Miss Hunter in two finals

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33448, 1 February 1974, Page 18

Miss Hunter in two finals

New Zealand’s lop alli (rounder, Susan Hunter, /qualified for two finals—the i .(200m backstroke and the o4oom medley, in which she >jis favoured to win a medal. Her medley time of smin ] B.96sec was only half a seclond outside the national ; I record she set at the world ;(championships in Belgrade, (four months ago. She ( qualified third yesterday. ’( The Olympic medley ( ; champion, Gail Neall (Aus- ( ■ tralia) confirmed reports that I ; she has struck a bad patch ( , in her swimming career, and ' ■ struggled to qualify by one , hundredth of a second. But Leslie Cliff (Canada), ■ the silver medallist at Mun- |

ich, was brimful of confidence in setting a Games record of smin s.3Bsec, reducing a new mark set by Susan Richardson (England) in the earlier heat. RODAHL QUALIFIES Monique Rodal.l, the 14-year-old Auckland girl, responded to the strong competition in her heat of the 200 m backstroke to produce a time which was o.2sec outside Miss Hunter’s New Zealand record. She was the sixth qualifier. Brad Cooper (Australia) and David Wilkie (Scotlandi established themselves as favourites for the 100 m backstroke and 100 m breaststroke titles, respectively, by (setting Games records in the (heat. WILKIE’S RIVAL As was the case in the (200 metres. Wilkie’s chief (rivals in the breaststroke (final are likely to be two (Englishmen —David Leigh and Paul Naisby. Cooper’s biggest threat will come (from Steve Pickell (Canada). The New Zealanders, Philip Thorogood (Backstroke) (and Brent Lewis (breaststroke) swam up to their best times but were eliminated.