SPEED FEVER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3959, 28 January 1930, Page 11

SPEED FEVER.

RECORDS BROKEN IN AUSTRALIA

A WONDER SATURDAY. > c, , . SYDNEY, January 16. ; a 4 •qatmday should go down in Austialias history as Speed Saturday; for records were broken in every direction hti ee T d l n° Ugh all the athletic world had caught the record breaking mania from the young cricket marvel, Don Bradman, whose world’s best score is still tinon'i U A • i al^° ut thr °ughout the coni', ”..’1 Liicketers were not going to hf" e things all their own way, the other athletes must have said. Even the weather became affected and gave Sydney is coldest day in January for more' than 5 ears.

Not that the weather last Saturd. y "•as com ncive to record-breaking in the fII • i Jt was a bleak ‘lay, and nni ii "V. S - Vtinp y at any rate throughnil i c e afternoon. Two international athletes were present—Dr Peltzer, the riving Doctor from Germany, and the American track marvel. Lamond. Per•,a>?s iA 7, lnen were kee « to show just what they comd do. And the "iris were m it too. °

,i,£\f ♦ f remarkable performance was that of the 20-year-old girl. Clarice Kenned} who has suddenly become the idol Fnr? yd 4f ey f r °7 d E, £ s . a pupil Of the lort Street Girls High School Miss Kennedy shone in swimming and divin" competitions and now she has proved herself equally efficient in track athletics. Last week, in a trial run, Miss Kennedy equalled the women’s world lecord of 12 4-osec for the 80 metre i“‘ die | and on Saturday she reduced those figures to 12*sec. This wing-footed gnl wonder is a revelation in speed, grace, and style, and is charming in manner and appearance. Modest about her prospects of being includ-ed in the Aus•a 1 team the Los Angeles Olympiad, she says: I would just love to go providing I am good enough.” Plentv brentiZ n r ak i CS for her recordbreakin o tasks, while physical culture tHna” eS r a r i eat anything and every! fnrm g « k i & 4- h n r to , Produce her top orm. Scholastically she shows a preference for I-rench, art, woodwork, batik and poster work. She will enter th* leachers Training College within the byoney I niversity this month. Aot to be outdone, Chrissie Dahn another girl, covered the 100 yards at the same meeting in 11 l-ssec, which is a nttn ot a second outside the world figure and a new Australian and New South' »'ales record. Ihe previous Australian recoid was 11 4-osec, which was held i>y two girls, one of them being Miss Kennedy. lor weeks Sydney has been swelvriiig in great heat, and perhaps it was the sudden change to a southerly blast that made the athletes feel so fit. Carlton, Australia’s spunt marvel, who started this rccordneakmg busmess. Carlton won the Inon I v 7" 10 w a 7 s 9 , 4 ' ss<? c- This was rn »r’l? scc the "■° rl ‘l’s record. In a 60 Metres Scratch Race Carlton was 77 Cd t f° r ~7 sep - .equa! to the Olympic record for hat distance. The speed was ir 1 u°n fined S - vdr ] p . v - In Adelaide. IL • ' p • °n> the walker, covered a mile in 6min 48sec—a record for South Ausinnia ’ ! ln L. M. Smith ran 100 J aids in 9 7-10 sec. which is 1-lOscc better than the Australian record Swimmers were not to be overshadowed by track athletes At the Domain Baths, m S.vdney, the scene of many excitin" swimming contests, young aspirants for championship honours eclipsed the deeds of their predecessors. F. M’Clure, breast stroke champion, retained his 220 yards title by securing an easy victory in‘3min 2sec equalling the Australian record created by I Stedman in a small bath in Me bourne in 1927. 11. Beret, of the n dn ?AA C I- lb ’ l afte J' " lnn >ng his heat in the 100 Yards of the under 15 years class in linin 8 l-ssec, reduced the time to limn Isec in the final, lowering the existing record by 2-ssec. Other performances were but a fraction outside the best figures.

At the Coogee Baths on Saturday night Miss Edna Davey, one of Australia’s representatives at the last Olympic Games, won the V\ omen s Half-mile Championship. During the race her time was taken for 500 yards. The watches showed 7inin 7sec, lowering by 1 l-ssec the Australian record established by Fanny Duraek 12 years ago. Miss Durack witnessed the performance and was the first to offer congratulations to Miss Davey.