CHAMPION SWIMMER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20639, 30 January 1937, Page 16

CHAMPION SWIMMER

JACK MEDICA’S VISIT Ten world’s records are held by the American and Olympic swimming champion, Jack Medica, of Seattle, who performed exhibition swims at the Tepid Baths in Auckland, while the Aorangi, on which he was a passenger for Sydney, was in port. The records are for distances of from 200 metres to one mile, but Medica said that his best performances were registered over a quarter-mile. His time for this was 4m 40 7-10 s. He has also swum 200 metres in 2m 7 l-ss, 400 metres in 4m : 38 7-10 s, and one mile in 20m 54 4-ss. ' He was not a sprinter, but he men- | tioned that his fastest time for 100 ; yards was 545. This is three-fifths i of a second better than the Dominion record. Of Italian parentage, Medica is 22 years og age. He is 6ft. in height and, when in training, weighs about i 14 stone. He recently graduated

Bachelor of Arts at the University of Washington, and is following a business career. His manager, Mr F. Cady, has been a coach for 32 years. He is an authority on diving, and, apart from his duties as coach in swimming at the University of Southern California, he coached the American diving teams at the last three Olympic Games—at Amsterdam in 1928, Los Angeles in 1932, and Berlin last year. All the diving championships at these Games were won by Americans. After Medica’s exhibition swims he and Mr Cady liberally gave hints to Auckland competitors. Surrounded by enthusiasts, Mr Cady examined the styles of the swimmers, some of whom held Auckland and New Zealand championships, who came forward one after another to hear his advice. Medicia’s style was very unorthodox for New Zealand. It was a model of easy movement, the most striking characteristics being his perfect relaxation, the continuity of action, the excellence of the body balance, and his knack of maintaining the position of the body without twisting it or dropping the shoulders in the slightest degree.