SWIMMING

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1924, Page 7

SWIMMING

CHARLTON DEFEATS" BORG.

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SYDNEY, 17th January, me race, between Avne Borg, the champion summer of Europe and AntafT H Qy? Charlton> on SatA-day ateath^ A' krgeSt :cr° wd that has gathered for a swimming contest No baZ tha?, 6, so|) Paid foradmiasion; the baths could hold no more. Fully 15,000 were unable to gain admittance and fte unhjcky ones, spread themselves over the hills and the paths outside, where they waited m. frenzied impatience to gather from the applause within the baths how ,tne race was progressing Borg took the lead from an even start, but Charlton clung to him, and when a quarter of the journey h 9 d been cover-1 |fl, only mches separated the pair The Swede gained a little at the fir ß t turn, but Charlton, in a f pw strokes, was praotically level with his rival again At f» 220 yards Borg had a sligffadvantage, but amid a stalvo of cheers, CharY ton, with a magnificent turn came up on terms. Borg tried to get away again, but Charlton never varied his stroke and the pair swam stroke for stroke for seventy or eighty yards, when Chariton forged ahead. At the\ 330 yard!' turn, Chariton was over 3 yard ahead,, and amid a scene of unparalleled excitement, he drew^nght^away over the last lap. me Swede made 3 game effort to gprint, put with half a lap to go, he was rolling in the water, and Charlton touched fully 20 yards ahead. •

The scene that followed beggars deaonption. The crowd indulged, in several minutes of delirious excitement. Men threw their hats in the air and cheered themselves hoarse. Women screamed and waved their handkerchiefs, while a line of people w.ho dangled, their legs over the staging running around the baths, came perilously close to being pushed in the water,

Charlton's time for the 440 yards was smm 11 4-ssec, which equalled Borg's worlds record established at Stockholm in 1922.

Charlton who is on^' 16 years of age, will probably represent Australia at the Olympic Games. He i s a! student at mwkesbury Agricultural College. Charlton won the 220 yards championship of New South Wales last night in the. record time of 2min 23 4-ssec, beating his great Swedish competitor, Arne Borg, by one yard. Second and third places were filled by Borg and E. Henry (Manly) respectively, a bare yard separating the two. It was an epic race, which roused the crowd to frenzied excitement and enthusiasm) especially when it was announced that Charlton had lowered the Australian and State ••ecords by 2 2-ssec.