AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 215, 7 September 1912, Page 16

AQUATICS.

Writing to his father in Sydney, the stroke of the Australian <tew, Fitzhardinpc. said: "It was jolly hard to be beaten after winning at Henley. There was not much difference between the two crow.?. Leander did not row any better than ihey did at Henley. Australians "ill hear how they iLoander) ha.l improved, hut they ■wore if anything not quite so fust, because, the Australian* were not >~ fast as they wore, ami experienced no great difficulty in keeping ahead of all along the straight .part of the course. It \v;w Hip bond that beat us," continued Mr. Fitzhardinge. "Leander spurted and spurted at iw along tho straight, but could make no impression. At the baths we had a lend of a good length, but as we shot out from under the bridge—a distance of about 200 yards—we were Je«el. We knew the advantage of the course here, an* spurted to try and counteract it, but they had caught us with but little i extra effort, and were naturally inspired by it. They spurted again, and we responded, but they were still on the inside turn, and drew away. This knocked a good deal out of us. We tried hard to bring them back, but we broke and failed by. I think, a .few feet. It was a prpot race, and I ■would dearly love to have another po at them over a straight course. On the previous day Canada and Zander were level at the baths, and Lo.andpr led by a length when they readied the other side of tho •bridge- Lpandcr had the inside running them. 'When New t'ojlepe raced the Swedish crew, whom they were beating easily, and on whom they had a lead of a length and a quarter at the ha.ths, the Swedes pnlled up three-quarters of a length, going under the bridge, notwithstanding that New College spnrted, and that, they were comparatively fresh. LrtUejtthn, No. 7 in the New College boat, told mc before our race- that we would want quite a length's load at the hath*. That was a big lead to have to get, on a good crew in a world's championship race, in a mile. We'just got it, but it cost a lot to obtain, and our stock ran down -when "we liad to call on it again after the bridge."