CHAMPION RETURNS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1543, 12 September 1912, Page 4

CHAMPION RETURNS.

"JUST A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED." Malcolm Champion, who returned from Stockholm via London oiTTuesday by the Athenic, declares that ho had a really enjoyable time, hnd saw probably moro than he is ever likely to see again. Besides visiting Stockholm as a competitor at the Olympic snorts, he saw Christiania, Copenhagen, Berlin, Kiel, and Paris. As funds were limited, he only had time to rush through hurriedly. Fortunately ha had been made a member of the Magdeburg Swimming Club (Germany), and both there and at Kiel—the big naval base—he was - splendidly treated. Of all the big cities of tho Continent visited, ho states a preference for Copenhagen—a beautiful city, where the control of public utilities, parks, gardens, etc., seem to 1» as near perfection as it is possible to imagine. And what about tho Olympiad? "Well, I was just a little disappointed." But it must have been a great gathering "of- athletes? "Oh, yes, in that respect it was very notable, but I was disappointed in tho lack of interest'on the part of the public. The King of Sweden was there—ho presented nie with my medal—the Crown Prince, and many of the Swedish, Norwegian, and German nobility, but the great mass of the people djd not appear to have been appealed to, and were not there. That's a mistake, I fancy. It was run on class lines, and for that reason cannot possibly pay." Mr. Champion managed to 6ecure two extremely handsome . gold medals, one, an extremely fine example of the goldsmith's art, being for his part in the teams' swimming face at tho Olympic sports, and the other, a heavy gold medal with a broad smooth edge standing out in high relief from the face of the medal, on which is grayen the badge of the Otter Club, of London, which Mr. Champion secured for winning the hntf-mile open race on his return from Stockholm. Mr. Champion left for Auckland yesterday.