BRITISH SWIMMERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 73, 18 December 1937, Page 17

BRITISH SWIMMERS

TALENT FOR THE GAMES GREAT CONTESTS LIKELY Swimming contests of the British Empire Games, to be held at the North Sydney Olympic Pool on February 5, 9 and 11, should provide some of the greatest natatorial events witnessed in Australia. They will bring together the finest gathering of champions ever assembled in the southern hemisphere (states Mr. D. Hellmich in the Sporting Globe). Great interest will be centred in the meetings of the stars from England, Wales, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, India, Ceylon, Bermuda, South Africa, Rhodesia and Australia. Up tp the present, the only countries whose representatiyes have been submitted are England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand and Bermuda. England will send Fred Dpye, N. Wainwright, R. Leivers; M. Y. Ffrench-Williams, and K. R. HamiltotvUeane (free style), M. H, Taylor (backstroke),- J. G. Davies (breaststroke) and C. D. Tomalin (diver). Present "100" Champion. Fred Dove ig the present 100 yards champion of England, his time for the raeq being 55 4-5sec. His best for 100 metres, put up in a 50 metre pool at Wembley, is 61 l-5sec. He haiis from London, and js considered to be one of the most rapidly improving swimmers in Europe tp-day. Norman Wainwright has held t. the English 220 and 440 yards champion.ships for the past three years, and recently took the 880 yards title in the British record time of 10.25 3-5, which no Australian, excepting Andrew Charlton, has yet equalled, Wainwright's time fpr 220 and 440 yards are 2,18 3-5 and 4,5? 2-5, A gpeatly imprqyed swimmer during the last ye'ar, Wainwright is gping to prove a thqrn in the sides of the Empire's best in the 440 and 1560 yards tests. He is from Hanley. R, Leivers, a fine all-pound Performer, repres.ei-ted England at the Berlin Olympiad, and was a member of England's team at the London Empiad in 1934. Until recently Leivers held the British 880 yards record at 10.30, and was placed second to* Wainwright in this year's 880 yards championship in 10.32 1*5. Leivers swam second to Wainwright in the English 44Q yards championship in 5,11 2-5. At Berlin he did particularly well in both the 400 and 1500 metres free style championship. In the 400 metres he WQn a heat in 4.57 1-10, was fourth in a semi-final in 4.L5 7110, and seventh in the final (5.00 3-5). In the 1500 metres he was second to Ishiharada (Japan) in the first heat in 20.04 2-5, third in a semi-final in 20,10, and seventh in the final in 19.59, He is a resident of Longton. M. Y. Ffrench-Williams, a Lpndoner, represented Britain at the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1936, and finished a close third in the English 100 yards championship. He wili probably compete ,in the 110 yards free tyle and medley relay. K. R. Hamilton-Deane, who is 15, probably will be the youngest male competitor at the Games. A resident of Yarmouth, he flashed into prominence at the English championships this year by gaining fourth place in the 100 and 440 yards championships, his time in the quarter bging 5.14. With Dove, Wainwright and Leivers, he was a member of the English 800 metres team which defeated a Qerman team in England recently in 9.26 3-5. He will probably represent his country in all free style events, M. H. Taylor, of Sheffield, is the present 150 yards backstroke champion of England, his time being 1.45 1-5; but he holds the English record for the distance at 1.41. His style is reported to be most effective. Competing against the German champion, H. Schlauch, in the 55 yards V7embley pool a few months ago, he covered the 100 metres in 1.11 4-5. He will be England's representative in the 220 yards breast and 330 yards medley teams' races. J. G. Davies, England's 220 yards breaststroke champion, won his first English title this season in comfortable style in 2.42 1-5. He is a devotee pf the butterfly stroke, and is said to be improving with every swim. In the England versus Germany contests at Wembley Davies was defeated by the German champion, Erwin Sietas, in the very creditable time of 2.58 1-5 for 200 metres. C. D. Tomalin is highboard diving champion of England, which is not to be wondered at, as he is a member of the Air Force. Tomalin ranks about fifth or sixth among European divers to-day. At the 1936 Olympic Gart^S he was placed ninth with 91.14 points, wCll ahead of Australian Ron Masters. who was 15th with 86.95 points. Tomalin was seqond in the springbofird title evehts at ihe 1934 Empiad in London.