"BOY" CHARLTON

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 70, 13 November 1931, Page 7

"BOY" CHARLTON

OLYMPIC CHAMPION SWIMMER IS MAKING GREAT COME-BACK. SYDNEY, Nov. 5 Charlton has swum against the "clock" — and didn't know it. Quietly, this /week he made his take-off at the- Domain Baths, and, considering the circumstances, registered surprising figures for his favorite distance, 880 yards. It was a swim for the sole purpose of a medical test. Charlton tdid not use any more exertion, apparently than was necessary to give him ordinary momentum in the water. In fact, when he left the bath he appeared just as fresh, and unaffected in his breathing, as though he had never undergone the . trial. Yet his time was "snapped" as llmin. 23 3-5 sec., not amazingly fast it is admitted, compared with some of his speediest efforts in the past, but when contrasted with the times of several State half-mile title winners, since the great Norman Ross's victory, it gains remarkable significance. It must be emphasised that Charlton, in his Domain swim, had sufficient power and reserve to have annihilated his time, if he had desired, in spite of the fact that he is not yet in raeing trim, and that all he was worrying about was his pulse rate. Now for time comparsions — on the occasion of Norman Ross's triumph in the New South Wales championship in the 1919-20 season, he was proclaimed as little less than a -won-' der swimmer, because his time was llmin 24 l-5sec. That was threefifths of a second slower than Charl-. ton's medical trial. Billy Longworth swam to- Ross in 12min. 11 2-5sec. Next season it took the famous Ludy Langer, travelling at top pace, llmin. 6 2-5sec. to win the title, and in the year following, Charlton put up time, llmin. 5 l-5sec., which stag- ■ ered the swimming world, and clipped 19 seconds off Ross's world record. Then.,. in the season 1925-26, popular Moss Christie won the New South Wales championship in .llmin. 47 2-5sec., while Jack Kelly, in the succeeding season, could not do bettter than llmin. 56 3-5sec. Therefore, in his casual spin this week, Charlton revealed a turn of speed which would alone classify him amongst outstanding distance men ,of recent years and far above those of seasons belonging to the dim past, with the single exception of Barney Kieran. Bathers promptly deserted the water when Charlton made his conspicuous appearance in the big Domain bath, and their delighted eyes never left him while he slipped over the long laps. After coolly climbing from the bath his pulse rate was reported to have been praetically no greater than that of the average healthy person after some brislc activity, and in 10 minutes it was almost normal. The quarter and half-mile State titles are the aim of Charlton and his mentor. It is' praetically certain

that Charlton will not meet Noel Ryan in the 220. There is little conflict of opinion over who would win such an event. With his sprint stroke Ryan would have an immense advantage. Still, with Charlton in good fettle, Ryan would have the race of his life. Charlton has always had a natural distance action, and to interfere with it would gravely affect him. So, in the 440 at least, we may expect a mighty struggle between these young rivals.