FIRST VICTORY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 22, 27 January 1939, Page 9

FIRST VICTORY.

AUCKLAND TEAM. —— i ROTORUA SWIMMING EVENTS. MISS X. GREY'S FAST TUCKS. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.**) ROTORUA, this day. Aucklandere at the Dominion swimming championship meeting for intermediates and juniors had their most cheerful moment to-night when K.. Williams gained the honour of being the first victorious member of the Auckland team with a win in the 440 yards intermediate boye' freestyle. His success demanded determination, and it wae in this that Williams proved equal to the occasion. Lap after lap he and the Canterbury lad, X. Davidson, ewam stroke for stroke, neither letting the other- go to the front. At the end of the thirteenth lap, they were still on level terms and the crowd had one of the greatest thrills of an exciting night as they- struggled for supremacy over the last 40 yards. Swimming harder than he had ever done before, Williams crept into a narrow lead. He reached the last turn first, and the pushoff put the issue beyond doubt, as it enabled him to increase his lead to a yard

for the seven yards left, and he won. by as much as this. Williams has developed stamina in .Auckland by taking part in harbour races. The time was 5.47 3-5, which, apart from being 32 4-5s slower than Xoel Crump's record, missed the standard mark by Iβ 3-ss. Nevertheless, Williams can be made into a strong distance swimmer. He has the sure foundation.of keenness and fighting spirit. Competitore in the intermediate breaststroke events did not do ae well as the swimmers in the other events. Neither of the Aucklandere, Miss D. Jones or W. Lomas, were placed. A performance even more brilliant than that which she put up in Auckland last week wae accomplished by Miss Joyce Mac Donald, of Southland, in the 100 yards intermediate girls' backstroke event. Without competition she lowered her record further by 2-5e to 74 l-sa. A dose race was anticipated between her and the Aucklander, Miss Rita SUckpole, but the latter did not come to Rotorua. Miss Kathleen Grey continue* te set a merry pace and won her heat- and final in the 66 2-3 yards handicap from scratch in 38 3-5s and 38 4-5s respectively, both being the speediest done by * New Zealand fcwi miner.