BAN ON JAPANESE SWIMMER

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26967, 17 February 1953, Page 7

BAN ON JAPANESE SWIMMER

ACTION BY VICTORIAN ASSOCIATION (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY. February 16. The Australian Swimming Union does not condorfe the attitude of the Victorian Swimming Association towards the Japanese, Hironoshin Furuhashi. The Victorian Association, at a closed meeting 7 last Thursday, decided not to invite Furuhashi to swim at arjy carnivals. It is understood that the association did not want to offend former servicemen who still had strong feelings about the Japanese. Furuhashi, who holds the world record of 18min 19sec for 1500 metres, has been invited to give an exhibition swim at the Australian championships in Sydney this month. The secretary of the Australian Swimming Union (Mr W. B. Phillips) said: “I am surprised at the attitude of the Victorian association. One of its swimmers, John Marshall, was the guest of the Japanese Swimming Association, and swam against Furuhashi. The Australian Athletic Union raised no objection to the runner Marjorie Jackson visiting Japan last year. Furthermore. Japan has been readmitted to the Olympic Games and has a representative on the Bureau of the International Swimming Federation.” Furuhashi is in Australia studying the wool business, and is likely to be in the country for two years.