Games decision last straw’

Press, 21 December 1976, Page 36

Games decision last straw’

By

KEVIN TUTTY

| Lynne Rowe, the New I Zealand Olympic swimming 1 representative, will not comi pete at the New Zealand championships in March, and it is probable her pool swimming career is finished. Miss Rowe, one of New Zealand’s most successful age-group swimmers who has made startling progress in open ranks in the last two years, has not trained for three weeks. The New Zealand Games cancellation a month ago was the last straw for her. She said yesterday that after returning from the Montreal Olympics and the post-Games tour to the i United States and Canada, I she had decided to swim unity the Games and make a .'decision on her swimming I career afterwards. ! “1 will have to start a job jin the New Year, so taking j everything into consideration I thought now was a good time to give up.” Miss Rowe was reluctant to say she had retired completely, because she has in the back of her mind the thought she might try for a place in the Edmonton Commonwealth Games team in 1978. ; But she admits that she '“lost interest” after the ' Games cancellation “and once you lose interest and stop training it is very hard to get motivated again.” Miss Rowe, who was 18 in July, lias been devoted to the grind of swimming for seven years, and in spite of being one of New Zealand’s most successful competitors in that time has had her disappointments. As a 15-year-old in early!

1974 she missed selection in tite Commonwealth Games team, although many pundits thought she warranted selection. It said much for her spirit that she came back to win a place in the team for the first New Zealand Games, and then in June 1975, a place in the team for the

world championships in Cali, Colombia. Miss Rowe’s greatest achievements were at the Montreal Olympics. In the 100 and 200 m butterfly she set New Zealand records — in both, instances improving on her times from the national championships in March which won her selection in the Olympic team. In the 100 m she improved by I.2sec and in the 200 m by • I.9sec. I These times narrowly

n failed to gam Miss Rowe a s place in the world’s top 25 in s the events for 1976. :- As an age-group swimmer she had substantial success. t Between 1970 and 1975 she n won 15 titles at national agee group championships, and she >, capped that with three nata ional open titles in the last e two years. She is happy with what she has achieved in swimming, although she believed that had she continued to compete she could have improved her times even further. Her considerable swimming ability will not be lost entirely, however. Miss Rowe intends to play water-polo and swim in the surf. She plans to compete in the national championships for both sports later this summer. On Sunday she easily won the women’s surf race at the first Canterbury championship carnival for the season, after deciding only on Friday not to compete in the trials for the New Zealand women’s water-polo team, held in Wellington at the week-end. Miss Rowe’s reputation as

i a surf swimmer is already . established, and it should not be long before she becomes a prominent water polo player. In 1974 she played senior netball for a season so ball control will be no problem for her. This, combined with her swimming ability, makes her a “natural” for the game. Miss Rowe’s defection from swimming has further widened the void in the sport in Canterbury. Her Wharenui club-mates and fellow Olympians, Mark Treffers and Susan Hunter are no longer competing, leaving a large gap in the senior ranks.