Ngaire Lane Qualifies: Placed Second in Heat After Exciting Finish

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26842, 5 August 1948, Page 5

Ngaire Lane Qualifies: Placed Second in Heat After Exciting Finish

From A. W. Mitchell, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent

EMPIRE POOL, Aug. 3

Ngaire Lane, of Dunedin, came second in her heat of the women’s 100 metre back- stroke at the Olympic Games and qualified for the semi-final, which will be held to-morrow evening. Miss Lane was second to the Dutch swimmer, Miss H. Vanderhorst, who won in 78.7 sec, Miss Lane’s time being 78.8 sec.

The Olympic record for the event —76.65 e twice beaten by the winners of the other heats—Miss K. M. Harup (Denmark), and Miss J Davies (Australia) —whose times were 75.65ec and 76.45ec respectively. In the semi-final, Miss Lane will race against both Misses Harup and Vanderhorst. and also against Miss S. Zimmerman (United States) whose heat time was two-tenths of a second over the Olympic record.

Miss Lane can be expected to improve on the time she returned to-day, for the experience was of great value to her. She was extremely nervous before the race. She declared she felt “ terrible.” and had “ butterflies in my tummy.” She added: “ Scarborough (where she won the English title) was nothing to this.” , , . The scene at the Wembley pool is indeed impressive. The pool itself is 50 metres long, the pale blue of its water emphasised by the lines of black

will stand a chance of entering the final if her time is sufficiently good

Harris’s Condition

“We hope that D. M. Harris will be able to run again by next year.’ Mr A. E. Porritt said to-day, correct ing a report that the New Zealande' may not be able to run “for a long time, possibly years.” He added: “T: spiking of the tendon caused it to soften, which resulted in it being partly torn during the second race. It had to be spliced up again, and we performed the operation with the idea of getting him ready to run again by the end of this year. I hope he will be going again next season all right. He will have to remain some weeks in St. Mary’s Hospital, because it is very important to keep him quiet and avoi accidents.” The Athletic Events

A sparse crowd sitting under a dull sky, threatening rain, saw the start of the Olympic athletic events to-day The track had recovered well after the soaking it had received yesterday, bu> it was drizzling again this afternoon. Mel Patton, of the United States, in a pulsating race, won the Men’s 20! Metres final, in which six of the world’s best sprinters fought every inch of the way. Patton’s gallant finish, in which he beat Ewell by inches, brought terrific roars from the crowd.

In the semi-final heat of this event, John Treloar Australia’s champion, tired over the last 20 yards and finished fourth. He led at the halfway mark. Four runners fought out a punishing finish, but Treloar faltered near the finish.

tiles on the bottom, which seem to snake as the water ripples. ■ Great tiers of seats bank up in a huge rectangle, and this afternoon they were filled. Overhead is a huge glass roof. Suspended immediately underneath are the flags of all the competing nations. Each lane is numbered and defined by ropes of thick white cork rings. At one end is a massive array of diving boards. , „ , , Ngaire Lane was in the first heat, and with the other women she appeared in her track suit, with its distinctive silver fern, and sat for a time on the small starting pedestal at the head of her lane. Dominion Team’s Haka She cupped her chin in her hands and looked rather pale, but she brightened up when a friend waved to her, and she blew a kiss back. Then she stripped and entered the water for a loosener, and stood ready at her mark —three iron bars in the end of the bath—while the announcer gave the names of the competitors. As soon as Miss Lane’s name was announced, Mr D. T. Woodfield (manager), J. M. Holland, R. H. Goslin (boxer), and T. R. Carter (cyclist), of the New Zealand team, stood up in the seats reserved for the officials, and gave a magnificent performance of the haka. For a moment the filled stands seemed taken aback, but they gave the New Zealanders a rousing applause as their final shout died away Ngaire gave them a delighted grin, and while the Dutch and French contingents produced an organised cheer for their girls, she shook hands with both—Miss Vanderhorst and Miss.M. Berlioux (France), who were swimming in the lanes on either side of The other competitors were Miss I. Fredin (Sweden) and Miss K. Olafsdottir (Iceland). Slight Lead Held The starter blew his whistle and ordered the girls to their marks. The pistol cracked and the five girls surged away. Miss Lane drew steadily to the front and at the end of the lap she had a slight lead. At the half-way mark Miss Vanderhorst was gaining rapidly on her and Miss Berlioux was coming up fast. Ten yards from the finish Miss Lane was still leading, but the Dutch girl managed to inch ahead and touch onetenth of a second before her. Miss Berlioux finished in the same time as Miss Lane, but the New Zealand girl took second place by a split second. During the pause before the announcer gave the official results and times the girls shook hands again. As soon as the announcer declare that Miss Lane was second, Mr Woodfield, Holland, Carter and Goslin leapt to their feet and gave another haka, which this time was greeted with a terrific burst of applause. “ You must go on winning, because we must hear that haka again,” an English friend told Miss Lane. Trainer’s Encouragement

Earlier, in the other semi-final. McKenley defeated Patton by 3 yards. The flying Dutchwoman, Miss Blan-kers-Coen, and the British girl, M Gardner, easily won their heats of the Women’s 80 Metres Hurdles. IV Blankers-Coen broke the Olympic record of 11.6 sec and equalled the world record of 11.3 sec, which she already shares with C. Testoni, of Italy. Fourth Day’s Results

Swimming 400 Metres Free Style:—Semi-finals.— First heat: J. McLane (United States) 1, J. Marshall (Australia) 2 (third not given). Time, 4min 49.55ec. Second heat: G. Kaadars (Hungary) 1, W. Smith (United States) 2, A. Jany (France) 3. Time, 4min 47.8 sec. 800 Metres (four by 200) Relay.— Final: United States 1, Hungary 2, France 3. The United States winning time was Bmin 46sec, a world and an Olympic record. The Hungarian teams’ time, Bmin 48.4 sec, also beat the world record. The United States team was W. Wolf, J. McLane, and W. Smith. Women’s 200 Metres Breaststroke. — Final: Nel Vanvliet (Holland) 1, Nancy Lyons (Australia) 2, Eva Novaak (Hungary) 3. Time, 2min 57.25ec (a new Olympic record). Women’s 100 Metres Backstroke. — First heat: H. Vanderhorst (Holland) 1, Ngaire Lane (New Zealand) 2, M. Ber-

The New Zealand girl was inclined to criticise her performance, but her coach and trainer, Mr H. Hays, of the Australian team, encouraged her.

“ You won’t be so nervous to-mor-row. and if you follow my instructions as you did at Scarborough, you’ll do much better,” he told her. The first two in each semi-final, and the four girls returning the next fastest time, will compete in the final. Miss Lane will meet stiff opposition to-mor-row in Misses Harup and Zimmerman, not forgetting Miss Vanderhorst. Others in her semi-final include Miss M. Galliard, of Holland, who returned 78.2 sec to-day, and Miss B. J. Jensen, of the United States (78.8 sec). The Australian, Miss Davies, will be in the other semi-final.

Even though Miss Lane may not be placed first or second to-morrow, she

loux (France) 3. Time. 78.7 sec. Secpnd heat: K. Harup (Denmark) 1, S. Zimmermann (United States) 2, H. Yate (Britain) 3. Time, 75.65ec (a new Olympic record). Third heat: J. Davies (Australia) 1, I. Novaak (Hungary) 2, B. Jensen * (United States) 3. Time, 76.45 cc (better than the old Olympic record). Fourth heat: M. Gilliard (Holland) 1, M. Mellon (United States) 2, C. Gibson (Britain) 3. Time, 78.2 sec. Women’s Springboard Diving.— Final: Mrs V. Draves (United States), 108.74 points, 1; Z. Olsen (United States), 108.23 points, 2; P. Elsener (United States), 101.30 points, 3; N. Pellissard (France), 100.38 points, 4.

Athletics 200 Metres: —Semi-finals.—First heat: H. McKenley (Jamaica) 1, M. Patton (America) 2, H. Ewell (America) 3; time, 21.4 sec. Second heat: C. Bourland (United States) 1, La Beach (Panama) 2, L. Laing (Jamaica) 3; time, 21.5 sec. Final.—Patton 1, Ewell 2, La Beach 3; time, 21.1 sec. Bourland and Laing finished in fourth and fifth place respectively. Hop Step and Jump:—Final: A. Ahman (Sweden) 1, C. Avery (Australia) 2, K. Sartalp (Turkey) 3, P. Larsen (Denmark) 4, G. Oliveira (Brazil) 5, K. Rautio (Finland) 6. Ahman’s winning distance was 50ft 6Jin. Avery jumped 50ft 4?in. Putting the Shot:—Final won by W. Thompson (United States) with 56ft 2in—a new Olympic record.