SWIMMING CARNIVAL M. Wenden In N.S.W. Team

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31586, 25 January 1968, Page 9

SWIMMING CARNIVAL M. Wenden In N.S.W. Team

An outstanding figure in world freestyle swimming, M. J. Wenden, has been included in the New South Wales team to swim against the Canadians and New Zealanders in an international carnival at the Centennial Pool, in Christchurch, on February 10.

At the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, Wenden won the gold medal for 110 yd freestyle and was a member of the Australian teams which set world records in three relay events. Swimming the first leg of the 4 x 220 yd freestyle race, he set a world record of Imin 57.35ec. The New South Wales team, announced yesterday by the secretary of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association (Mr A. W. Barratt) , is:— 1 M. J. Wenden, aged 17, I freestyle; B. Hill, 18, butterI fly; K. Byrom, 18, backstroke; (Karen Moras,-14, freestyle; I Diane Rickard, 14, medley [and butterfly. | The team will fly to Christ- ; church purely for the Rothmans carnival on February 10. It will arrive the day before the meeting, and leave for Sydney the day after. Selected after the New South Wales championships, the team is a mixture of youthful promise and experience. Hill and Byrom both swam for Australia at the 1966 Commonwealth Games,

and Hill was also at the 1964 Olympics. The two girls are highly thought of in Australia, and Miss Moras trounced the world record-holder, Miss K. Wainwright, in the state 440 yards freestyle championship last week. Hill was the swimmer who seemed certain to win the 220 yards butterfly gold medal at Kingston, until D. F. Gerrard, of New Zealand, came from behind to beat him by a tenth of a second for the title. Byrom was the bronze medallist at 220 yards backstroke at the Games. The manager-chaperone of the team will be Mrs M. Purcell, a prominent referee and administrator in New South Wales.