SPORTING NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5679, 29 August 1905, Page 2

SPORTING NOTES.

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON. July 14. Your recent visitor.; Mr A. A. Cameron, the celebrated Scottish athlete, hod a chock put on his victorious wrestling career soon after his arrival in his native laud. On Saturday last, at Patrick, near Glasgow, he met the big Govan wrestler Ales. Munro, in - the ' GraecoHoman style, the prize at issue being .£l5O. As a scientific exhibition the bout, which was limited to a single fail, was not worth talking about. On l oth sides brute strength rather than science was the feature of the contest. Munro assumed the aggressive from the start, apd during the first fifteen minutes had Cameron continually in difficulties. The latter’s strength, however, served to bring Him safely through the ordeal of half Nelsons, hammerlocks. and the like. And then the men had a welcome five minutes’ rest. They wanted jt, for the day was the hottest, of the year thus far, and the perspiration streaming oft’ the wrestlers made both of them difficult to hold. On resuming, a very hard fight was witnessed, first one and' then the other , getting ..a bit the best of matters. Finally Munro got a double Nelson well fixed on to his rival, and in spite of Cameron’s almost superhuman efforts to break aw-ay, eventually forced the Highlander’s shoulders down after 22min 25seo of actual wrestling. ... In touching qpon Mr F. S. Kelly’s remarkable feat m winning the Diamond Semis at, flenley last week. I might have pointed out that not only’did the Australian beat the record for the race by I2sec, hut he also beat the double sculling record for the course "by 4sec. Kelly’s time was Brain ■ ilsetl (some watches.made i( a second less).{and the ,doiible scull- record for .the course is Snijn ifiseo, done by those grand oarsmen MuHlebury apd Barclay, in the first year of Jubilee, to wit, 1887. It is iim likely that in , our generation ,we shall see Kelly’s record beaten, . whether. it 1b given as Bmin llsec, or Bmin lOsec. I accept the first-named time, which was returned by the : "Sportsman,” and is quite good enough to go on with." A. Shrubb's breakdown in the Pour Miles Amateur Championship was, happily., a merely temporary affair,'as was proved at Widnes last Saturday, when the J marvel” romped home in the two miles scratch race 160yds ahead of his nearest opponent in fimin 27 2-Ssec. which is only about 65yds worse than his record performance done at Kennington Oval in September. 1903. Then he compassed two miles in Bmin 17sec, but on that occasion he hfid pacing until the last lap. At Vy idnes, he had to .make all his pwn running. and was never realif extended. Mr L. Alexander, president of the West Australian Bowling Association made a. strong appeal to the bowlers of the Motherland at a dinner given in Ins honour on Friday at the Trocadero by Mr Stephen Fortescue, who recently returned from his bowling tour in Australia omd New Zealand. Mr Alexander said that, when recently in Scotland he was informed that there were 100,000 bowlers in Caledonia. There were, ft seemed, about a similar number jn IJnglatid, jre. land and Wales, and tie declined to believe that the Motherland, with jts strength of 200,000 bowlers, would) fai] to raise tffput? to - twenty-four players 'to tour Australia and New Zealand,; where they would bo assured of an enthusiastic welcome, Mr Alexander’s appeal was heartily supported by Mr. James Mahsdn, hbn, sec. Imperial Captain Hubert, sonj vioe-presidcfut English B:A., ,Mr W. A. Stunehewer, boh.. see. English 8.A., and other enthusiasts present, and lit now seems tolerably certain that Mr Alexander will have the satisfaction .of i seeing a representative team of British bowlers got together for an Antipodean tour before he leaves these shores, ■ ‘B. B. Keran, the Australian crack, and his mile conqueror, David Billihglon. renewed their aquatic antagonism at Black, pool, last Saturday in - the preliminary stage of the international life-saving com. petition for the valuable .silver.challenge cup presented by the King. Tho first stage , consists of a quarter-mile; swim over a llftyds course, each competitor being fully dressed, whilst in-the last) 40yds each man Hap to pick up a living subject and carry him to the winning post. The competitors numbered a dozen, and in, eluded Daniels, the American amateur champion. Poisodori, the Gentian champion, and Robinson our breast-stroke champion. Among the absentees was Johansson, the ‘Swede* who won the eup last year. The taco Was, however, practically confined to tho Australian , and English champions. Keran raced; away with the lead, and .led Billington half-a-dozen yards at the first turn, end he held that advantage ail the way till reaching his subject. Then, hoivover. his troubles began, for whilst Billington towed his man through the water at a quite remarkable pace, Keran seemed to he hard put to it to got his subject through the water at all. Billington Soon passlid the Australian; and, going ahead, won easily by 20yds in 9min 35 2-ssec, ,-feec faster than last year's time. Robinson, »»■ finished third, was over a length behind when Billington gained the winning: post.

K ran took no part in the second test of thu Kinj?'* Cup competition, consisted of a breast swim over 150 yards with a "rescue" wind-up, and W- W. Ecdiitiabn won easily. BilUnJrton finishing sixth. The- former, therefore. won the cup with 23 porntf and the Bacup " cracjc''.was, second with 17, To have won Koran. had.he started, would have had to finish first and with such a magnificent breast- stroke as Robinson to tackle, the Antipodean's chance of ao doing wafi hopeless. Qe therefore reserved bis strength f° r the 600 yard* jmvitatinn! pcratch race, his most senonb opponent therein being Daniels the AjnenSan Champion. The Australian made sad hacks of his rivals. He "crawled of course, but at such a pace that not even Daniels could hang on to hm) for more than 100 yards, and going op at hie ease he wop paddling by, as -one iman put it. ’’os far as he liked." To he as nearly precise as pr««ible under the o:r----cu,"prancos the : nterval between Koran and his nearest opponent when the Australian cross'd the, winning line wan nearly a hundred yards. Apropos of;Satday'e race between Koran and Billing, ton one of our papers hints that the Australian did not receive fair plav. It xs alleged that Keran's "subject" lay out of the swimmer's course, and that Keran had to dive for him. There is also an inference that when the AustroUan had got hold of his "drowning subject". the latter made the -task-, of towage difficult for his "saver," whereas BijUngton's mop proved quite a rpoded in the matter of not c^usihgjiis.rescuer any trouble. I cannot bclieve that there is a shadow of foundntion foV" these suggestions, and I shall be somewhat surprised if the gentleman who acted as Koran's subject does not make the newspaper in question a present of a writ for libel befpre many days have passed. TJic suggestion is that lie purposely gave Koran trouble to pick him up anc| tow him* with, of course, a view to preventing the Australian beating B.U]ington, I ,don't think any amateur swimmer (or any professional for that matter) would pass over such a gross libel, and even if the person whose, bon* fides are thus impugned, chose to ignore it, the Life Saying Society cap hardly afford to do so, seeing that that ejegllent body is responsible’ for all the arrangements in connection with the race, including the choice of subjects to be rescued by the competitors.