SWIMMING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 454, 12 March 1909, Page 3

SWIMMING.

SWIFTS- CLUB MILE HANDICAP. ■■'." No stionger, testimony to the increasing popularity of .long-distance swimming among local swimmers could;'be imagined than that altorded at Te'-'Arp. Baths last evening, when ten competitors lined up on the starting-board tor the distance event of the year. This was the annual race over one mile held under the auspices of the Swifts Amateur Swimming Club. : ■ -. The water was warm and the new wall outside the baths, was responsible for keeping out a choppy, sea,' which otherwise would have made things unpleasant for the'swimmers. . Mr. E. "J." Fleming dispatched the men in the following order :-G. P. Crawford, 9min.; W. G.. Morpoth,' Gmin. 55sec.; F. Delanev, 6min. 35sec; N. Watson, Gmin.; C. G. Astoii, smin. 30sec.; P. J: Kivell, Imin. ssec.; B. ONeill, 3min. 55sec; E. E. Jonkinson, 2min. 50sec.;C. M. Ward, 2min. 30sk; and B. C. Freyberg, scr. The'liraifc man set out at a steady pace, and,made such r.iod uso of his start that :nhei niiwasi-.'..at quarter -of- a mile on !his journey 1 lief ore Freyborg "left the' board. Ward, who was the closest man to scratch, had in the meantime covered 160 yards. Freyberg's-chances of catching "his field appeared hopeless, but, : after covering a few'laps, he began , to close up .fast. '-Crawford was, displaced from.-'leading position ■ at' about the half-distance by N. Watson. ' llorpeth and O'Neill also overhauled him shortly afterwards," and from then onwards it was merely'a procession so far as the first three places were concorned. At 1300-ynrds E. jE. Jenkinson gave up, having been passed by Ward, while the scratoh man was close on his heels. Watson, with an easy stroke, won easily at the finish, being about 80 yards ahead of O'Neill, with Morpeth 10 yards further away. The fourth man turned up in B. C. Freyb'erg, who covered the distance in'.27mm; 44 l-ssec. G. P. Crawford finished fifth, and the remaining men retired 'between the 1500 and 1660 yards marks. Watson's win was the result of iong training over the distance, and his time —30min. 38 2-ssec—is extremely creditable to such a young swimmer. Except for Aston, who wandered all over the bath bumping into nearly all of the competitors in turn, each man swam a good course. With the comparatively big field it was difficult, except for the lap-takers, to know what distance the various competitors had swum.