1947-09-20 — Page 8

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1947.

SPORTS FEATURES

We Don't Catch Our Swimmers Young Enough In H.K.

4

(By RECORDER)

With much of the local sports world's interest centred this coming week on the Colony Open Swim- ming Championships, due to start next Saturday, and on the amazing feats of an 18-year-old named Alex Jany, the French crawl stroke champion, time comes when the question of a swimmer's best years comes up for examination.

A few weeks ago in this same, gestions that he turn up three times column I wrote of Jany's relatively week in anyone of a half-dozen poor performance in the American pools for some pointers on style, Swimming Champlonships and pre- dicted that he would, nevertheless, continue to be very much in the swim and be near his peak in the summer of 1948.

Within four years he would even.. perhaps, be a big-time swim star, nt id or 17 years of age.

In the United States they catch them younger. The little children would have shed many tears, over many a sarcastic remark from a vety pushing coach and would have ask-

Young Mons. Juny has quite con- founded me. Within a few days al Monte Carlo he set up three enviable new records the 100 metres freed him finally why he didn't jump style in 68.2 (55.8 in a trial clock- in the pool himself.

ing), the 200 metres la 2:05.9 (2:04.0

on a relay leg as well), and thr 400 metres in 4:35.2.

BEST OF THEM ALL

Let us conclude by a br'el ex-

Here one must pause to ask-amination of the record of the great- what price Weissmuller, Medica or Bill Smith or all the minnowy Nips? A HEW aquatic wonderman hus

arisen, possibly the answer to many a Hollywood prayer, a Tarzan at

last with a French accent.

est swimmer of them all, even if it is only my nomination, She Is 21- year-old Nancy Merki of Willamette College, an Oregon girl, at 21 the doyen of America's feminine swim. ming world.

With our own swimming cham- Nancy Merki started swimming as pionships dite next week, I pause un ex:reso in convalescence from here to ponder how hoary some of infantile paralysis. At the tender age our champlona are. More than one of 12, when most local parents would good local acquaster will dive into be thrashing the life out of their the VRC pool next week-end who

errant has as many as 30 summers behind Jim.

Also in the pool will be two kids- the Anderson sisters just swim- ming through their early teens and putting all our local scribes in flutter announcing the astounding fact that they are young, co young!

BEHIND THE TIMES

thungsters for having been out too long, she entered the the-mile Lake Oswego Marathon near Portland. The favourite was a veteran swimmer named Doug Mac- Quaig, Mr MacQual Was quite used to outdistancing the field. At the two-mile mark he had only one swimmer near him,

Curicity kpl Mr MacQualg look- ing back to figure out who it was. Twelve-year-old Miss Merk! caught

We in Hongkong are athletically up with him and they kept together behind the times. Last Saturday I for 1 while exchanging long distance watched the heats of the Boy Scouts'

swim gossip. Miss Merki then said sports and watched with Interest | "i!!" and forged slightly ahead. the boy in the crawl that was a real Finally, Miss

Merk! renched the haney of a leg-action. He was

flushing line first, churning the water up and losing valuable time coming

for up breathers while his head kept blow- ing much too "under."

There did not seem to be anyone

Nancy Merki's Oswego success followed much coach-bellowing directed at her by a man named Jack Cody, a few years later to enter a team of children in the National

"It'll break my heart if these Sunday bus strikes are going to stop me taking the wife and family out for the day."

Pool Cricket

Colts" Suggestion

There is a strong feeling among the county cricket clubs that we have a long way to go In team-building if we are defeat the Australians summer.

to next

present who took any interest in the Women's Swimming Championship him to get into first-class cricket,

boy's future as a potential swim- ming champ. Had it born a' meet In the United States there have been a good half-dozen big

would

ind would be swamped with sug-

and run away with the team title. RECORD BREAKER

the

Dog With Half A Tail Won First-Ever Race

Greyhound racing. is now 21 years old. Only 1,700 people were on the Manchester track that night of July 24, 1926. The majority were coursing en- thusiasts, 50 percent had been given free tickets, and nearly all agreed there was no future in dog racing.

How

wrong the

London

were.

Avér-

from

of the Kentish Express, in his very "06 Years' little book, quotable Memories of Kent Cricket."

0

a

Hastings is to invite the American Olymple teams to take up training quarters in the town when they are here next year for the Wembley

Gsm:6.

This collector's item comes While there is no wish to have a transfer system like that in Assocla- are attendance at the big tracks Sir Charles Inglesden, veteran editor

14

30,000, with

than more now tion football, it is believed that more

to encourage should be done

80,000 at the

White Cly young player and make it easier for for the Derby final,

Mistley, a a dog with half a tal. won the first-ever Belle Vue race A proposal, I understand, will be submitted to the M.C.C. for con-

beating Oakdean over 440 yards, alderation that 1

pool of colts by ten lengths.

"He should exist at Lord's from which,

was one of 150 greyhounds to certain conditions, (value £3,000) seen out in 1920. time coaches present and the poor Mr Cody, like many another subject

American coach, believes in enten-countles could draw when in need when crowd figures limped along to particular type of bowler or 5.000 a night. Today, the 25,000 ing them young. His most elderly of

dogs in training are worth about star, Miss Merki, holds today half of batsman.

It could be financed out of Test £3,000,000. America's swimming records in the women's section. These include re-match profits so that the youngster cords from 200 metres to 1,500 metres joining the pool could be assured of free style, all breaststroke disa living wage.

Players, too, unable to get into tances, and the medley relay.

a county's first eleven could apply On her 21st birthday this June, to the MC.C. to be taken back into Miss Merici decided she would take the pool and thereby give them a time out from swimming to afford chance of going her more leisure for interest in the chance

DON'T KEEP TELLING. ME HOW THE MATCH IS GOING TO END

to some other

crickelers would be used

the county. grind. She is just about as this means it is believed the shapely, both in face and figure, os available Esther Williams, another swim kid before she became a film stur, und Hollywood, we understand, has al- ready tried.

We, in Hongkong, are content to let our kids alay sieles, or, falling the natural development of an in- feriority complex, we give them one by not providing them a chance to learn what it takes to become mare than a local'swim ctar. I have great forth in Wilfred Lawrence and look forward to his being still a local champion at 50,

Opening

Everything wus

very

primitive

at the start. The hare was driven by batteries and. tim ng done by stop- watch at one-fifth of a second this against electrical clocking at 100th of a second or modern tracks. Bill Johnson still on Belle Vuc's staff, was the first hare diver. He estimates that in the last 21 years he has steered the mechanical lure some 85,000 miles and the dogs haven't yet tumbled to the tride

3

to the best advantage.

Everyone agrees that il would benefit the game enormously if the

HE WENT FISHING Bill Vessle, an American bet for championship were to be far more open and it countles like Leicester- the Olympics on his 6ft. Bins high shire, Northants, Warwickshire, jump, puts big-time sport in its Somerset от Glamorgan had right perspective. Missing from reasonable chance of winning it... championship meeting, he explained

At the

to his Columbia University coach:.. It is realised same time

"It was a lovely day for fish'ng und that unless some such pool ly

I saw no stase in wasting it on jump- formed there is Hittle hope of any of the wenker countien getting to ing. So what did I do? Well, I went gether H championship

winning fishing." Ride.

Anglers at Crystal Palace ponds, stif

with fish after wartime closure. were amused when a small boy nr- rived with a rod made of board.

The top "ring" was a caster off a chair

lega seagull's quilt fashionrd into a float, and a line of carpet thread.

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A GRACE STORY

.

Claret for boys, port for men, brandy for heroes. So sild Dr Johnson, But another famous, doctor-Dr Grace, no less had other idens.

Back in the Canterbury pavilion after scoring 344 runs, old ."W. G." was offered a stir brandy and soda, "Take that stuff away.” he growled, "I'm no weakling. Give me a ginger bOCT."

Arthur Poali says:

Nuncommon protiem in pillard stroke selection is shown on the right of diagram. Not being a pro- fessional player, you cannot explott the masse stroke to score a direct

BLUEO

cannon

from red to whlte. it ad ob structa can'non from that

DALI

0

white Via.

the too

eunion,

To attempt stroken

often invites fat for a push,

Your best stroke is to play oti tha bottom cushion to cannon via sido cushion an indicated. "No sids 1: required; maka a piala bali atroka which hits the right spot on tha battoin cuabson. '

14ft arsnokered by blue for tho last red as shown near top cushion. Biriker played to jump over blue and. hit was thint cuer

red. What blue, ran along the

ball jumped cushion rast, dropped back on the table, bit red and pocketed 16.

This is a fair, stříze bocauna cus.. ball came to rest on vijo, bed, of the Table.

The local baths, where the ASA. championships are to be held

can

be adapted to conform lo Olympic distances. As important, they hold 10,000 spectators and capacity crowd would pay to sue the American stars in training,

Two athletic grounds are avallTM” car parks able, and underground could be used as gymnasia.

Science Will Contribute To 1948 Olympiad

Research workers of

Britain's National

Physical Laboratory are being called upon to help with the teclinical problems of the 14th Olympiad to be held in London next year. Electrical timing, photo finish for athletic races, accurate measuring apparatus, complex telephone and telegraph cir- cuits, wireless for control of road races, electrical judging machines for fencing, signalling apparatus for julges, the right gas for the Olympic Flame and fuel for the torches all these come into the plan.

+

Photographs have been called for f Electrical timing may possibly be In Olympic Games by the judges for | used for athletles. The trigger of BOTTO ycars past, although not the starter's pistol will operate the frequently. For the 1948 Games the electrical system which starts the Organising Committee is examining watches at the finishing post. the possibility of installing special Different systems of this lining cameras 00 feet above the athletic will be used for cycling, horse jump- track in the Empire Stadium, ing and

the rowing. In cycling, Wembley, to take photographs of the winner will cross n strip lald on the finish. This does not mean that the road at the finishing line; in the photograph shows only the first man equestrian Jumping events, the horse crossing the line, for it can show breaks a thread and in the rowing. the second, third, fourth, Hifth or as events, the watches are operated by many as may be wanted.

photo-electric rays.

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