Swimmer’s bid for qualifying time

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32885, 7 April 1972, Page 22

Swimmer’s bid for qualifying time

The Otago swimmer, J. McConnochie, will make another bid on Saturday to achieve the 400 metres individual medley time the national selectors set him to secure a nomination for the Munich Olympic Games.

McConnochie has to record 4min 48sec or better and has reduced his best time to 4min 50.6 sec. His coach (Mr D. Laing) is confident that McConnochie will achieve the selectors’ time on Saturday. In just over two months McConnochie has reduced the national record for the event by 112 sec in three swims. Miss H. Coombridge (Waikato), who is studying in Dunedin and training under Mr Laing, will not try for the 200 metres freestyle target time which the selectors set her. A week ago Miss Coombridge beat the 100 metres

freestyle time of Imin l.Ssec she had been set, by O.lsec, and Mr Laing said that instead of wasting time building up to try to meet the 200 metres time of 2min 12sec (her best is 2min 15sec in a long-course pool), she would hope to gain nomination on what she had already accomplished. Mr Laing considers Miss Coombridge can reduce her 100 metres time to Imin o.ssec, which might make her a finalist at Munich. Her training in the meantime would be for 200 metres and this would help strengthen her for the 100 metres.