Has Wellington Got Mortgage On Arne Borg?

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 577, 1 February 1929, Page 7

Has Wellington Got Mortgage On Arne Borg?

Council Should Make Early Announcement AUCKLAND’S STRONG CLAIMS Will Arne Borg have time to make an appearance in Auckland, or is Wellington to claim two appearances during the Swede’s brief stay in New Zealand? No one is quite sure what Borg will be able to do. He is leaving Australia on March 1 for the United States and the word is going that he will swim at Wellington on March 5 and 6. In the meantime, the Auckland Centre has lodged its application with the New Zealand Council for one appearance at least of the tall champion. After all, the Auckland control deserves to get a visit from such a swimmer as Borg. From the beginning of the season, the Aucklanders have been doing more toward getting an overseas star to New Zealand than all the other centres in New Zealand put together. Weismuller, Crabbe, Takaishi. Koljac, Noel Ryan, Charlton —names to conjure with. And it has been no fault of the Aucklanders that nothing came of the negotiations with some of those swimmers. At present, there seems to be a big chance that Borg will race at Wellington only. It would be a tremendous disappointment to Auckland if no engagement could be made for the North. Canterbury, too, is seeking a visit from Borg, but the Southerners’ chances are much Thinner than Auckland’s. WAVE OF INTEREST It is only in the past month, since the Parnell Club’s carnival, that swimming has won anything like the expected public patronage in Auckland. Previously, the control lacked spark, the fields in the races were poor, and some of the carnivals were dull affairs. Since that period of depression, a wave of enthusiasm has helped the sport over what seemed likely to be a lean season. A tour by Borg would be timely. The Swede would catch the public fancy possibly more in Auckland than in Wellington. This season has seen the Auckland Centre take a grip of itself, and the sport has boomed. The petty squabbles of last season have been forgotten. Borg has put up two remarkable performances in Sydney. He made a new record for the half-mile and followed that on January 21 with a wonderfully brilliant effort over the mile. He had no one to pace him, but he lowered his own world’s record by 34 5-10 sec. His time was 21min 8 4-ssec. A few minutes after his big swim, Borg was treating the spectators to an exhibition of trick swimming. He also played in a water-polo match. In the swim Borg covered half a mile in lOmin 261 sec, faster than the record he made a week previously, broke the record for 1,000 metres and shattered his former records in Australia. GREAT PAIR Johnnie Weismuller holds the world’s records up to 300 yards and the quarter-mile apd the half-mile. Borg has done better over 500 yards and 500 metres, and after the halfmile, lias everything his own way. Borg and Weismuller art' the greatest swimmers of all time. Here are the records: — Weismuller.—loo yards, 51 sec; 100 metres, 57 2-ssec.: 150 yards, Imin 25 2-ssec; 200 metres, 2min Ssec; 220 yards, 2min 9sec; 300 yards, 3min 7 4-ssec; 440 yards, 4min 52sec; SSO yards. lOmin 22 l-ssec. Borg.—3oo metres, 3min 33 5-10 sec; 400 metres, 4min 50 3-10 sec: 500 yards, smin 31 4-10 sec: 500 metres, 6min S 2-ssec; 1.000 yards, 12min 16 S-lOsec: 1.000 metres, 13min 4 l-ssec; 1,500 metres. lOmin 7 2-10 sec; one mile, 21 min 41 3-10 sec.

Authentic world’s records, passed by the Federation Nationale de Natation in September last, were given to Borg and Weismuller for all distances up to a mile.