono time. and. Londoners being anxious to soc
the northerner. he was induced to como I'D to
the centre Of southern athletics to run at
the London Athletic Club sports and those
Of tho South London Harriers at Remington
Oval. Parry was successful ut the L. A. O.
meeting. and naturally great things were OK.
uected on the following Saturday at the oval
kibblewhite. however. turned up. and as many
people thought that Parry former defeats wore
dukss great surprise was caused when Klb.
blewhite set the ball rolling by beating Parry
In the three -qunrter-mile scratch race aud
establishing new grass record of 8 minutes
13 2-5 seconds. He also started from the
1fteen.yard mark in tho two-mile handicap.
and romped homo an easy winner from A. B.
George and Sidney Thomas to whom no WAS
concedine small starts. Parry. scratch. Was
badly beaten.
himself with no championship event. This
was the year IN which I. P. Conneff on . visit
from New York with the NJ. A. c. team lowered
his colors as well as those Of the great Oxford
University runner. W. Pollock-Hill. In the ono.
mile championship. at Crewe. In addition to
this Kibblewhite was barred from competing
in the southern counties cross-country Cham.
pionship OF 1883. won by Sidney Thomas on
account Of leaving the Swindon Harriers to
piy 10 fo n MT ,1u
tan Harriers. In consequence OF this. Kibbls.
white though permission was given. refused to
run the following year for this cham pionship.
saying that as he was once debarred be would
not run in this instance Sidney Thomas.
therefore. won easily;
me lie wSs in eaas Ice ana
tered for the ten. mile cham mpionship Of 1859 IS
iasss at hat
Me- mes 40 seconds; He lay Ct the heels % = o. Stdpsy
Thomas wsps 70 % riehs away @ 200 y YARDS I from ho%s
ond ond Sy ii e pes by
scratch race except By Thomas p this In
ward a. kensnsion oval I'm in a three. m!l ham
sSs WsSns sSn sssy % Tssy nss ssGp %. ksb b:
b Shxhu
kibblewhite won tho half-mlle champion
ship OF Wiltshire. his native county. on Aug.
sports were probably the most extraordinary
ever Witnessed. He won the mile scratch race
southern milers and later on ran from scratch
through the enormous crowd Of 100 runners In
the mile handicap. and won by few inches In
the rather marvellous time. considering the
circumstances. OF minutes 23ts seconds In
the same month he went north and won the
half mile northern championship. and at STAN.
6o f9,d Bridge he ran thESs miles In in Il 4 minutes
made May II, 1884 Of IA minutes SO seconds.
Il George and kiGblewhite had M met ho,wever:
b.en defeated. for George. whom he, made his
three. pile record had another mile 70 GO 70
more than the difference between their tlmes
at three. miles Shortly aftsrw I'd. at PAD.
tma SEan Ep1 hsd a
seconds. At ,Kennington Oval he ran three
miles In "A minutes 50 3-5 seconds, making,e
nsw record o0r AZ Gs 'fch 81 S,n ns, M