Outstanding

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31621, 6 March 1968, Page 15

Outstanding

As expected, Miss Shipston was the outstanding competitor of the meeting, winning five gold medals in individual events, and a further two in relays. She retained the Harold Pettit Trophy with a new record points score for the championships, and gained added distinction by winning the Baxter O’Neill Trophy for the swimmer of the year, and the International Award.

It was a tribute to Miss Shipston’s fitness and determination that she competed in 11 events, and won a medal each time. There was a distinct possibility that she would become the first swimmer in the history of the championships to win six gold medals in individual events. She failed narrowly to reach this pinnacle, but she must have been pleased that her conqueror was her fellow Canterbury swimmer, Miss J. A. Wright, who has long languished in Miss Shipston’s shadow. Miss Wright’s victory in the women’s 110 yards freestyle was a fitting reward for years of unrelenting toil. Her two silver and two bronze medals, and her two golds in the relays, made her one of the leading figures of the meeting. Miss Stirling, with five wins in as many starts, was a notable success, and Miss K. Conway, only the second girl to win the senior and junior diving titles in the same year, demonstrated the worth of her two Australian trips this season. It was unfortunate that the butterfly champion, Miss H. L. Kerr, was forced out with a dislocated shoulder, but it is doubtful if she could have headed the powerful Miss Whittleston.

The junior events produced two good prospects in Peter Laing (Otago), in freestyle, and the backstroke competitor, Barbara Macrae (Auckland), a younger sister of the six times national women’s champion in the stroke. Miss M. M. Macrae. The most improved junior, however, was Donna Mcßae (Bay of Plenty), whose consistently good swimming brought her three breaststroke titles. Next season the senior and junior title meeting