SWIMMING

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 24 January 1925, Page 10

SWIMMING

The season, latterly has been very kind *to. swimmers and has largely made amends for the bad spell late in the year 1924. Enthusiasts ' have had a"wonderful spell in the* baths' and at- the seaside. Conditions at the oceali-side and in the river have been very good and enjoyable. . At the Domain Baths Sydney, J. Briarley put up the remarkable performance of 24 3-ssec for the 50 yards. Moss Christie is swimming well. At Bronte, lie defeated Frank Doyle in a heat of 100 yards handicap in 59sec, and won the final in 58 3-ssec which is a bath record W. Longworfch won the 440 yards Eastern Districts’ Championship in smin 58 3-ssec. He touched five yards ahead of the' field. J. Mls ally was second, ancl T. Meagher third. Surf carnivals, in Sydney seem to be very popular. No fewer than 1326 swimmers entered for 13 events, which is probablv a world’s record for aquatic sports. The surf boat races proved the main attraction of the carnival, these races providing plenty of excitement the spectators. Clever seamanship is essential for the boats to negotiate the waves. Boy Charlton, who took part in the surf race, was badly out of condition, and was beaten into third place. I>. Thompson was first and Henry second.

SWIMMING CHAMPONSHIPS

Arrangements for the championships to be held at New Plymouth on January 31, afternoon and evening, are well in" hand. Accommodation will he provided for 750 spectators, and if- the weather is fine this will be taxed to the utmost.

A handsome trophy, presented by the president of the centre (Mr W. 11. Moyes), will be allocated to the 880 yards event. A sjravenir programme will be printed in honour of this being the first meeting of its kind in Taranaki. Inquiries have been received from all parts of the province, and it is hoped a lot of Hawera swimmers will be enabled to take part and so help tile sport. It was reported that the. recent combined clubs’ carnival resulted in a, profit of £lO 5s Gd, and this amount will be used towards defraying the expenses of the Taranaki team to 1 the New Zealand championship meeting in Christchurch during February.

CHAMPION SWIMMER. Sam Khanamoku, the champion Hawaiian swimmer and surfer, who is visiting Australia for the first time, recently gave an exhibition of sufboard riding at the North Bondi carnival, hut owing to the surf being comparatively calm, it was impossible for him t« display his prowess'. Nevertheless lie performed several acrobatic feats, and reached the shore gracefully. The feature of his display was the control he appreciated, and he finished by riding into the shore on a breaker standing on his head. He received a- great cheer from the crowd. That Kahanamoku is a swimmer of class there* is no doubt. At the Olympic Games in Paris lie was third in the 100 Metres to Johnny Weissmuller and his

brother Duke. Weissmuller won the race in 59sec. Duke’s time was 61 2-5 sec, and Sam 61 4-ssec. Arne Borg was fourth, and the Japanese, Katsuo Takaishi, fifth. This is the youth that all efforts failed to trace in order fo : invite him to Australia this season. Sam Kahanamoku did not further distinguish himself at" the Olympic' Games, no doubt because America was so strongly represented in all sections of swimming, that his services were not called upon. When Sain Kahanamoku won the 100 yards Championship of N.S.W., says “Natator” in’ the Referee, at the Sydney Domain Baths, he swam faster than any visiting swimmer had done since his famous brother Duke was with us in 1915. Duke surged over 100 yards of the Domain Baths on January 2 of that year in 53 4-ssec, and that stands as "the fastest lime ever recorded in Australia. Sams’s time (55 2-ssec) is only the third fastest in the book as far as Australia is concerned. To an Australian (Billv Herald) belongs the honour of getting nearest to the great Hawaiian sprinter. Herald, on January 30 of lastyear, swam .the distance in 55sec dead. All three times were recorded in the same water, with practically’ the same tides. Therefore, it, will readily be realised that our present visitor must be classed among the greatest present-day sprinters. His records show that he is one of the greatest champions to visit Australian shores. He is credited with the following performances:—-100 yards in 54sec ; 100 metres in 61 4-ssec; 290 yards in 2iuin 24sec; 440 yards in smiii 28sec. He also holds the novice 'championship, 50 metres backstroke record, and he lias covered 1()0 yards breaststroke in the remarkably good time of lnvin 13sec. These, figures indicate that in short and middle distances he ranks second only to the great American John Weissmuller. He is better than his brother, Duke Pao Kahanamoku, who is still one of America’s best, representatives. His brother “Duke” introduced the surfboard shooting to, Australia, and Sam is considered a finer exponent of this branch of surfing' than his brother. Hi has a mile swimming record in the sui;l to his credit. Altogether, there is a certainty of some keen and exciting contests at the coming carnivals, and if the visitor be vanquished, then the prestige of Australia' will again be lifted to a higher plane.