KAHANAMOKU & CUNHA

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 56, 8 March 1915, Page 4

KAHANAMOKU & CUNHA

TOO COLD FOR THE ISLANDERS THE WALKER AND HALL CUP. (By "Header.") Thirty years ago— when Captain Webb first swam the Channel — anyone who asserted that some day 100 yards would be swum in a minute, or even 70sec, was questioned, yet on Saturday, at Te Aro baths, the public saw the distance cut out in 57 l-ssec— ssec better than it has ever *been done here before — and were disappointed beca,use it was not done faster. Perhaps they were surprised also. Kahanamoku, hero of the 1912 Olympic games, and now the fastest /[print swimmer in the world, is a wonder, and he was under no obligations on Saturday to break records in order to satisfy public opinion on that point. He has done the "hundred" in 53 4-ssec in Australia and 55seain New Zealand. Cunha, his swimming companion, will be a wonder before very long, if he does not already come under that category. Cunha is fast catching up on Kahanamoku, but is at present overshadowed by the, big native. Some say he will beat Kahanamoku in a year's time, and they may be right. RAINING AND COLD. New Zealand has not produced many swimmers who are really brilliant performers, and the Wellington public ha 3 had but few chances of witnessing speedy movement through the water. So the opportunity given on Saturday by the local centre was fully appreciated. Something like 2000 people crowded into Te Aro baths, and were packed tight all round. It was just such another scene as when the Dominion Championships were decided here a few years ago. And this, notwithstanding that it rained heavily between 2 and 3 o'clock, and a cold wind blew from the south. The islander, used to cloudless skies and iuke-warm water, thought the thermometer must have been below zero, and in consequence of the cold conditions he was off colour, and unable to show the public what a marvel he really is. He had to cut out his exhibition which has surprised spectators in the south, and only the few privileged to see him at the College baths when he arrived in Wellington know , what he can do with the various strokes. For instance, his back overarm stroke, with one aj'm over at a time, would have been a revelation. It is almost certain that the "hundred" would have been faster had the day been warmer but Kahanamoku was upset by the cold before he entered the water. He scarcely felt fit to compete in the second event— 50 yards^ — but willingly did so in order that a patient, wet-through crowd would not be disappointed. "THAT'S SWIMMING!" Kahanamoku is the most unassuming athlete Wellington has seen. He is almost shy when before a, big crowd. He does not even wear a silk costume, hitherto considered by local swimmers indispensable for racing purposes. His costume allows for free arm movement, and that is its principal and only feature. 'When the lODyds Invitation Han-. . dicap was reached on Saturday, the people stretched their necks to see Kahanamoku. He went on to the starting board smiling broadly, and apparently taking .-no notice of the big crowd all around "himf"^He replied genially tO"ntihierons remarks, and after the limit man/ M'Carlie, had been given ,the signal to go he quietly divested himself of his coat.' Eleven seconds later he was after the others. With his slow, deliberate stroke he ploughed through the water at a great rate, and, so it appeared, without any effort. "Look at his feet! Look 'at hig feet !" came from all quarters of the baths, and they were going up and down, rapidly — three times to every arm stroke. "They're just like a propellor," said somebody, and he was right. Here was the opportunity of comparing the Australian crawl with the Kakanamoku crawl, and the distinct advantages of the latter were apparent. Local swimmers have never known very much about speedy propulsion, but they should learn from "The Duke/ as he is familiarly called. He gete the maximum of speed with the minimum of effort, which invariably forces the question, "How does he do it?" His long muscular arms sweep gracefully into the water, and are not dashed against it, as with the Australiap method. At first Kahanamoku went comparatively slow and finished up with a spurt which was startling. There were exclamations of surprise from all round: "Look at him!" and "That's swimming!" At his feet there was a fierce boil, such as a steamer's propeller might cause. Cunha was the same — a typical Island 6wimmer. The Duke's" performance in the 50 yards race was another revelation. A fair estimate of his time for this is 24sec. CHAMPION TEAMS RACE. The Walker and Hall Cup, for the champion flying squadron team of five members, has again reverted to Thorndon, who had an easy win on Saturday. The most interesting feature of the race was the exciting contest for second place between two Te Aro rivals, Wellington and Old Boys. Swifts were right out of it. It is probable that the race would have been even more interesting had not Thorndon swam Sinton,, virtually an'outsider, and a very fast "hundred" man. The inclusion of the Aucklander in the team has been the subject of much comment. Sinton is a member of the Expeditionary Force, ab present undergoing training at Trentham, but since he has been down here he has joined the Thorndon Swimming Club. A trial was held prior to choosing the team, and Sinton earned his pla«e. The officials assert that they could not have kept him out. THORNDON'S EASY WIN. For the first 300 yards the various relays representing Swilte. Thorndon, College Old Boys, and Wellington kept together, and the crowd showed excitement. At the end of the first distance Tliorndon had a lead of about a yard, with Wellington second, and Old Boys close up third. Swifts were about 20 yards behind, and remained that distance from the leaders until the finish. The 200 yaids mark saw Wellington in front, with Thorndon a. close second, and Old Boys in the third position. The next distance was the most exciting of all, and finished with about three yards separating the leading teams. The positions had changed again and stood as follow: — Thorndon, Old Boys. Wellington, and Swifts. Then Sinton, who went I off for Thorndon, settled the argument by swimming a very rapid " hundred," and giving his club something like 15 yaTds to the good. Old Boys maintained second place by a touch. Roberts was the last man to go for Thomdon. and he had an easy task to maintain the lead ; so easy, in fact, that his time was as much as 74. Old Boys, and Wellington had a great tussle for second honours, and the latter'a representative just got there by the narrowest of margins. STAR BO"ATING CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP. The 100 yds Star Boating Club Championship for the Duncan Cup was the most important of the remaining events. The standard set by' the majority of the competitors — in fact, all of them except Brice (ox-movincial charaDionl— was very

low. Three of them should never have started at all, except for the purpose of ensuring a good "field." The result was a foregone conclusion. Bribe, taking his own time, jogged along slowly, looking around the while to see that he was not too far ahead of the others. He won in the very slow time of 78 l-ssec. Brice has developed a very clumsy style, and seemingly has not worried very much about swimming of late. NOTABLE FEATURES. Once again a pleasing feature was the little girls' race, which is just as amusing as the boys' walk on the Basin — a popular event at all athletic gatherings. Altogether nineteen little mites under fourteen entered, and all of them finished the distance (50yds), albeit they had a hard struggle with breast, side, overarm, and every other stroke imaginable. Mr. T. Shields, who has been responsible for the training of many of these children, followed up in a boat ready to save lives, if necessary. Further fun was provided by a big band of merrymakers, but their entertainment had to be cut short because, in consequence of the very heavy rain, it was desirable to hold the remaining events so that the people could go home. Strange to say, the people were not in a hurry to move. The whole carnival was arranged on the very best of lines, and would have been thoroughly successful had the weather been fine. All the officials carried out their duties expeditiously and carefully, and it was mainly to the credit of the starter (Mr. A. Jacobs) that there were no weary waits common to most swimming carnivab in Wellington. 100 Yards Invitation Handicap.— Duke Kahanamoku (scr), 1 ; George Cunha (2sec), 2; A. M'Carlie (llsec), 3. Also started — W. Linder (lOsec). Won fairly easily. Time, 57 l-ssec. 50 Yards Invitation Handicap. — F. Roberts (6sec), 1 ; Duke Kahanamoku (scr), 2; George Cunha (lsec), 3. Also started— A. M'Carlie (6sec), and H. Little (ssec). Won by a touch. (Time, 29 3-ssec. Inter-Club Handicap (50 yards).— First heat: H. W. Harris (17sec), 1; A. E. Bollard (lOsec), 2; E. Bailey (4sec), 3. Second heat: C. F. Bezar (16sec), 1; W. J. D.OIIII (7sec), 2; G. Ward (lOsec), 3. Third heat: G. Tancred ,(14sec), 1; G. Dent (7sec), 2; S. Elton (4sec), 3. Fourth heat: D. Perry (6sec), 1; Moffitt (l3sec), 2; Hall (9sec), 3. Final: Tancred 1, Harris 2, Dent 3. Time, ,37 4-ssec. ' 220 Yards Handicap.— G. Little (38sec), 1; W. J. Meyer (4sec), 2; G. Dent (20sec), 3. Also, started— W. Thornhill, V. Allen, L. W. Green, D. Burns, C. Price, S. G. Prince, C. H. Neal, H. Silver, and A. M'Carlie. Time^ 2min 43 3-ssec. A splendid race. Won by three yards, with two feet between the second and third men. ' 100 Yards. — First heat : F. Desmond (13sec) and E. E. King (3sec), dead-heat, 1. Second heat: W. Thornhill (12sec), 1; G. ,M. West (13sec), 2; J. D. 'Richardson (6sec), 3. Third heat : W. G. Henry (4sec), 1 ; G. R. Green (6sec), 2 ; L. Rountree (13sec), 3. Final: 'West 1, Thornhill 2, King and Desmond, deadheat, 3. Time, 83 2-ssec. 500 Yards Flying Squadron Championship (for Walker and Hall Cup). — Thorndon (C. Brice, F. Roberts, C. B. Sinton, J. Thomas, and C. Sheehy), 1 ; Wellington (W. Linden, A. M'Carlie, W. Francis, W. Scott, and A. Russell), 2; Old Boys (H.- Capper, W. Wakelin, W. Hicks, E. Levy, and L. Blundell), 3. Also started : Swifts. ' Star Boating Club Championship, 100 Yards (Duncan Cup).— C. Brice 1, W. J. O'Meara 2, C. Carr 3. Also started : T. H. M'Lean, P Freyberg, W. S. Wheeler, and W. Harrington. Time, 78 4-ssec Diving.— Bailey 1, Saunders 2, Hicks 3* 50 Yards Boys' Handicap.— First heat : H. Winstanley (3sec), 1 ; A. Scanlon (18sec), 2 ; S. G. Prince (7sec), 3. Second heat: M. Stanley (23sec) 1 '; J. Barr (18sec), 2; W. Thomas (lZsec), 3. Third heat: V. Hopkirk (13sec), 1; E. Bailey (2sec), 2 ; H. Desmond (Bsec), 3. Final : Hopkirk 1, Barr 2, Winstanley 3. Time, 41sec. Girls' Races (under 14). >— First race : Miss Gibblin 1, Miss Allen 2, Miss Aftken 3. Second race : Miss Watson 1, Miss Handley 2, Miss Donnelly 3. ■ ' Girls' Race (ovec 14).— Miss Eltcn 1, Miss Murrell 2.