SWIMMING NEW RECORD AT N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS

Grey River Argus, 25 February 1949, Page 3

SWIMMING NEW RECORD AT N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Coast Girl Placed P.A. AUCKLAND, Feb. 24.

An outstanding feature of the second night of the New Zealand senior swimming championships at the Newmarket Olympic pool was the performance of the Olympic Games representative, Miss Ngaire Lane, of Otago, in lowering the record for the 220 yards backstroke by three seconds to 2min 57.65ec. A second swimmer, Miss Jean Stewart (Miss Lane’s Otago team mate) also broke the record by more than a second. It was the first time that a national I’ecord had been beaten in the slow-watered pool. Miss Lane won by about two yards. A young Auckland swimmer, R. Lucas, won the men’s 220 yards championship by nearly 15 yards in the smart time of 2min 27sec. In style and speed, Lucas was easily superior to the Add. Miss B. Casey, the 100 yards champion, reversed the result of last year’s 440 yards freestyle championship, when she scored easily over Miss M. Holman, the Waikato title-holder. Miss Holman, actually, was beaten out of a place, and a young swimmer Miss H. McKenzie, of Auckland, making her first appearance in a championship, gained second place, about five yards behind Miss Casey. Miss Holman was beaten in the sprint for third place by Miss G. Allen (Otago). C. Callan, of Auckland, winner of the men’s 100 yards breaststroke, won a double by taking the 220 yards comfortably. Miss M. Sweeney, who won the 220 yards women’s breaststroke title last night, was beaten into third place in the 100 yards by Miss M. Teague, of Wellington, and Miss H. Smith, of the West. Coast. Miss H. Forsyth, of Otago, the title holder, who had failed in the 220 yards, again was beaten out of a place. After lagging, by five yards, early in the race, C. Chambers, of Canterbury, revealed exceptional power to retain his SSO yards championship over a strong challenge by Lucas, whom he beat by about two yards in the good time of llmin. 15.6 sec. With 110 yards to go. Lucas lost a good deal of his adventage with a slow turn, and over the next lap of 55 yards Chambers gained the lead, turning about two feet ahead. He sprinted hard from there to the finish and, with his faster arm stroke, gained perceptibly to the finish. Results: — Men’s 220 Yards Freestyle R. Lucas (Auckland) 1 R. Jolly (Waikato) 2 F. Higginson (Waikato) 3 Time 2min 27.4 see. Women’s 220 Yards Backstroke. Miss N. Lane (Otago) 1 Miss J. Stewart (Otago) 2 Miss F. Leatham (Wellington) . . 3 Time 3min 57.65ec. Men’s 220 Yards Breaststroke C. Callan (Auckland) 1 R. Lovett (Taranaki) 2 J. Cowles (Wanganui) 3 Time 3min 10.2 sec. Women’s 440 Yards Freestyle Miss B. Casey (Wellington) .... 1 Miss H. McKenzie (Auckland) . . 2 Miss G. Allen (Otago) 3 Timo 6min "sec. Women’s 100 Yards Breaststroke Miss M. Teague (Wellington) ... 1 Miss H. Smith (West Coast) .... 2 Miss W. Sweeney (Auckland) ... 3 Time lmin 26sec. The title-holder. Miss H. Forsyth, was beaten out of a place. Men’s 880 Yards Freestyle C. Chambers (Canterbury) .... 1 R - . Lucas (Auckland) 2 M. Ballantyne (South Canterbury) 3 Time llmin 15.6 sec. . Flying Squadron Inter-Provincial Relay: Waikato 1. Auckland 2, Otago 3. Time smin 47.8 sec.