Evening star., 1925-07-28

Miss Ederle probably will start at
night, said Wolf today in an ex
elusive interview. THE actual at
tempt will take place within
fortnight" he said, depending princi-
pally on conditions of tide, weather,
current and temperature. Miss Ederle
has come through a months prelim-
mary training at Brighton, England,
with flying colors. Her work there
impressed all the British experts who
saw her. She is the fastest woman
swimmer 1 ever have seen in the
water"
Wolf is confident that she will sue
ceed in her channel attempt, although
this Is the most herculean task in
the whole gamut of athletic endeavor.
If she succeeds she will be the first
woman to accomplish this feat, which
has been done only five times in
history.
Coach Voices His Confidence.
IT firmly believe that Miss Ederle
will succeed" said Wolf this morn
ing, "and if she does 1 think she will
lower the record She will follow the
same route as that over which the
present record of 16 hours 25 minutes
was made on August II, 1928, by
Sebastian Tiraboschi, an Argentine
Italian.
'She is a faster swimmer than
Tiraboschi, and if she can maintain
even half of her ordinary long dis
tance pace she will better his record.
Theoretically, under the best possible
weather conditions, it should be pos
sible for swimmer to make the dis
tance in Il hours.
''The date of the attempt depends
mainly on weather conditions. The
exact hour, which may be either
morning or evening, depends on tides.
We shall figure her start so that she
will arrive off the English coast in
the early stages of the flood tide, thus
giving her a favorable current to
reach the goal, even if unforeseen
conditions delay her for two or three
hours en- route
Is Test of All Tests.
'"The channel swim is the most
monumental performance in the do
main of physical endurance. 1t re-
qutres almost unlimited vitality,
strength and persistence. Hundreds
of swimmers have attempted it; only
five have succeeded. l believe that
Miss Ederle will add her name to this
list, the worlds most exclusive roll of
athletic fame"
In her first long swim since she
began her training in England Miss
Ederle covered Is miles, from Shore
ham to Brighton, finishing with
sprint.
Her English training period started
with a fortnight of daily dips in the
channel at Brighton, designed mainly
to accustom her to the chill waters
in which her great effort must be
made. Brighton was selected for
these initial efforts because the tidal
currents are somewhat milder there
than at Dover. AS a matter of fact,
she experienced no difficulty at all
with the chop of the sea, which has
often proved the undoing of channel
swimmers. But she found the chill
of the water uncomfortable, and COM
mented that it seemed much colder
than any she has experienced in
America, even off the Maine coast.
During the latter part of her
Brighton training, she began a regu
lar daily program of continuous Swims
under VOLTS careful direction-one
two and three hours on successive
days. then a day of rest, then the
same program repeated.
At the Cape Girls Nez training camp,
the swims are longer, and in every
case she is accompanied by a motor
boat, to accustom her to following the
tug which will be used in the actual
swim. The program here also pro-
vides for several night swims of vary
ing length.
Miss Ederle improved steadily at
Brighton" said Wolff. "She is an
ideal pupil, and understands my train
ing system perfectly. Now that we
are in France, it only remains to go
into a slightly stricter training, with
longer swims. She will be ready when
the time comes.
''If there is any fault to be found
with her swimming, it is that her pace
is too fast. She swims approximately
% strokes to the minute, and we want
to reduce this pace to "a. There is no
doubt that she can maintain % for
eight or nine hours, but 1 would pre-
fer a slightly slower stroke for swim
which may require 16 to 20 hours"
Copyright. 1925. by North American News
paper Alliance. All rights reserved.)