SWIMMING N.Z, Long-Distance Title Retained By A. J. Cotterill

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28514, 18 February 1958, Page 6

SWIMMING N.Z, Long-Distance Title Retained By A. J. Cotterill

For the fifth time in six years A. J. Cotterill (Hawke’s BayPoverty Bay) won the Roland St. Clair Cup for the men’s longdistance harbour swim at. the opening day of the senior national swimming championships in Christchurch yesterday. He beat R. McDonald (Waikato) by a second. Cotterill covered the three miles at Lyttelton in Ihr 22min 37sec—beating his time at Auckland last year by almost three seconds.

A very fast time was also returned in the women’s scratch section of the race, when Miss Mary Rae, of Southland, crossed the finishing line in Ihr 34min Msec, after trailing the leading men by only about 200 yards for much of the race. Miss Rad’s time was almost 20min faster than the winning time last year, and in the opinion of swimming officials was the finest race yet swum by a woman in this event. The Annette Kellerman Cup, for the handicap section of the race, was Won by a Nelson girl, Miss M. McNabb. Off a handicap of 30min, she was an easy winner, and finished second to Miss Rae in the scratch section. The race was swum in very cold weather, although there was very little swell in the inner harbour at Lyttelton to worry the competitors. x Cotterill Pressed

The men’s section was a tense struggle throughout, and Cotterill was hard pressed to retain the Roland St. Clair Cup. For almost the whole race he kept close company with McDonald, R. Harker, one of New Zealand’s finest surfers, and T. Sutherland (Manawatu). The 15min taken for the first lap of the course was outstanding. Cotterill, who will be 23 on Saturday, first won the Roland St. Clair Cup when he was 18. He intended to give up swimming this year in favour of surf lifesaving, but decided to attempt to retain his long-distance title once more.

Had he been able to sprint over the last few yards McDonald might have won. One of the leading four for the whole of the race, he swam steadily to finish a second behind Cotterill. Third place in the men’s scratch section went to Harker, who gave up in the sprint to the finish with McDonald and Cotterill. Miss Rae was the freshest of all the competitors at the finish, and had an unassailable lead over the other women for most of the race.

Canterbury’s only representative in the race was Miss Sally Smith (Spreydon). She dropped back in the early stages, but did well to come in third in the women’s section behind Miss M. McNabb (Nelson-Marlborough), who won the Annette Kellerman Cup at her first attempt. An interested spectator yesterday was the winner of the Annette Kellerman Cup in 1927, Mr T. Champion. Mr Champion was in charge of the official launch. A crowd of about 500 watched the event, and sailors on overseas ships in port were busy with wagers as to the winner. There was an anxious moment during the race when a vessel crossed

the course of the race, but it was instructed to anchor in the middle of the triangle until the race was finished.

Official results were:— Women’s Long Distance Championship (Auntie Brown Cup).—Miss M. Rae (Southland), Ihr 34min 44sec. 1; Miss M. McNabb (Nelson-Marl-borough), Ihr 38min 19.5 sec, 2; Miss S. Smith (Canterbury), Ihr 42min, 3; Miss E. Mace (Nelson-Marlborough), Ihr 44min 425ec,.4; Miss G. Gresham (Bay of Plenty), Ihr 44min 51sec, 5; Miss D. Kingsbeer (Manawatu), Ihr 45min 53sec, 6. Men’s Long-distance Championship (Roland St. Clair Cup).—A. J. Cotterill (Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay), Ihr 22min 37sec, 1; R. McDonald (Waikato), Ihr 22min 38sec, 2; R. Harker (Auckland), Ihr 23min 19.7 sec, 3; T. Sutherland (Manawatu), Ihr 24min 45sec, 4; I. Waterson (Nelson-Marl-borough), Ihr 33min 44sec, 5. Annette Kellerman Cup (for handicap section).—Miss M. McNabb (30 mm), Ihr Bmin 19.5 sec, 1; Miss E. Mace (35min), Ihr 9min 42sec, 2; T. Sutherland (12min). Ihr 12min 45sec,