BETTER THAN ARNST.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 153, 4 August 1914, Page 3

BETTER THAN ARNST.

PADDON ON THE THAMES. On June 16 Australia's champion sculler, James Paddon, had his first row on the Thames. An old blue, who watched the spin, criticised Paddon'e work in an article which appeared in the '' Daily Telegraph" o£ June 17. The/writer says:— , , "Although Paddon stands 6ft 3Jin, and will weigh when fit to race about 13st 101b, it cannot be, said that he strikes one as a man of heavy, build. He owes his weight to his height and the size of his bones rather than to any superfluous muscle or flesh on his body. His reach is naturally great, and although the spread of his riggers is no; less than 4ft 10hy his blatles take the water at a very acute angle to the line of progression, and as he wastes no < time in getting them in and to work, it would be supposed that he was liable to pinch his boat badly; but she ran i very truly, and did not seem to check in the least. His catch appeared to come a trifle more from his shoulders and less from his heels than it should have done; but he did not lose much time in getting his legs to work, and then his drive was good, although it was over rather too soon. ."His finish is his chief fault from the point' of view of style. Unsupported by his legs, he carries his hands j further back than he should, and dog's-J ears his elbows so that his wrist work is not neat smooth, i This, with his over-pronounced catch, gives his sculling an angular and j jerky appearance.' At the - same time on smooth water his sculls left the water in as clean a fashion as they took it; but it is not easy to say how much the faults which I have mentioned will prejudice him when he has to row on Thames water at its worst. "One may say that he appears to have many of Barry's qualities, more especially in his blade work; but does not possess the consummate technique of the Englishman, being somewhat hindered from obtaining this by his excessively long reach. In any case, he is a far better sculler than Arnst, and by his victory over the latter last November would appear to be as good a racer, although the ex-champion was probably not at his best. It is certain that Barry has a much more arduous task in front of him than he had with Durnan or Pearce."