AQUATICS.—THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4794, 3 August 1876, Page 3

AQUATICS.—THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD.

♦ ; (From the Sydney Mail, July 22.) On Tuesday last, when news was received that the P. and O. steamer was at Adelaide, one of the periods of popular excitement which at rare intervals contrast strongly with the usual tenor of this quiet city of ours set in. *• Any news about the match ?" was heard on every side until about noon. Some of the quidnuncs who are supposed to know everything announced that they had been to the telegraph-office, and the latest date from England was June 24. This yarn had its circulation, and when shortly before 3 p.m. a bulletin was posted in front of our office announcing that Tricket J had won, there were those who could not credit the new 3. The message merely said : —"London, June 28. The race for the Championship of the Thame3, between Sadler, of London, and Edward Trickett, of Sydney, was decided yesterday. Trickett won by four lengths, in 24 minutes 36 seconds. The race, as between a British rower and Australian, excited great interest." Rapidly the intelligence spread, by wire, by flags, and viva voce. The Commercial Bank suddenly became gay with banners, the Australian ensign fluttered in the breeze over Punch's Hotel, and the drapers had an immense, run on light blue ribbon. A more substantial recognition of the triumph of the Hew South Wales champion has since been initiated and promises to be a success. That the best man has won we are certain, for, aa we stated months ago, Trickett had one of the slowest men to deal with that has held the championship for years. At the same time we think that Trickett, in his present form, would have held the best of them, bar Renforth. Sadler held the Australian too cheap, or he would hardly have ventured to make a match with Higgins, to come off within a month after his contest for the champinship. Trickett will now visit Philadelphia, where we venture to predict that he and his brother will carry the licht blue to the front on the waters of the Schuylkill. As a few facts respecting the champion rower of the world may be of interest, we have compiled the leading events in /'Miquatic career of Edward Trickett. *j<Sdward Trickett, who now holds the championship of the world, was bora at Greenwich, on the Parramatta river, and i 3 now in his twenty-fifth year. His first appearance as a puller was at the Anniversary Regatta, ten y«ars ago, when fourteen years of age, and he first came prominently to the front two years later, by defeating McLeer, who was at that time looked upon a 3 a coming man. Trickett next entered for the outrigger race at Woolloomooloo Bay Regatta, on Boxing Day, 1869, when he was beaten by W. Hickey, and on the same day gave up while pulling a handicap race in light skiffs. His brother having won the champion race at the Anniversary Regatta, 1870, when Rush made his debut on Sydney waters, a double skull match was made by hirn and C'oulon to row the brothers Trickett over the champion course. This the former won easily, and E. Trickett was afterwards defeated by C'oulon singly. Trickett did not row by himself again until Balmain Regatta, 1873, where he won the amateur scullers' prize in light skiffs, beating Lyons, Lynch, and Colebrook. The Grafton champion race saw Trickett second to Rush, the other beaten men being Laycock, Green, and Hickey. At Balmain Regatta in the following year, Trickett won the all-comers' match in outriggers against Laycock, Lynch, and MulhaU. Starting again the same afternoon in the light-skiff match, he beat Long easily. He was then coming into form, and after heating Pearce twice in private matches, came out very fit at Anniversary Regatta, 1875, where, in a handicap race in light skiffs, he carried 301ba. against Solomon (a feather) second, Laycock (281b5.) third; and was one of the winning crew of the whaleboat race. He again visited Grafton to compete at the Annual Regatta, and this time came in before Rush, who was pulling an old outrigger. After

this he. was challenged by Laycock, and beat him easily on the champion course, repeating the performance when he/next met him at Balmain Regatta, where Green was_ third. His latest performance prior to leaving tor England was.winning the champion race, open to all comers/at Anniversary Regatta, "*een, his only competitor, being a poor second. After a considerable amount of correspondence with. Rush, who also claimed the championship, at the end of last year some of the residents interested in aquatics resolved to send Trickett to England to pull for the championship of the world. The project would unquestionably through had it not been '- for the liberality of Mr. Jame 3 Punch, the well-known Boniface of this city, a former holder of championship honors, who came forward'and took upon himself the whole cost, except what had "then been collected, and of the Utter £lO9 was given to Mrs. Tricket. Mr. Punch and his protege left here by the P. and O. steamer in February,: making the passage to London by the iihortest routes, and arriving in time to see the 'Varsity race of 1876. As we announced a few weeks since, Sadler had at once accepted his challenge, and fixed the 26th ult. for the convincing event, but afterwards requested :Mr. Punch to alter it to the following day, which request was complied with, and, as we now know, resulted in an easy win. We have never wavered in our opinion as to what the result would be. It was well known that England was never weaker as regarded rowing men than she is. this year ; hence our belief that Trickett would win easily. His next effort will probably, be at Philadelphia next month, where his elder brother is expected to arrive from here in time to take part in the international pair-oar match. If he does so, we believe they will win.it, as the elder Trickett is nearly if. not quite as good as the champion in anythingrbut wagerboats. Even if he is not, as a pair of brothers they will be hard to match either in the colonies or out of them. England will have to send her best to the Centennial, or this honor also will come to New South Wales. . Sadler, a landsman by trade, was brought up as a chimney-sweep, and first rowed in the year 1861, when he was stroke of a Barnes four, which won the senior prize at the Sons of the Thames Regatta, and the next year gained the prize for senior scullers in 1862, beating Biffen and Wise. -He was matched against Royal and Williamson, and having defeated them, then beat Hoare easily in May, 1866. He was matched to row Robert Chambers, of Newcastle, for the Championship; of the Thames, but was disqualified on a foul. In June, 1867, he beat Percys of Newcastle, and afterwards R. Cooper, of Newcastle. In the September following he again - beat Percy. In November of the same year Sadler was matched to row Kelly for the championship of the Thames, but the race was declared void. At the regatta at Paris in 1867 Sadler beat Kelly and Hoare easily for i the sculls, but wa3 disqualified for being steered by a four-oared crew, contrary to the regulatipns. In June, 1868, he won the championship of the Ouse, but in the August was beaten by Renforth for the champion sculls, at the Thames Regatta. He was also beaten by Kelly in a match for £2OO a-side in the December following, and at the Thames Regatta, in 1868, was beaten by Renforth and Kelly in- the scullers' race. In October he rowed oyer the course when matched against Walter Brown, an American sculler. With Kelly he beat Renforth and Taylor in a double-scull race on the Tyne. In July, 1870, ho met Kelley, and Sadler won easily. At the Thames Regatta following he carried off the scullers' prize, Kelly being disqualified for a foul. . At the Halifax (Nova Scotia), Regatta, held in 1871, he beat Brown of Halifax, Kelley of Putney, Bagnall of Newcastle, Coulter the American champion, and Lovett of Halifax ; and, subsequently, next - month, he won the scullers' prize at the Saratoga Regatta, easily defeating Kelly, Biglin, Ward, Bagnall, and Bright. In 1872 a match between Sadler and Bagnall had been long talked of ; these two men met in the Scullers' Race at the Tyne Regatta, when Bagnall came in first, Lally second, and Sadler (whose stretcher broke) third. Subsequently a match was arranged between Sadler and Bagnall, and on the 16th of April, 1874, they met in a race for the championship over the usual course, when Sadler won from first to last. Young Boyd, of Newcastle, who came out three years ago, and has since proved himself the fastest man for a mile that there is at present, was thought by the Tynesiders to be more than a match for the Londoner, and they met in November, when Sadler, though considerably behind for about one-third of the course, wore down his youthful antagonist, and won as he pleased at the finish. The aquatic championship of England has now been won twelve times, viz.:— 1831.—Campbell beat Williams .. Time not taken. 1846.—Coombes beat Campbell .. Time 26m. 16s. 1852.—C01e beat Coombes .. .. 25 " 15 1854. —Messenger beat Cole.. .. 24 25 Iss7.—Kelly beat Messenger .. 24 30 1859.—Chambers beat Kelly .. 25 26 1865.—Kelly beat Chambers .. 23 26 1866.—Chambers beat Sadler .. 25 4 1866.—Kelly beat Chambers (on Tyne) 31 47 1868.—itenforth beat Kelly .. 23 15 1874.—Sadler beat Bagnall.. .. 24 15 1876.—Trickett beat Sadler.. .. 24 36 Of these, all were. Londoners, except Chambers and Kenforth, who hailed from the Tyne ; and Trickett, who, as we know, claims Port Jackson as his home water, and to which he can now invite any claimant of his title.