N.Z. swimmers show up well in rankings

Press, 17 December 1976, Page 28

N.Z. swimmers show up well in rankings

New Zealanders appear 10 times in the 1976 world top 25 swimming rankings released this week by the Canadian magazine “Swim.” The Wellington schoolgirl, Rebecca Perrott, who was fourth in the 400 m freestyle at the Montreal Olympics, accounts for five of the placings. Monique Rodahl, Allison Calder, Brett Naylor and the women’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay team fill the other places. In the 400 m freestyle Miss ’errott had the fifth best time in the world in 1976. Those ahead of her included the medal winners at the Montreal Olympics — Petra Thumer (East Germany), Shirley Babashoff (United States) and Shannon Smith (Canada) — and the former world record-holder, Barbara Krause (East Germany) who was not at Montreal because of illness. Miss Perrott’s next best g was seventh in the freestyle, but this was helped by the fact no East Germans appear in the top 25. The 1500 m freestyle is not an international event for women, and the East Germans with their professional

approach to sport obviously j see little value in swimming an event that will bring them no recognition at international level. In the 100 m freestyle Miss Perrott had a high twelfth placing, and the other events in which she featured were the 200 m (sixteenth) and the 800 m (eighteenth). Miss Rodahl made the top 25 in two events and in both cases had relatively high placings. In the 200 m backstroke she was fifteenth and in the demanding 400 m individual me'dley — the event in which she made the final at Monteal — she was thirteenth.

Miss Calder made the top 25 in the 800 m freestyle giving New Zealand two rankings in one event — a rarity. She was placed twentysecond. The women’s 4 c 100 m freestyle relay team was placed twelfth and last in the list of national teams in the event. The time was swum at the Canadian national championships after the Montreal Olympics. Brett Naylor was the only male swimmer to make the ranking list, and then only just. In the 400 m freestyle

he was ranked twentyfourth.

Although the year has not ended it is unlikely any better times will be recorded. The Northern Hemisphere countries have little competition around Christmas land New Year, and the major summer meetings in New Zealand and Australia do- not- start until the New Year.