Swimming

In the 1928 Olympiad Weismuller again won the too metres, in 'sec. faster time than in 1924, but the American successes were not so sweeping as at Paris, Argentina, Germany, Holland, Japan and Sweden winning events. In 1932 at Los Angeles Japan pressed forward more threateningly. In the water events the U.S.A. se cured 170 points to 99 for Japan and 21 for Australia, but Japa nese swimmers captured first place with new world's records in most of the men's swimming events. The United States and Japan were again outstanding in 1936 at Berlin.

Channel Swimming.—Much interest has centred in the many attempts to swim across the English channel ; the first recorded attempt was made on Aug. 24, 1872, by J. B. Johnson, who started from Dover, but remained in the water only 65 minutes. It was on Aug. 12, 1875, that Capt. Matthew Webb made his first attempt. He started from Dover and remained in the water 6hr. 49min., when the weather became too rough for him to continue. It is estimated that he was about 131 miles across when he had to give up. On Aug. 24 and 25, 1875, he swam across the Eng lish channel, diving from the Admiralty pier, Dover, and touch ing Calais sands, after swimming for 2 'hr. 45min., and at the time this accomplishment created a great sensation in England. Since then twenty-one other successful attempts have been made and they are as follows :—Sept. 6, 191', T. W. Burgess, 22hr. 35min.; Aug. 6, 1923, H. Sullivan, 27hr. 25min., Aug. 12, 1923, S. Tira boschi, i6hr. 33min.; Sept. 9, 1923, C. Toth, i6hr. 54min.; Aug.

6, 1926, Miss G. Ederle, I4hr. 34min., Aug. 28, 1926, Mrs. Corson, shr. 28min.; Aug. 3o, 1926, H. Vierkotter, i2hr. 4omin.; Sept. 1o, 1926, G. Michel, 'hr. smin.; Sept. 17, 1926, N. L. Derham, 13hr. 56min.; Aug. 5, 1927, E. H. Temme, 14hr. 29min., Oct.

7, 1927, Miss M. Gleitze, I shr. 15min.; Oct. 13, 1927, Mrs. Ivy Gill, I shr. 9min.; Aug. 19, 1928, Miss Ivy Hawke, 19hr.

Aug. 24, 1928, Miss Hilda Sharp, 14hr. 58min.; Sept. 1, 1928, I. Helmy, 23hr. 4omin. ; Sept. I o, 193o, Miss Peggy Duncan, i6hr. Ismin.; Aug. 29, 1933, Miss Sunny Lowry, 15hr. 45min.; Aug. 18, 1934, E. H. Temme, 15hr. 54min., Aug. 18, 1934, Emma Faber, i4hr. 4omin.; Aug. 22, 1935. H. Taylor, 4hr. 48min.; Aug. 4, 1937, T. Blower, 13hr. 29min. Messrs. Webb, Burgess, Sullivan and Temme (second swim) swam from England to France and all the others from France to England.

literature on the subject of swimming is c

on siderable; the most useful work of general reference is Ralph Thomas's Swimming (1904), which contains a bibliography from the earliest time. Other chief works on the technique of swimming that may be mentioned are: Thevenot, The Art of Swimming (1789) ; Steedman, Manual of Swimming (Melbourne, 1867) ; W. Wilson, The Swimming Instructor (i883) ; A. Sinclair and W. Henry, Swimming (Badminton Library, 1893) ; C. M. Daniels, How to Swim and Save Life (Spalding's Library, 1907) ; H. R. Austin, How to Swim (1914) ; L. de B. Handley, Swimming and Watermanship (New York, 1918) ; Handbook of the Amateur Swimming Association, containing list of Standardized water sports for men were launched in 5878, upon the formation of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, but not until 1917 did the organization undertake to supervise and regulate water sports for women. Universities began to pro mote competitive swimming shortly after 1880 and schools soon followed. By 1928 there were collegiate and scholastic associa tions fostering aquatics in all sections of the country and no less than 20,000 schoolboys took part in water carnivals conducted by a single organization, the Public School Athletic League of New York. Charles M. Daniels was the first American amateur swim mer to attain international rating. He shattered the world's open water record for 220 yd. free style in 1904 and subsequently reaped signal honours at home and abroad, bettering other records and winning the Olympic ioo metre championship at Athens in 1906 and again at London in 1908.

The great leap forward in speed swimming, however, followed the introduction of the crawl stroke, first used in standardized racing by Richard Cavill of Australia. The earliest knowledge of the crawl obtained by Americans was gleaned from hazy news paper descriptions of Cavill's stroke. In attempting to imitate the action they unwittingly developed a faster leg drive, executing four scissoring kicks per stroke, instead of the two performed by Cavill. The new leg drive was combined by Americans with the double over-arm action of the trudgeon, and the resulting stroke christened four-beat crawl, to distinguish it from the two-beat Australian variety.