THEY KNEW THEY HAD BEEN IN THE WATER

NZ Truth, Issue 1211, 14 February 1929, Page 14

THEY KNEW THEY HAD BEEN IN THE WATER

It Was Hard

He Loved It

Supple' and Well-greased Swimmers Challeiige • The-Wcllinfiffbn Hsorbor SPECTACULAR KELLERMAN CUP RACE

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Sheer tenacity and distance swimming ability got 0. ("Stump") Claridge home first last Thursday for a popular victory over the gruelling three miles of the Kellerman Cup harbor swim. •

UPTUMP" was no publicity seeker, O and he kept his opinion on his chances to himself; all this m spite of the fact that the dailies m Wellington reported that he gave himself a big chance of winning the cup. Claridge not only put up. a meritorious performance m winning the race easily from R. L. ('"Skin") Harty, of Blenheim, but he also recorded fastest time.. Wellington's popular distance swimmer certainly earned all the fine things said about him after the race. Looking at it from the spectacular side, the Kellerman Cup event had it on the woi-ld as" a sporting match.

Thousands of people gathered. They were on the Clyde Quay Wharf, on ferry steamers m the harbor and they lined along Oriental Parade as far as Point Jei-ningham, where the home turn was made. The water was also alive with mosquito craft m the way of dinghies, yachts, motor and speed boats. There were twenty starters, but the field, had not gone far before there were nineteen. Away they plugged on the long pull to Clyde Quay, where the field thinned out further. ■ The turn back to Point Jerningham found them out, though. Shannon was swimming nicely m front with half the distance covered, when he decided to pull out.

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After that competitors dropped out like flies landing on sticky

At the home turn, the only lady entrant, Lil. Copplestone, was left out m front with a few minutes m hand from Claridge, Harty (a dark horse),

Enwrighf:, Murrell, Webster, who was losing- time to Enwright, and Bolam and Fletcher. The last two took a tour round Oriental Parade, and had covered nearly three miles before they turned IIMIIIIIIM/llllllllNllllllllMllllllllllllllllllllllMllllMlllHllMllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHlll,

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for the ho^me run. They had had enough and pulled out. * Claridge then started to make up ground, and the further he went, the further he left the field behind. Harty hung on and left Lil. Copplestone behind with half a mile to go, but he found Claridge too far ahead, and was content with second place. Both Claridge and Harty finished as fresh as daisies, Harty swimming nearly a quarter of a mile back to the baths after he had touched the wharf. Webster made up enough ground over the last lap to secure 'second fastest time. His style for distance swimming was not the least bit impressive.

This was proved m his game effort to swim the harbor on Sunday last. Harty, the Blenheim man, could have gone on for another three miles. He belongs to an older generation of swimmers and was known to none but a few followers of a good all-round sport. "Skin" Harty won the 440 yds. ArjTiy championship m France during the war, and he was handicapped m the Cup race by Peter Coira, a corporal m the same company with Harty during the "big smoke." Five years ago he was also one' of the finest Rugby forwards m the North Island. He is a brother of Dr. Harty, the well-known ex-Otago footballer. ' -