SWIMMING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1745, 16 August 1905, Page 47

SWIMMING.

ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE CHANNEL ANOTHER FAILURE. LONDON, August 10. Burgess made at attempt to swim the English Channel, hut failed. When nearing WAssant (south of Calais) he was seized with cold, and had to give up, after a strong and plucky swim lasting fourteen hours and a half. Burgess covered altogether (including drifting) about twenty-nine nixie®. HALF-MILE; CHAMPIONSHIP. VICTORY FOR RERAN. .LONDON, August 0. B. Reran, the Australian swimmer, won the half-mile championship at Leicester in llmin 28sec, defeating D. B'illington by fifteen yards and 14 JL-ssec. Billington won the Half-mile Championship of England in 1903 in 13min 10 3-ssec. but last year he was beaten by ten yards by C. E. Forsyth, whose time was 12min 23sec. Keraii’s record over half a mile is llmin 11 3-osec, and the British amateur record is llmin 50 2-ssec. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, July 7. Among the huge crowd that gathered round the Higligate Pond last Saturday afternoon to witness, among other swimming events, the race for the mile chainship there seemed to be but one idea. That tvas that B. Reran was as certain to win the race as the sun shone, and in doing so to break the English record to “smithereens/* The cable has already told you that the Sydney marvel failed to place his name on our roll of swimming honour at the first time of asking, and you know, also, that the barrier to his success was the young man who a couple of years ago put up such fine tussles with “Splash” Cavill, and who was the first Englishman to beat twenty-five minutes for the mile, namely, David Billington, of Bacup. lie was recognised as the only man among the opposition to Reran on Saturday wlig was in the least likely to trouble the Australian at the finish, and there were a few good judges among the crowd who refused to look upon the race as a “gift*’ for Reran. One old stager remarked to me: “Your Australian will have to go all the way to beat Dave to-day; lie’s in better form than ever, and fit for record if it*® necessary.** Now a record of any sort had never been made in Higligate Pond, but Billington’s supporter was quite confident that the Bacup swimmer would, if pressed, beat his own previous best of 24min 56 &-ssec, and he was equally positive that Reran would not get anywhere near his wonderful Australian time of 23min 16 4-ssec over the 110 yds course at Higligate.

But to the race. From the plunge Keran went away at a rare "bat,” and soon showed in front, with Billington in bis wake, and Taylor and Harvey in pursuit. At a great pace the Sydney swimmer negotiated the first length, and turned ten yards ahead of Billington. Going well within himself Keran continued to draw away, and it already seemed as though, bar accidents, bis victory was certain. Billington, however, ploughed doggedly on, and in the third length gained very perceptibly on his rival. He continued to ipull up in the fourth, and by the time Koran had completed the quar-ter-mile in smin 47 l-ssec, the Bacup crack was less than a dozen yards behind, his time for the 440yds being snbn 54sec. Keeping up a strong vigorous stroke fore and aft Billington continued to creep up toot by foot till at the end of the seventh length, he was only a cottple of yards away from Keran, whose stroke was visibly weakening. Down the eighth lap. Billington made a serious effort to get to terms with the leader, and Keran made an equally determined attempt to stall off the Englishman’s challenge. A desperate race .ensued to the 880yds mark, and by a mere touch Billington won it in 12min 7 l-ssec. As they pushed off there was really nothing in it; but the Englishman was then going with more life and dash than his rival, and soon commenced to draw slowly hut surely away. Keran made attempt after attempt to get on terms with him, but at the three-quar-ter mile mark, which Billington touched 18niin 24 3-ssec after the staid, the' Englishman led well, Keran’s time being 18min 37 2-ssec. From this point, the interest in the race began to flag, for it -was easily seen that Keran had not enough left in him to seriously challenge the leader. Swimming with' ease, 'but with great power, Billington added steadily to his advantage x.glit to the finish, and won handsomely : n the fine time of 24min 42 3-ssec. thus beating his own record by nearly 14see, and his Australian rival, who finished well "baked” in 25min 23 3-ssec, by no less than 41-sec. and as many yards. 11. Taylor finished third in 2Smin 2sec. and the fifteen years old F. Unwin, of the Sheffield Otters, put up a very fine performance by getting fourth in 27min 17 l-ssec.

Billington's mile was undoubtedly a grand swim, and had he been pressed in the final stages of the race he would have undoubtedly got near to 24-^min for the distance. As r it was he did'the last half-mile in 12min 35sec. This is the first record that has been made in Highgate Pond, which has hitherto borne the reputation of being a slow course. Concerning Keran, it may be said that lie performed very creditably considering the facts that he lias hardly had time to get acclimatised, and was swimming under conditions quite foreign to him. He seemed fit enough, but did not, in my opinion, swim " judgmatical ly,” taking too much out of himself in the first furlong. -Had fie been content to hold Billington during the first half-mile, instead of trying to “break up” that tried.stayer in a hurry, he would have been much nearer to the Bacup man at the finish. 1 do not think, however, that whatever tactics he had used Keran could have beaten the holder tof the Championship on the day of the race. Keran’s second public . appearance in the- Old Country occurred at Liverpool on Thursday evening, when he very easily beat W. A. Cnrwen (the holder) and nine lesser lights of the local aquatic world in the Mersey Championship, which is decided over a course between New Brighton and Seaforth. the distance being about a mile and a half. The Australian had the pace of his opponents from the start, and increasing his lead at his leisure, won by nearly a -quarter of a mile from Curwen in 30min 35sec. A LADY CHAMPION. Miss Annette Kellerman, who was recently dubbed by one of our ha’penny papers “The Australian Lady Mermaid” (I do not remember to have come across any record af' a mermaid, of the male sex), gave a very fine exhibition of her powers in the water last Friday. She swam with the ebb in" tide from Putney Bridge to Blaekwall Pier, a distance of 13 miles 550 yards in 31ir 54min 16sec, and finished "as fresh as a daisy.” Miss Kellerman swam the whole distance—using double over-arm stroke, and barring a short spell when off Greenwich, maintained a surprisingly regular and powerful stroke. The conditions, both as to water and atmosphere, were very favourable, but the performance certainly stamps the Australian lady as the bestdistance swimmer of the gentler sex we have yet seen for combined pace and stamina. The duality of her swim may be gauged from the fact that she covered the old long distance championship course from Putney Bridge to Westminster Bridge in Ihr 27min 43see. No so many years ago men, who were then reckoned "top sawyers,” won championships over tliis course iu about the same time. And Miss Kellerman had a further seven miles or so to traverse. Notwithstanding the fair Australian’s wonderful swim on Friday, I am still of the opinion that she will be well advised to leave the Channel record to swimmers of the sterner sex.