SWIMMING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18045, 4 January 1927, Page 11

SWIMMING

NOTES AND COMMENTS BY 44 CRA WL.”

TEXTURES. January S—Opawa. January 15—East Christchurch. February s—Leithfield. February 12 —Somerfield. February 19—Fendalton. February 26—Christchurch. Sweden's national records for 100 and 800 metre relay swimming took a tumble recently. ( ompeting in 25metre tanks, Arne and Ake Borg. Lanroth and Gustavsson, representing the Kappsimmnings Club, of Stockholm, lowered the figures for the shorter event from 4.21 3-5 to 4.18 3-5 and for the longer from 10.6 4-5 to 10.0 7-10. Arne Borg's individual times Mere 59 3-5 for 100 metres and 2.17 for 200 metres. Girl swimmers of the Casa del Mar Club, of .Santa Monica, plan t.o attack the world’s record for the 220-vard relay swim, held by mermaids of the Women’s Swimming Association, at 1.57 3- and their prospects seem excellent as the foregoing mark shows an average of 29. 2-5 per fifty yards and Mrs Lily May, the Santa Monica leader, has done 0.27, while her team-mates, the Misses Cecily Cunha. Thelma Firm and Dot Blewett, are credited with close to 0.29. Despite predictions to the contrary, Albert E. Dickin, of London, successfully defended his title of 220 yard swimming champion of England's southern counties at Brighton. He led all the way and easily defeated his nearest rival, L. Savage, in 2. 36 3-5. The Canadian A. S. A. has approved and listed eleven open water dominion swimming records established during the recent summer, seven for men and four for women, and five of the former have gone to the credit of George Young, of the Toronto Y.M.C.A., while the remaining two are in possession of Jack Aubin, of the same organisation. Young lowered the free style figures for 200 yards to 2.16, 500 yards to 6.23 1.-5, 880 yards to 11.43, 1000 yards to 13.20 4- and one mile to 24.31. Aubin dropped the breast stroke times for 200 yards to 3.00 and 500 yards to 8.12. Of the new marks set by womfu only two were returned by Canadian mermaids. Miss R. Cloughen, of the Ottawa H.P.S.C., clipped the standard for 100 yards free style to 1.13 2-5, and Miss Irene O'Byrne, of the Ottawa Q.C.S.C., that for .100 yards back stroke to 1.23 4-5. The others were hung up by invading American champions. The Misses Ethel M’Garv and Agnes Geraghty, both of the Women’s Swimming I Association, respectively slashed the records for 880 3*ards free style to 12.41 and 200 j-ards breast stroke to 3.12.

Recent performances of the young American swimmer, George Jvojac, of De Witt Clinton. High School, who has shattered two world’s scholastic records and narrowly missed two more, afford promise of stirring battles in the season’s metropolitan championsliips. The Clinton lad has done 50 yards free style in 24 3-5, 100 yards in 55 15 and 220 3'ards in 2.26 3-5, besides 50 yards back stroke in 29.0 flat, and these feats denote that Walter Spence, Bob Hosie, George Fissler and the other leading title-bidders will have to show their best paces to take his measure Two of Germany’s national records for relay swimming were smashed by. watermen of Club 96, Magdeburg. In a twenty-five meter pool Gubener, Neitzel and Heitman covered 600 metres in 7.25 4-5, clipping seven seconds from the former standard, and over a fifty metre course the foregoing three and Georges negotiated 800 metres in 10.2 2-5, or ten seconds under the old mark. If the estimates of Coast experts prove correct, Ogden Driggs, of the Athens A.C., of Oakland, has developed

into a young swimmer of unusual calibre. Thev grant him a fighting ehanco to win the Pacific A.A.U. 220-yard free style championship and that stamps him a real star, inasmuch as the district harbours Lester Smith, who has done 2.21 for the distance, and other contestants good for better than 2.25. Two swimming records for the State Michigan took heavy tumbles in the 75-foot union pool at Ann Arbor. Paul Samson, of the llniversity of Michigan, brought down* the men’s standard for 500 yards free stvle from 6.32 t0\6.15 7-10, while Miss Dorothy Goiter, of the Detroit Yacht Club, reduced the women’s figures for 220 yards from 3.5 7-10 to 2.59 110. 11. Newcomb, of Northwestern 11.5., Detroit, surprised by winning an open 50-yard dasli at the meet in 24 2-5, or within twofifths of a second of the world’s scholastic record. .England’s national water polo championship came to an unexpected conelusion in London recently. The Lancashire and Middlesex; teams reached the final, as they did last year, and as the Lancashire representatives then scored an easy victory, 8 goals to 3, it was taken for granted that thev would successfully defend their title. Instead, the Middlesex players showed immeasurably improved team work and had the game m hand throughout. Thev earned the verdict by the clean-cut margin of 9 goals to 5. The report conics from California that Miss Eleanor Garratti, national 50-yard swimming champion, is training for the middle distances and will be a contender in the indoor 220-vard st>-le classic this season. Her rivals may have to look to their laurels, judging from her recent 100-vard sprint in lmin 2 2-ssec. ii si Miss Lotta Lehrmann. of Dresden, shattered two of Germany’s national free-st3'le records for women, 100 metres and 400 metres, in recent match races with Miss M. Loewy, champion of Austria. Competing in a 100-foot pool she covered the shorter distance in lmin 15 l-ssec, clipping 2 7-1.0 seconds from the former standard, and the longer in 6min 16sec, slashing nearly thirty seconds from the listed figures. Both performances are impressive, particularly in view of Miss Lelirmann’s sudden and amazing leap forward. While her times are not close to the world’s records it is worthy of recall that last summer national championships at 110 and 440 yards were captured respeetively by Miss Ethel Lackie, of the Illinois A.C., in lmin 11 3-sscc, and Miss Martha Norelius, of the Women’s S.A,, in 6mia 6sec. According to “Natation.” official organ of the International Swimming Association, Hungar3 r ’s national water polo team, recently crowned champion of Europe, plans to engage in a tour of the United States, and if the visit materialises Stephan Barany, of Budapest. European title and record holder at 100 metres free st3 r le, expects to accompany the poloists. Especial interest is attached to the latter’s prospective appearance in the United States, as he has done 100 metres' in 59 l-ssec, time only beaten so far by John Weissmuller and Walter Laufer. Frederick Berges, of Darmstadt, who better Germany's record for 500 metres free style, now is credited with doing 400 metres, or 437.44 yards, in stnin 25sec over a 100-metre course—not so .very far behind Weissmuller’s 440-yard mark of smin 21 4-ssec, which won him our national £itle test in Philadelphia last August. The men’s 220-yard swimming championship of Sussex brought to light a fifteen-year-old newcomer, hailed as a waterman of exceptional outlook by British critics. R. T. Cosgrove, of Brighton, the boy in question, defeated the holder, F. C. Cameron, and earned the verdict in 2min 53 1-ssec, breaking the record for the fixture.