N.Z. swimmers will be well prepared for world titles

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33875, 21 June 1975, Page 4

N.Z. swimmers will be well prepared for world titles

(By

KEVIN TUTTY)

The team of eight swimmers and a diver to compete in the second world swimming championships in Cali, Colombia, next month is the largest chosen for a major international meeting outside the Commonwealth Games, and illustrates the increasing depth of the sport in New Zealand. Times at the selection trials last week-end were excellent. Seven New Zealand senior records were broken. With a further two weeks training in Christchurch before it leaves, and another two weeks to acclimatise to the equatorial heat of Cali before competition starts on July 22, the team should be well prepared. Because most major carnivals are in the ndrthern hemisphere. New Zealand will always have the problem of travelling from winter to summer conditions. The selectors named the team on the basis that each swimmer should reach a semi-final — in other words, be in the top 16 in their particular events. Brett Naylor has been chosen for the four men’s freestyle races, and of these the 400 m looks his strongest. He is a useful sprinter too, but this aspect will have to improve. At the trials, he was beaten by the Waikato swimmer. Keith Osborne, in the 100 m and the time was a slow (by international standards) 55.1 sec. But Osborne is improving rapidly and might be an Olympic selection next year. Mark Treffers is concentrating on only two events — the 400 m individual medley and the 1500 m freestyle Neither of his trial times were exciting and he was beaten in the 1500 m by Naylor. But that does not mean he is lacking form. Treffers has a habit of producing his best times when they are not expected. His Commonwealth Games gold medal is testimony to that. Allison Calder swam impressivelv in the women’s 200. 400 and iSOOm freestyle and is now within Jaynie Parkhouse s records in the latter two events In the 400 m. she was only o.7sec outside the record set in Miss Parkhouse’s bronze medal swim at the Commonwealth Games last year It was a three second improvement on Miss Calder's previous best time at the national championships in March;

and a further three second improvement would not be beyond her. This would give her a grand chance of reaching the final.

In the 800 m, she had to pace herself after 400 m but finished less than six seconds outside Miss Parkhouse’s New Zealand mark. Her 200 m time indicated she is a useful sprinter, a quality which is necessary at the end of a long distance swim. It was unfortunate the tall Wellington girl, Rebecca Perrott, could not break a minute for 100 m on Saturday, but with only two entrants it was a difficult assignment. If the team has trials in a longcourse pool before it leaves, she should break the barrier. To be inside it before leaving for Cali would be psychologically advantageous. Miss Perrott's better event is the 200 m freestyle in which her slow but powerfu’ arm action is more suited. Although beaten by Monique Rodahl in the 200 m backstroke and individual medley, Susan Hunter still produced worthy times. Her best effort was a comfortable win in the 400 m individual medley. She was sixth in that event at the first world championships in Belgrade in 1973, and has a good chance of again reaching the final. The fitness of John Coutts was a pleasant surprise. He indicated in March his eagerness to be chosen for the team and his two butterfly times, including a record in the 100 m, were proof of dedicated training in the last three months. An equally pleasing factor in the butterfly events were the performances of the Waikato swimmer, Graeme Wright. In the 100 m he finished 0.4 sec behind Coutts in 58.9 sec. This was I.2sec faster than his previous best time recorded at the nationals and made him the second person to break a minute for the distance. Not content with that, he shattered his previous best 200 m time by 4.lsec, recording 2min 9.ssec. He possesses a superb stroke and with such rapid improvement must be an

Olympic prospect next year, and a threat to Coutts and his national titles. if O ne did not know bet-

ter, one would have said Miss Rodahi was off form at the trials because she managed to break only one senior record. But that was far from the case. She set a new record in the 200 m individual medley and recorded fast-times in all her other events. She has been named in four events. Her best should be the 200 m butterfly and backstroke. Judging from the response when the team was named, the most popular choice was that of Lynne Rowe. Her two wins in the butterfly events were achieved under pressure, knowing she had to beat Miss Rodahl to make sure

of selection. This she did by setting the pace in both races, but doing it in a manner which ensured she had enough in reserve to hold off challenges.

The diver chosen, Rebecca Ewert, has been in the United States training for the last three months and should have improved on her form at*the nationals in March.