AQUATICS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13677, 20 August 1908, Page 7

AQUATICS.

THE DEFEAT OK PKARCE. , B view of ;- to meet the champion, \\. W elm. in X.w Wand waters, the following deof the «ce bet™ and Pearee. taken from the, -hniulay Tune*, nB the Paramatta Rver on Aligns. l*t, sdiontd be oE inieres:: From the- dip both men kept *•" toother. Amst's styl, did not compare favourubiv with the actiou ot Pearee. " But in the first halt-minutes rowing although the New Zealanner only dinned twenty times to bis opponents twentv-lwo and a-half. he kept his boa. Wing" well, and there was no white water behind. The tenilic buret for the_ iirst mile was bound to brng out any raults in *tv!e. and one. most noticeable about Arnst. was his inclination to lean to the' left at the end of his stroke. It was vetv marked, and prophets saw m it » factor which would lead to ultimate defeat. This* forecast was supplemented with a series «>t "I told you t;o" when pissing Cur's Point one hundred seconds after leaving the bridge. Pearee had a lead of half a length. The latter gamelv fought to ietam the advantage across the- open water, hut after they had been rowing for three minutes A rnst -drew, iejcel.; At this stage the men had down to a steady stroke of tbirtv-fonr. For ,-i short distance tliey laced side by side, but approaching the Walker Hospital Arnst threw" more weight into his work, and when they were abreast of the landing stage he had a slight lead. Pearee had fa ; led to gain an advantage during the stage of the race, that should have suited his unique; sprinting ability, and from this position he started out* on what proved to bs one of the gamest. but most hopeless, stem chases ever seen over the course. Bounding Blaxhnd's Arnst, who was steering rather an erratic course, keptwell out, and the first mile slipped by in 5.41. From the appearance of Pearee at this stage, and tne apparent cr.i** with which Arnst- was holding the lead, the onlookers began to forecast a victory for him, which could only be thrown away if he .rolled over. Off Bottle Point Pearee tip one of the several gallant efforts which marked the best race he ever rowed. ft was futile, however, and Arnst just pnr enough into his stroke to keep the hack man well under his eye. On' Mortlake, alter eight minutes' rowing. Arrait had a lead of .1 length and a half, and was surprising all who saw hiuv. Hi.< sculling was exceptionally good. livery stroke told to its fullest value; he had almost lost the roll to the left, and his Jeg work almost matched that of his more experienced opponent. however, was not. throwing any chances itway. Had he b?en pulling a hard winning Tace, instead of playing the part of a, whipper-in, he could not have pnemore heart into his work. Passing Pntney, 9ihin 14sec after the .stari, the latter again made a determined effort to bridge the gap. The crowds on the shore and steamers encouraged him, and he simply flew along, bnt. Arnst only . «juicfcened up a little, and held his own. At this stage of the race the specta-' tors dropped f> the conclusion that, good a man as Pearee w:ig, and in spire of the. splendid rare he was rowing, Arnst -was not extended. He appeared, in fact, in l» taking his task in a most cool i'ashion. The Mortlake Gasworks were passed in lOuiin. 39see. and I'earce was two lengths to the bad. ■ Going down to C'abarita, Arhsb increased his - lead to three lengthy, and had Pearee visibly distressed. Cabarita Wharf was passed in 14min 48sec, with the New Zeatander three and a half lengths ahead, and Pearee, feeling that he was losing what little chanco 'remained fur him-, put in a. magnificent spurt, bnt only decreased the gap by. half a length, after a minute's strenuous work. This position was maintained until nearing Abhotsford. when Pearee;. showed the first real sign ■of wavering, and Arnst jumped away with a lead ..of four lengths. One Man's Wharf " was passed after IBmin 27sec rowing, and here, to everyone's surprise. Pearee put. in one of the gamest efforts of the race. It was hopeless, however, a.s Arnst easilv responded. Ai Henley Wharf Arns": was leading .by three lengths, and again his opponent came at, him, but Arnst passed tht> post a comfortable winner by two and a half lengths, completing the journey in 20min oOsec. When tiie men drew near the umpire's boat to ehake hands it- was seen that PeaTce was very distressed, white the winner was quite fresh. The betting favoured Arnst, 7 to 4 on being laid on him, bnt not to any great extent. The time (20min 50see) for the course T7X 1 ? ' somewhat slow, as the following records will show:—l9o4. Oeorge Towns ■v. B. Tressider, 21min 48 4-ssec; 1905, .1. Stanbury v. Oeorge Towns, 19min 47 sec; 1906," George Towns v. Stanbury, 19mm. 53 l-ssec;, 1907, W. Webb v. Charles Towns, 20min 45see. The conrsa 5n 1905 was not the usual one. and the time was unofficial.