New-York tribune., 1919-04-27
New Mermaid Now I'm Line
For 22O-Yard Championship

A new national woman champion at
22O-yard swimming will be crowned to-
day in the title race to be held
at Idora Park, Alameda, CAL, for Mrs.
Claire Galligan Finney, the present
champion, will not be on hand to de-
fend her laurels. Leading candidates
for the event are Mrs. Frances Cowells
Schroth, of San Francisco; Miss
Dorothy Burns, Of Los Angeles, and
Miss Bessie Rita Ryan, of Philadel-
phia, which hardly makes the field rep
representative, seeing that besides Mrs.
Finney there will be absent two other
famous stars, Miss Olga Dorfner, Of
Philadelphia, and Miss Charlotte Boyle,
of this city, the respective pool record
lists at the furlong and at 800 yards.
The fact is regrettable, and there has
been a good deal Of comment over the
action of the Idora management in
inviting to the fixture lesser lights in
preference to the country's three top
notchers.
Clarence Lane, of Honolulu, now q
student at St. Mary's College, Oakland.
Cal, was recently credited with swim
ming 80 yards in "a seconds in varsity
competition. The performance is
being investigated by the l. S. A. au-
thorities and if it develops that all re-
quirements were complied with it will
be accepted as national colleriate
record in place of the 25-second stand
ard set a short while ago by Edwin
Blnney, of Yale.
1t was learned at A. A. U. hcadouar-
ters that plans are on foot to send a
team of American girl swimmers to the
Olympic water carnival of 920 and the
news is decidedly pleasing, for recent
events have shown rather concusively
that, as group, our mermaids now
lead the world
Two sectional records we're shattered
by representatives of the Milwaukee
A. Z. at meet held a few days ago
IN the seventy y-fve-foot home pool
Miss Helen Thomson won the Central
A. A. U. 100-yard breast stroke cham
plonship for women in l minute 32 is
seconds, clipping the former district
standard by the big margin Of 13 Is
seconds, and Arthur Thomson lowered
the state record for 500 yard free style
swimming to minutes 56 As seconds.
diving Patsy Young, Of Cleveland, will
have to be reckoned with hereafter in
national competition. He won the
sprlngboard championship of the Al
legheny Mountain A. A. u. last week
with total of 12l points and this
seems to place him among the coun-
trys best,
The New York Women's Swimming
Association has developed young
mermaid Of truly sensational ability
in Miss Ethelda Blebtrey, the sixteen
year~old girl, who captured the ma
tsonal bO0-yard championship for wom-
on week ago at the Brighton Beach
Winter Pool, Her victory was the
more amazing in thas abe competed
IN tho lao- yard back s,roke national
title race tho previous day, in Pitts
hurgh and ewarm virtually a dead heat
with tho winner MIsa Ruth Smith. Of
tolumhua, IN tho world'a record time
of minutes II % soeonda,
FOR nor TO defeat after tho strain
or such trip 80 able rival of Mias
lloasio Ryan, of Philadelphia the
showing of Miss Charlotte Boyle need
not be considcred, for sho had been
laid up with cold and fever oil week.
was IN Itself wonderful feat, but even
moro wonderful was her covering tho
course in 7 minutes 40 10 seconds, or
within 40 seconds of the worlds rec
ord. Such time, under the circum-
stances, leaves little doubt that the
new champion would have hung up new
international figures had she been at
her best. The two performances
viewed together, are almost unbelieva-
able on the part of girl in her teena
who was novice less than one year
ago.
Tho famous little twin mermaids Of
Columbus, Ohio, Ruth and Eleanor
Smith, now respective worlds record
ists at back and breast stroke swim
ming, have been invited to engage in
match races with Eastern girl rivals
at the Brighton winter pool II they
accept, as hoped, Ruth will meet mt
tho backstroko Ethelda Blcibtrey, and
Eleanor Will swim the breast stroke
against Mabel Arklic, of Philadelphia
tho national champion. Experts feel
confident that both contests will re-
suit in further cuts in the interna-
tional standards.