COOK STRAIT SWIMMER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20760, 31 December 1930, Page 11

COOK STRAIT SWIMMER.

MISS GLEITZE IN AUCKLAND.

ENDURANCE RECORDS SOUGHT.

RANGITOTO TO ST. HELIERS,

Plans for a big programme of endur* ance swims, which she will undertake during her stay in the Dominion, were discussed by Miss Mercedes Gleitze. the famous English marathon swimmer, last evening. Miss Gleitze was in Auckland arranging for several swims to be made hero early in the New Year. She returned to Wellington last evening, accompanied by her husband, Mr. P. Care} , and to-night she will commence an attempt on the British women s endurance swimming record at the Boys Institute Baths, Wellington.

Referring to the Cook Strait swim, Miss Gleitze stated that she fully realised that it would be the most difficult proposition she has yet encountered. She was grateful to Wellington fishermen and others acquainted with Cook Strait, who have supplied her with full particulars as to the conditions and currents with which she was most likely to be confronted. Miss Gleitze has sanguine hopes of succeeding and said that should she fail in her first attempt she would persevere until she attained her objective, or unt'l weather conditions made further attempts impossible. The distance across Cook Strait is approximately 16 miles, but Miss Gleitze ; s of the opinion that, allowing for the movement of currents, she will have to swim at least twice that distance.Following her usual custom, Mis 3 Gleitze will swim to music which, she said, tends to relieve monotony and inspires her whenever she feels tired. She said that while preparing for her swims she favours no special diet and during the performance of her feats of endur« ance she eats according to her tastes.

Previous Performances.

With regard to her endurance records. Miss Gleitze said she first put up a British woman's record at Edinburgh on January 1, swimming for 26 hours. Sincei then she has improved on 'her time so> considerably that at Dublin a few daysi before she left for New Zealand she swam; continuously for 42 hours. She hopes to break this record at Wellington by hall 1 an hour. She intends making a further effort to create a new. time of 43 hours at the Hobson Street Baths on January 9 and 10, Mr. J. B. Paterson, chairman of the Parks Committee of the City Council, having sanctioned the use of the baths for this purpose-

By gradually lengthening her swimii Miss Gleitze hopes eventually to better the accepted world's record of 69 hours established by an Indian, Mahomed Sh'afi, in the Worthing Baths, London, from October 16 to 19 last, although an American, Miss Lottie Schoemmel, is credited with having swum continuously for 7:2 hours 2 minutes 40 seconds, in Kew York, in 1928.

The Auckland Swim.

Every care is being exercised to ensura the authenticity of Miss Gleitze's swims. In this connection she would welcome the assistance of any sportsmen who would be prepared to act as stewards during her Auckland swim. They would act in relays of three, their duty being to certify that all the regulations laid down for endurance swims were observed and to sign the official log. During these tests Miss Gleitze said she always swims around the sides of the pool and emphasised the fact that fihe would immediately disqualify herself if she touched any part of the bat.h. Miss Gleitze also contemplates swimming from Rangitoto to St. Heliers Bay on January 19, whits about that time she will give a public demonstration of her various strokes. In the event of her conquering Cook Strait she hopes to tour the Dominion, making appearances at all the main centres.

Questioned as to the styles sjie employs, Miss Gleitze said in the casa of a long distance swim she invariably used the breastroke "only, whereas for endurance swim she alternately resorted to the use of seven different strokes. Her method of training was entirely different from that of competition swimmers, a» 6he did very little swimming, being content to restrict herself to land drill and physical exercises.

TEST AT TATTEA2TGA.

MISS L. COPPLESTONE'S EFFORT.

Details of the swim from the Mounfc Wharf to the Tauranga "Wharf, a distance of three and a-quarter miles, by Miss Copplestone, the New Zealand exchampion swimmdt, made on Boxing Day, show that she started at 10.10 a.m. with the tide running iri. Soon after the start of the swim a cross current and very choppy water were encountered. This lasted for about three-quarters of a mile, then easy swimming was encountered for some time. About a mile from Tauranga the tide changed and Miss Copplestone finished her swim against the tide and in the wash of several launches. The swimmer was taken about a mile out of her course, and the distance covered was 4£ miles, the time being 1 hour 20 minutes. Miss Copplestone swam the double trudgeon crawl all the way and finished very strongly. The same pace was maintained the whole way and the stroke did not vary in the slightest. She was paced bv- Miss B. Turner and Mr. W. Turner. J and was escorted by Mr. lake's launch- . Later in" the dayTWiss_ Copplestone gave an exhibition of swimming and diving at the regatta. She will undertake a long distance swim down the Waikato River on Friday, and next month will make an attempt to swim Wellington Harbour and break Miss Gleitzo's time for the distance.