SWIMMING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2122, 22 February 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

SWIMMING.

(Notes by “Crawl.”) In Y\ ellington on Thursday 15. C. ' Frey berg put tip a new New Zealand record tor 220 yards, registering 2 min. 41 sec. ror the'distance, which lowers the previous- record, airo held by Frey berg, by two and three-fifth see. New Zealand times are always slower than Australian,- and Freyberg’s time does'll ot compare favorably with Kievan's world's" record for the distance —2min twenty-eight and two-fifth see. Still it was i fine performance and if Freyberg enters in the championdilns at Napier next month, it Is probable that he will annex' the majority of them, as he is without cidiibi*'thTTie:;t’ rr ’ swimmer over all distances in the Dominion. THIS SWIMMER'S CRAWL * STROKE. . - DANIELS; HEALY AND OTHERS. The following, from the pen of Mr Vi.. Henry, honorary secretary ot the Royal Live-saving Society, London, is interesting and. instructive, • because he writes as one who knows his subject, and has seen .all*the fastest swimmers of the world:“lhe crawl stroke, as swum by Daniels, Healy and others, is distinct from .any other swimming stroke, inasmuch as the legs, from the knee upwards, are kept in -line with the body, and almost closed ; there ds no opening of the legs, or drawing up of the knees. The swimmer lies flat .upon his breast, and the lower pacts of the • legs, from the knees downwards, are alternatively lifted above the water, .and then they are struck down upon the surface with the instep, The striking* is done from an upward to a downward direction on to the surface* of the imater," one leg at a time. The arms are used somewhat similarly to a ‘trudgeon stroke;’ they .are bent*at the elbows, dipped in just beyond the -head, and drawn smartly backward till they come out of the water at the hips. The right arm is dipped in when the left foot strikes downward, and idee versa. Thus ive have nearly always one limb pulling or propelling the body through the- water at the, very moment when another limb is being recovered for the next stroke. In this way fewer dead, or retarding points are produced than in any other method of swimming, and less resistance is caused in the line of progress. In the other strokes the limbs are mostly recovered through the water. “The one great disadvantage of this method of swimming relates to tile question of breathing... For d-

novice it is' a very difficult matter at first, as the intake of.the air must be. carefully timed with the stroke, and the head must be turned weU to the'’right or’to the left, so that when the arm is passing the face in its downward pull, the air may enter the mouth. The practice of breathing alone takes a considerable time, for if one wishes to be able to Stay, oiio must breathe regularly. It is no use attempting swimming «a distance beholding the breath; any exercise under such conditions is harmful. “In order to learn how to make use of the legs correctly, the swimmer should -take hold of the rail of the bath 'with one hand, and place t-no other about 181 ii below it on the wall, and press the body upwards full length on to the surface of the water, taking care to keep the knees together and tbe thighs in line with the body. Then commence to raise one foot out of the water as far as the middle of the calf, and strike it- down smartly on to the surface. Immediately this foot has struck the water the opposite leg 'should be similarly •raised, and although at first these movements will, necessarily be slowly performed, they should be continued until -such time as the swimmer_ean make regularly-timed kicks without having to think of what lie is actually doing. The kick should be made partof oneself, and time will not be wasted in doing this, as once the kick is learnt, and one gets used to keeping the thighs in line with the body, tho chief difficulty of the stroke will be overcome. Atter the leg-kick has been .acquired, the next thing is to get tlm arms to act in proper tints with the legs; and to do thas, commence bv swimming what is known as the ‘dog stroke,' keeping the arms under the water, and moving them alternately by pulling with the .'eft hand when the right leg ;s kicking down, and so on. “Once the timing of the stroke has been accomplished; the novice may then proceed to lift his arms above tlie surface of the water, -as previously described. Of course, much practice will be necessary, for no CAvisnminig stroke can be learnt in a lesson.

‘‘l can well remember when Jarvis won his first championship, many said, it was owing to an accident. Owing to these remarks lie decided to acquire the ‘northern kick.’ and. 'lie has frequently told me that for six rjiontlis lie daily hung on to the side ox the bath to wake himself efficient in the movement. I do not think it would take six montihis to acquire the ‘crawl stroke,’ but I simple (mention the flet in order that the novice making tli 2 first-attempts may not he discouraged.”