Chch skaters excel

Press, 29 September 1988, Page 60

Chch skaters excel

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

The sure-footed speed skating sisters, Katrina and Bridget McCallum, returned to Christchurch this week with Australian and New Zealand ice skating records to their names. The Canterbury Alpine skaters were members of the -New Zealand team which surrendered the Tasman Trophy, to Australia after the short-track test on the 111 m Canterbury indoor rink in Sydney. Australia, perhaps disturbed that it has not held the trophy since 1983, selected a very tried and true senior men’s team, several of them ranked in the top 30 in the world. New Zealand’s chances were almost immediately torpedoed when the inform Auckland skater, Matthew Biggs, struck a bad edge with his blade in the 500 m quarter-final and broke a leg in the fall. The McCallum sisters, however, were aggressive and competitive. Bridget, aged nine, set new Australian and, New Zealand marks for the midget grade 250 in (32.575) and 500 m (1:05.74), taking 8s off her national record in the latter race. Her time of 2:24.48 for the 1000 m was also an Australian record, but the distance is not officially recognised in New Zealand for that grade. Katrina, aged 16, raced in the senior competition, although eligible for the junior or intermediate grades. Her time of 29.79 s was an Australian and New Zealand junior record. In the Australian open championships, Bridget won the midget grade aggregate and Katrina was eighth in the senior championship. The McCallums father, Barrie, was not completely overshadowed. He finished third in the veteran men’s 500 m and was fourth in the aggregate. The best of the New Zealanders in the senior men’s championship was. Mike McMillen (Mainland), who was fifth over all with a best finish of third in the 1500. He was delighted with his time of 47.9 s in the quarter-finals, beating the eventual winner in that race.