Swimming “Twins” Split Up

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31211, 8 November 1966, Page 19

Swimming “Twins” Split Up

A double gold medallist at last summer’s national swimming championships, Miss J. A. Halsey, likes Christchurch so much that she has decided to remain in the city for another season of competition.

But her former Waikato team-mate, Miss A. McMillan, has returned to Hamilton without any definite plans for continuing serious swimming. The two swimmers came to Christchurch last year to train at the Wharenui Coronation pool under their coach, Mr V. T. Parkhouse. At that stage both were in the Commonwealth Games training squad and although neither girl gained selection for Kingston they were both prominent in national competition.

Miss McMillan represented New Zealand at the Victorian championships and retained her national women’s 110 yd freestyle title at Napier. Miss Halsey swam brilliantly at the same meeting to win the girls’ 110 yd backstroke and 110 yd butterfly championships.

The 16-year-old Miss Halsey Is tackling training with renewed determination this season; she is in the water at the Coronation pool for two hours before work each morning and for another two hours in the evening. Already she has covered 130 miles in training—more than any other member of the Wharenui

squad. For the first winter in several years, Miss McMillan, ■who is 19, had a spell from out-of-season training. She has returned to her home in Cambridge, but is working in Hamilton and intends joining the Rovers club. Miss McMillan has won the

women's sprint title at the national championships for four successive years, but intends swimming for pleasure for the early part of this season, at least. If she is satisfied with her form, she may be back in Christchurch in February to defend her title at the national meeting in the Centennial pool.