Swimming AUSTRALIAN BEATEN

Press, Volume C, Issue 29702, 21 December 1961, Page 17

Swimming AUSTRALIAN BEATEN

Breaststroke Event (N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, December 20. The breaststroke champion of South Australia, Miss Nola Shepherd, aged 15. was beaten by two New Zealanders. Misses Vivien Haddon. aged 16, of Dannevirke. and Kay Sawyers, aged 21, of Auckland, in a thrilling 110 yards race at the Olympic Pool tonight. Eight swimmers, the best in Auckland. Waikato and South Australia, faced the starter, but it was obvious that only three stood a chance of winning. After the tbrn at 55 yards. Miss Haddon had gained a lead. Miss Sawyers stroked ahead magnificently in the last 20 yards, passing Miss Shepherd and looking as if she might pass Miss Haddon With two yards of the race still to swim, they were level, but Miss Haddon was at the beginning of her winning stroke while Miss Sawyer had still to complete her last stroke. Miss Haddon touched first in C7.4sec. Miss Sawyers registered 87.5 sec and Miss Shepherd was third in the same time as Miss Sawyers. The 220 yards freestyle was virtually an exhibition by Miss Dawn Fraser, of Australia. She aimed to swim a time better than 2min 30sec (her world record is 2min 11.6sec> and. in fact, her time was 2min 27.45ec. Miss L. Wise (Waikato) was a good eight yards behind in 2min 34.25ec. a little ahead of Miss A. Bell, of Otago, the fastest New Zealand woman sprinter in a long pool.