SWIMMING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16336, 27 January 1921, Page 3

SWIMMING.

NOTES ON EVENTS,

(By

NATATOR.”)

The appearance in Christchurch of Mi.ss Etiielda Rleibtrev was an event- i which was looked forward to with intense interest, and those who were fortunate enough to see her whilst she was here werS well pleased. She is a great swimmer and has made some impressive performances during her tour ot this country. Her visit to Christchurch will bo best remembered bv the world’s record time, of Grain 37 2-osee _which she put up in the 410 yards invitation race on Monday. Miss Bleibtrey is a very- well built girl of eighteen years of age, aud she swims a beautiful six beat crayvi stroke, in which there is a total absence of roll Her head is \kept well out of the water 41 nd lier arm in entering the water is extended to the full, not bent as is tho case generally. Her leg action is exceedingly good, both in the crawl and tho back stroke. Although she declares that she does not like the back stroke her swimming by this’ style is extremely pretty to watch, and she has a peculiar arm action which looks very difficult. She showed once- or twice that she could reach a good spapd on tho back stroke, but she declares it is too strenuous. At both the carnivals the visitor gave exhibitions of diving such as have seldom been 'seen here. She enters tho water very neatlyMany who went to the meeting on Saturday night were rather disappointed because Miss Bleibtrey did not show any great speed, but on Monday night the crowd had the gratification of seeing her smash a world’s record. This was iu the 44.0 yards ladies invitation race, in which she swam against Misses G. Sliand and K. Ri filed, of the Opawa Club. Neither of th© local ladies- had any chance against the champion, who led from the start and won very easily in Gin in 37 2-osec. This is considerably better time than t.he previous world’s record, 6min 42sqp, which was established by Miss C- M. Jeans, of Great Britain, in 1919. Her times at J various stages of her journey were : { 100 yards in 76sec, 200 yards in 2min : 50 3-osec, 220 yards in 3min 9sec, 300 yards in 4min 20 4-ssec, 400 yards in Gmin 2 3—ssec, and 410 yards in Brniir 37 2-osco. The two big swinrming meetings held in honour of the. visit of Miss Bleibtrey could not have been better patronised by the public. .Despite the rain on Saturday evening the bath was packed with spectators, and on Monday evening it. was announced just before half-past seven to a queue which extended right across Manchester Street that there'was standing room only leit. This was soon occupied and there cannot. ever have been a bigger crowd at tho baths than on Monday- l lm swimming on both evenings was good, but .Monday’s meeting was tho better of life two. Leo Kronfeldt. New Zealand champion over 229. 440 and 880 yards, swam a i, hoth carnivals. On -Monday night he won his heat in the 100 yards handicap in 61 2-osec, and gained second .flace in Hie final, taking .-lightly longer over the journey. He is in tine form and dioufd put up some good performances at Dunedin Miss G. Shand swam very well both evenings. Her time of 7min J sec tor 4 10 \ards was well within standard l ime' and in the last part of the race Miss Bleibtrey gained very little on the local swimnier. Miss Bieibtrcv expressed the opinion that Miss, Shand would b'a t Miss Walroud. Tins 13 discounted to some extent by the iact tint Mfis AValrond won the 440 yards Auckland ladies’ championship last. Saturday in 6min 52 k 3-osec, whilst sutferim, from a cold. Uns is considerable Taster than Miss Shand s performa,lCO. However, the Auckland fepid Baths arc popularly said to he much las*,, I- than om- local baths, so that, n Ineeting of tlm two ladies at Dunedin will prove very interesting. The championship trials and races were continued through the week and the- two meetings on Saturday and iloiKlav. On Thursday Miss C;. Shand won th'eHOOyds girls’ intermedia to trial in 7ficc winning easily. She did notswim on Friday in the 440yds senior ladies’ trial, which was won oasiiy ny M i>s K. Bristt cl m *nnn 31 Bee. * his is tho first- year a ladies trial over tins distance has been held. The schoolgirls’ trials served to bring into the limelight an exceptionally good, swimmer in Miss Alma Mather, ol thetfvdenham School, who broke her third record on. Mondav night in winning vhe IQOvds schoolgirls’ provincial championship in 88 1-osoe. Miss E. Hannan, of least Christchnich. swam particularly wc-ll in this race and also broke the record. Alias Mather broke the record by loser:, and Mbs Hannan broke it hv I2scc. whilst Miss Edmonds (Woolston) who was third, gained standard time* Miss Mather is easily the best o-irl swimmer for her age in. Canterhurv and is the most promising seen in Canterbury since Mfis Shand was fouad.” V AD'l'iaue. of .Marisl Brothers, areounted for all the schoolboy provincial championship* and trials, and Ira is a verv promising young swimmer. II taken iii hand and coached properly lie should make a flTst-class performer in a sear or two. L. Hill, of East Christchurch. is swimming very well now', and he should he hard to beat at Dunedin. In the 2‘2ovds Cauterburv provincial championship on Saturday evening he threw the race away through his erratic swimming. Throughout the race he swam from one corner of ihe hath to the other. This is no exaggeration, and his -vim was. the worst in this respect that. I have seen for a long time. N. S. Batchelor. East flhnstohurch. won by about six \ards iu 2nn"u 41 2-seec. On Mondav night Mill swain a straighter coursethough there was still room for improvement and he scored an easy win. Batchelor, holder of the title, was the only other cornpotito?, and he swam a very disappointing race. He seemud to he right off form, swam very low down ill the water, and was very obviously beaten when half ihe journey was covered. 1 lib’s time of 2nrin 14see was well within the registered record made by AL Ohammon. 2min 17 l-sscc, but E. V. Caiinold, of Auckland, won n race a few days a go in 2m in 2sec. AHliough his application has not yet been dealt with there seems no reason why ibis should not be recognised as the record. Hill, however, may have a chance of heating this at Dunedin. He won id do better time if he swam straighter rind might go faster with Miirtepne to race against all the way. .\ one-time Canterbury swimming tnIhusiast now resident in Auckland writes that E V Cannold is certainly a good boy who will make a. most ■determined hid for the intermediate titles. II is time for ihe half-mile proves that he is very brilliant, and lie is credited ; v. ith doing 6-t 2-ssec for the 100yds. F.or • a, fitteen-year-oid hoy lie must he a I wonder, and it looks as if some of the . intermediate records at present held in ! Canterbury might- to the Far North. Local fvwiminors (and footballers) will be pleased to hear that Jack Hirst-, who

was an enthusiastic Canterbury participant- in both sports, has secured a place in the Auckland representative water polo team. T. understand that he will arrive in Christchurch on Sunday morning and spend a day or two here before going to Dunedin. The Auckland team for Dunedin will leave Auckland, lor Dunedin on Sunday. The Canterbury team will leave for Dunedin next Wednesday. Charlie Orchard, honorary secretary of the East Christchurch Club. met with a painful injury whilst playing cricket last Saturday through the. ball striking him in the face. Taylor’s Mistake Surf Club will hold a 66 2-3 yards breast stroke race at the Tepid Baths at 7.30 p.m. on Friday. I have to hand the. programme of the East Christchurch Club’s annual carnival. which will be held at the Tepid Baths on .March 9. The programme is an attractive one, and a variation from tho usual stereotyped style which is drawn up for every carnival. The events are as follow IGO Yards East Christchurch Interclub Handicap. 331-3 Yards Interclub Dash. 66 2-3 Yards Ladies’ luterelub Handicap. 400 Yards Canterbury Championship. 500 Yards Interclub Flying Squadron raco for Bryce Challenge Cup. East Christchurch Schoolboys’ Race. luterelub Dive. Novelty event, Bell Man’s Buff. The 33 1-3 yards, plunge and noveltyevent are all events which have not appearand on previous programmes this season. The short race should draw a big entry. The programme, taking it all round, is a very attractive one. Entries close with the secretary at the Tepid Baths on March 2. O- Atkinson, who had nearly recovered from ;m accident at Lancaster Park some weeks ago, in which he broke a tendon in his ankle, has had the misfortune to break the tendon again. The second accident occurred at North , Beach last Sunday whilst ne was surf ! bathing. It appears that in bracing | himself to withstand a breaker Atkinson put an undue strain on the ankle, ! with the result that he now lies in i hospital and it is thought that the injury may be a long trine in mending. HoWill be a big loss to Canterbury and to his club this season ; as it is. he will not be* able to enter the water for a long while. Atkinson swam in the 220yds breast stroke trial on Saturday, his first race for the season. He was beaten by C. Herd (United), who swam a very well judged race, winning by two yards in 3min 25scc. This is slow compared to Atkinson’s record, 3min 7sec. but Herd is undoubtedly a good performer on the breast stroke. At the Kainpoi Regatta on Alarch •5 there will, be a quarter-mile and 100yds interclub swimming handicaps. Last year’s swimming events drew a fair number of Christchurch swimmers, and doubtless there will be a good entry ■again this year. It is to be hoped that the committee will provide tho swimmers with better, or at least, cleaner, dressing rooms this time. Dr Thacker was present at both swimming meetings held in honour of Miss Bleibtrey, and he- also went to tbo baths on Thursday morning to watch her training. Genial sport though he is, the Doctor would never make a fortune as a swimming coach, and it is to bo hoped that one or two of the hints be threw out- to local looting ladies who were, practising with Miss Bleibtrey will not bo taken sorio.isly. Advice to one young lady to jerk her arm forward whilst swimming the crawl drew forth a protest from a well-known local champion. ThongHi wo could not have a better supporter of the sport than the Doctor, he would be well "advised to lesive coaching to those who know liow. The first stage of the N.S.IY. swimming championships at the Domain Baths drew the biggest crowd of fis kind seen in Sydney (says the Sydney “ Bulletin”). Six thousand enthusiasts putup with all sorts of inconvenience to get just a casual rrlimpse of ihe proceedings, and many didn’t even get that. An hour before the start the placard notified “Standing room only”: and i Btill they squeezed in. many carrying | unfinished lunch. It is a inunicipally- | governed enclosure and overcrowding | was winkl'd at. The I.ooyds ehampion- ; ship was the tit-bit, and with seventeen ! entrants three heats were drawn. In I the first, Billy Herald beat Los Boardi man by a touch in 57sec; Ban Kealoha (Hawaii) took the second easily from TT. Dogotardi in 62 1-oscc: and in the third H Al. Hay finished ahead of Hid Beck in 58 2-osec. The start in the final was very ragged, and all except Kealoha hung at the ‘‘ go.” Rising quickly to the surface the Hawaiian streaked away as though pursued by devils and splashing heavily won comfortably by four j yards in 56see. In fact, he was waiting : for the others to finish and give them a hand to the pontoon. It was a very hollow win. The time was 2sec faster than Norman Boss (America) won in last year, and 3sec slower than Duke Kahanamoku's worlds record. The main interest after 00yds was in the minor positions: in a stirring finish Herald was second, Beck third, and two of the others were less than a yard a way. Seven stripped for the half-mile—the best Australia had to offer and Ludv Langer (Hawaii); but the tourist made a procession of it. \t II oyds he turned j a vard ahead of Frank Beaurepaire (Victoria), and widening ihe gap at overv length Avon easily oy 3' ds in 11 min 16 4-osec from Frank Bec.urepajrirr (who ivns “ digging” deeply). F. S. Cotton and Billy L-angworth. Langer finished comparatively fresh: the others had bellows to mend. H v the watch the pace Avas 7 2-osec faster than Ross’s last year. hut still slower than Barney Kieran’s 11 min U 3-osec. which has stood for nearly sixteen years. The two championship gatherers are as unlike as it is possible to be ; Pan Kealoha, avlto sported a grey, well-worn robe, is thick-built and bronze, and a bundle of smiles. He is modelled for a swimmer, with shoulders and chest that give him the appearance of a huge snapper: and as he cleaved the _ water in thunderous fashion, his legs scissored with the rapidity of a propeller- There is nothing dean in his stylo, and all of the other starters were artists by comparison : but he got there. T/udv Danger is slim-built, just showing a tinge of baldness. He has beautiful <4vie, and skimmed the water so evenly and methodically that scarcely a ripple was left on the surface. The pity was that nobody was near enough tn make him sprint over the last lap, or world s figures might have been damaged, ranger’s excellent. “ turning ” v-as a feature, and as he touched with the hand turned Hiarelv and pushed off smartly with the left foot. V was very neat- ______