NATIONAL TITLES

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25738, 25 February 1949, Page 8

NATIONAL TITLES

SWIMMING

Miss N. Lane Sets New Record MISS CASEY WINS 440 YARDS (P.A.) AUCKLAND, February 24. The outstanding feature of the second night of the New Zealand senior swimming championships at the Newmarket Olympic pool was the performance ot the Olympic Games representative, Miss Ngaire Lane, of Otago, in lowering the record for the 220 yards backstroke by three seconds to 2min 57.65ec. The second swimmer, Miss Jean Stewart, Miss Lane’s Otago team-mate, also broke the record by more than a second. It was the first time* a national record had been beaten in a slow-watered pool. Miss Lane won by about two yards. A young Auckland swimmer, R. Lucas, won the men’s 220 yards championship by nearly 15 yards in the smart time of 2min 27.45ec. In style and speed Lucas was easily superior to the field-. Miss B. Casey, the 100 yards champion, reversed the result of last year’s 440 yards freestyle championship, when she scored easily over Miss M. Holman (Waikato), the title-holder. Miss Holman actually was beaten out of a place, and a young swimmer, Miss H. McKenzie, ot Auckland, making her first appearance in a championship, gained second place, about five yards behind Miss Casey. Miss Holman was beaten in the sprint for third place by Miss G. Allen (Otago). C. Callan (Auckland), the winner of the men’s 100 yards breaststroke, won a double by taking the 220 yards comfortably. Miss M. Sweeney, who won the 220 yards women’s breaststroke last night, was beaten into third place in the 100 yards by Miss M. Teague, of Wellington, and Miss H. Smith, of the West Coast. Miss H. Forsyth, of Otago, the titleholder, who had failed in the 220 yards, again was beaten out of a place after lagging by five yards early in the race. C. Chambers (Canterbury) revealed exceptional power to retain his 880 yards championship over the strong challenge of Lucas, whom he beat by about two yards in the good time of llmin 15.6 sec. With 110 yards to go Lucas lost a good deal of his advantage with a slow turn, and over the next lap 0F65 yards Chambers gained a lead. Turning about two feet ahead, he sprinted hard from there to the finish, and with his faster arm stroke gained perceptibly to a finish. Miss B. Moore (Otago) won the women’s diving championship, aggregating 71.26 points during the two days. The standard ot diving in both women’s and men’s divisions to-day was excellent. Detailed Results Results of events were:— Men’s 220 Yards Freestyle.—R. Lucas (Auckland) 1, R. Solly (Waikato) 2, F. Higginson (Waikato) 3. Time, 2min 27.4 sec. Women’s 220 Yards Backstroke.—Miss N. Lane (Otago) 1, Miss J. Stewart (Otago) 2, Miss F. Leatham (Wellington) 3. Time, 2min 57.65ec. Men’s 220 Yards Breaststroke.—C. Calx lan (Auckland) 1, R. Lovett (Taranaki) 2, J. Cowles (Wanganui) 3. Time, 3min 10.2 sec. Women’s 440 Yards Freestyle.—Miss B. Casey (Wellington) 1. Miss H. McKenzie (Auckland) 2. Miss G. Allen (Otago) 3. Time, 6min 2sec. Women’s 100 Yards Breaststroke. —Miss M. Teague (Wellington) 1 Miss H. Smith (West. Coast) 2. Miss M. Sweeney (Auckland) 3. Time, lmin 26.65ec. The titleholder, Miss H. Forsyth, was beaten out of a place. Men’s 880 Yards Freestyle.—C. Chambers (Canterbury) 1, R. Lucas (Auckland) 2, M. Ballantyne (South Canterbury) 3. Time, llmin 15.6 sec. Flying Squadron Inter-Provincial Relay.—Waikato 1, Auckland 2, Otago 3. Time, smin 47.8 sec. Women’s Diving.—B. Moore (Otago), 71.26 points, 1; K. Small (Canterbury), 64.36, 2: L. Browne (Auckland), 61.36, 3; N. Groot (Auckland), 55.68, 4. Men’s Diving.—D. Begg (Canterbury), 117.64 points, W. O. Jaine (Auckland) 101.92, Campbell (Waikato) 86.92, D. Freeman (Otago) 80.64, A. Plowman (Auckland) 80.24, E. A. Mortimer (Auckland) 80.16, G. Sinclair (Otago) 78.72. H. Mutsford (Auckland) 73.98, R. Jlae (Auckland) 66.14.