N.S.W. Swimmers In Chch Races

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31775, 4 September 1968, Page 17

N.S.W. Swimmers In Chch Races

Several leading Australian swimmers are included in the New South Wales team which will be the chief attraction at an invitation carnival in the Wharenui Coronation pool on Saturday. Among their rivals will be national champions from the Wharenui club.

The team is headed by W. Devenish, a former Australian junior champion in freestyle and medley, and now one of his country’s best middle-distance freestvlers.

Other prominent competitors in the side are P. Reid, the Australian senior 200 metres medley champion, B. Windeatt, a leading freestyle sprinter, and two of the top three backstroke swimmers in the country, J. Cottee and C. Orren.

The most interesting feature about the team is that five of the girl swimmers have broken smin for 440 yd freestyle: only the national record-holder, Miss T. K. Shipston, has achieved this feat in New Zealand.

The five girls—Marilyn Bower, Jenny Watts, Narelle Moras, Leonie Moffitt and

Sheree Knight—have been given a quarter-mile event to themselves at the carnival. Narelle Moras is a younger sister of Karen Moras, who broke the New Zealand women’s 440 yd frestyle record in Christchurch earlier this year. Devenish, who narrowly missed a place in the Australian Olympic team this year, recorded times of 56.75ec, 2min 2.2 sec and 4min 16.4 sec in the three shorter freestyle distances at the New South Wales championships in January. Later, at the Australian championships, he was fourth in the 40 metres final, beating the Olympic gold medallist, R. Windle. Devenish and the Windeatt brothers, Bruce and Graham, will match strokes with the New Zealand champion, A. B. Kindred, in freestyle races

over 220 yd and 440y.l on Saturday. The race which promises the greatest excitement will be a 220.vd breaststroke event in which the Nev/ Zealand senior champion, Miss L. M. Smith, meets an old adversary, Beverley Whitfield (New South Wales). At the Australian championships, Miss Smith beat her rival for fourth place in the 200 metres final by o.Bsec. The two girls trained together under the noted coach, T. Gathercole, in Sydney last summer.

Another keen tussle is assured in the boys’ 220 yd breaststroke, in which Max King, the New Zealand junior

champion, will swim against G. Edwards, a well-performed Australian senior. Another national champion from the Wharenui club, Catherine Whiting, should do well against the Australian girls. A New Zealand junior short course record over 110 yd butterfly is within Miss Whiting’s capabilities. Several promising Canterbury swimmers who took part in the recent age group clinic at- the Coronation poor will be engaged in races on the programme; their progress will be watched with interest.