MAJOR SUCCESSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27017, 28 February 1949, Page 6

MAJOR SUCCESSES

SWIMMING SHIELDS NORTH ISLAND TEAMS From the Sports Editor AUCKLAND, Feb. 27. The North Island had an overwhelming, success on Saturday night when the New Zealand National Swimming Championships were concluded' at the Newmarket Olympic pool. Auckland succeeded in regaining the Goldhurst Shield from Otago with 12 wins, Wellington being runner-up with five, Otago had three, Canterbury three, Taranaki two, South Canterbury one, and Waikato one. Auckland also won the water polo trophy, which had been in Otago’s possession since 1936, and the Otago shield for the intercentre Scratch Relay and Flying Squadron Championship. North Island teams won the Men’s and Women’s Stalag Shield Relays. The conditions to-day were ideal. Otago suffered its first defeat in 13 years when it met Auckland in the final of the Water Polo and went down by three goals to two, Auckland winning the championship for the first time since 1935, when the event was last decided in Auckland. So far us Otago was concerned, it was a game of lost opportunities, there being much faulty shooting when players were within scoring distance. W. H. Dyson and C. N. Williams showed more than occasional glimpses of their best form, but the most impressive Otago player was W. Williams, whose clever swimming with the ball was an outstanding feature of his side’s display. K. Leckie did a lot of serviceable work, but for a while- Otago was playing with six men, as B. Tremaine, a B Grade player, was ordered out for a breach. It was during this period that Auckland scored one of its goals. Auckland adopted spoiling tactics with considerable success, and led at halftime by one-nil. Betty Casey, of Wellington, took her third title when she raced away to win the 220 Yards Women’s Freestyle in 2mm 45 l-ssec. this being her fifth consecutive success in this event.

Miss Casey has revealed the best form of her career at this meeting, physical fitness being an important factor in her success. She led all the way and won by six yards from Maureen Holman, of Waikato, the former 440 yards champion, who finished very strongly to edge Norma Bridson, of Auckland, out of second place with barely half a yard to spare. Gwenyth Allen, an Otago High School girl, who has shown promising form throughout, finished in fourth place, three yards behind Miss Bridson. Miss Allen is a good stylist with plenty of determination. Miss Casey rounded off her efforts by winning the 50 Yards Invitation Freestyle Scratch Race in 29 4-ssec, this being her fourth win. Second place went to J. Hastings, of Auckland, and Ngaire Lane showed her proficiency a freestyle exponent by filling third place. The Men’s 50 Yards Invitation Freestyle Scratch Race was won by C. Williams, of Auckland, in 26 4-ssec from his teammates, P. Borrington and P. Kotua, the latter being the former Nelson and Otago swimmer. P. E. Matheson. of Auckland, who had eariier won the 440 Yards Backstroke championship, regained the 100 Yards Ltle which T. E. Wilson (Otago) did not defend. Mathieson was pushed over the first lap by the young Southland swimmer. W. Pasley, and D. Branch, of Auckland, but gained on the turn and forged ahead to win by three yards in 67sec, Branch finishing well to beat Pasley for second place by a yard. This was the fourtn time that Mathieson has won the 100 Yards title since 1938, and before that he won the 150 Yards twice. . , . Lucas, the 17-year-old Aucklander, whose brilliant swimming has been a feature of the championships, won the 440 Yards Men’s Freestyle by 30 yards from R- Jolly (Waikato) in smin 20sec, with C. Baird (Auckland) in third place. This was Lucas’s second win. Lucas, a son of the famous All Black threequarter, F. W. Lucas, is a distinct prospect for the Empire Games. D. Dowse (Wellington) had compensation for his disqualification in the 220 Yards Breaststroke Championship by winning the 220 Yards Butterfly btle by 8 yards from C. Callan (Auckland). Dowse established a New Zealand record of 3mm 7 l-ssec. T. Logan (Taranaki) was a yard back, third. These three swimmers have dominated the breaststroke section, Callan winning both the orthodox titles pod Logan the Medley and 100 Yards Butterfly. Norma Bridson (Auckland), the winner of the 100 Yards Medley title on Friday night, had a swim over m the 100 Yards Women’s Butterfly, her time being Imm 27 4-ssec. The small representation of South Island swimmers other than those from Otago made it difficult to field wellbalanced teams in the Stanley Shield Relays, which comprise six swimmers .a side from the North and South Islands, but the South Island made a bold bid foi victory in the women’s event, largely as a result of a big lead of about 30 yards established by the Otago backstroke stars, Jean Stewart and Ngaire Lane. A feature of this race was the return to form shown bv Hazel Forsyth (Otago), who recorded 85sec for 100 yards breaststroke—faster than the winning time in the championship. Unfortunately for South, however, it was able to call upon only one recognised freestyle swimmer m Gwenytn Allen, and Helen Smith, a breaststroke exponent, swam one of the freestyle sec- ** When Betty Casey, North’s last swimmer set out after Miss Smith, the latter had a lead of 15 yards. Miss Casey showed brilliant dash, however, and overhauled her opponent to win by several yards, the time for the 660 yards being Bmin 54 3-ssec. South fielded a very scratch combination in the Men’s Stanley Shield Relay, and was never in the picture, North winning by 40 yards in 7min 44 l-ssec. Further reverses were suffered by South in the 220 Yards Inter-centre Relay for the Otago Shield, and Auckland won comfortably from Waikato and Otago in 2min 1 3-ssec.