Another swim star?

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34085, 24 February 1976, Page 26

Another swim star?

(N.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) MELBOURNE.

I Australia has discovered another potential Olympic champion i swimmer—a New South (Wales schoolgirl, Mich]elle de Vries, aged 14.

At the Olympic swimming stadium on Sunday, in Melbourne, Michelle became Australia’s fastest-ever girl backstroke swimmer.

Swimming in the Australian junior age group championships, she won the 14 years 100 m backstroke with a time of Imin. 6.515ec., breaking every backstroke record in Australia. Her swim placed her in the top six backstroke swimmers in the world.

“I’m excited, I hope that swim will put me in the Olympic team.’ Michelle, of Blacktown, said. Michelle has been thinking about Olympic selection for the past few months as her times progressively came down.

Brisbane’s Sandra Bright swam her way into the team

bv becoming Australia’s fastest 200 m butterfly swimmer. She won the 16 years race in 2min. 18.83 sec. That broke the Australian open record of 2:19.03 set last month by the New South Wales 13-year-old, Michelle Ford, and bettered the best ever by an Australian of 2:8.8, swum by Nira Stove. Bright’s swim put her in

the top 12 butterfly swimmers in the world. Both Michelle and Sandra have only to reproduce their form in the national open Olympic trials in Sydney later this week to assure their places for Montreal.