Evening star., 1925-08-01

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the l8-year-old American ck
and plucky determination.
Il shall do my best" she said
thought of her chances.
| think she has grown more a
past days of actual encounter wit
streperous channel
1T really isn't as bad as | exp
from today's light practice swim.
Every one who has seen this
training period here is confident TIL
If she does her best, it is bound to
be a good performance. She has made
an excellent impression on every one,
both by her attractive personality and
by her swimming technique. Her
beautiful proportions and athletic fig
ure, her power and her complete mas
terry of the eight.beat crawl, and.
above ALL her will to win" have con-
WINGED the British experts here that
with reasonable luck as to tides and
weather, and an absence of accidents,
she has an excellent chance of attain
ing the honor of being the first wom-
an to conquer the channel.
Wins Host of Admirers.
Whatever happens during the final
effort, she has the Satisfac ction of
knowing that she has won a host of
admirers. Her two rivals, the Egyp-
rion champion, Helmy and the Argen-
tine champion, Miss Harrison, are her
good friends, and will wish her all the
luck possible when she sets out. The
old-time channel veteranS-Burgess
who swan il successfully in 1911, and
JabeZ Wolfe, who tried unsuccessfully
so many times that he long ago lost
count-have been at her feet since
she began her workout at Griz NeZ.
Miss Ederle's natural cheerfulness
is a great asset in her forthcoming at
tempt. Perhaps the worst enemy of
the channel swimmer Is the depreS-
sion that comes at various stages of
the long drawn physical strain. Even
she will need encouragement and in
Spiration at times, but IL will not be
lacking. Often the most useful en-
couragement is provided by physical
companiOnship in the water, and this
will be provided for by having several
swimmers ready at all times on board
the accompanying tug TO dive over
board and pace the contender for a
half hour or longer.
Others Were Accompanied.
During Burgess successful channel
swim in 1911 he was accompanied in
friend, Jack Weidman of Dover. Bur
CESS himself later helped Charles 10th
of Boston through the last few hours of
his successful effort by winning with
him until triumph was secure. 10th
had terrific fight to get ashore, and
1t was only Burgess knowledge of the
underwater conditions along the Do
yer cliffs that made his success posi-,
BILE.
There is no dispute as TO Miss
Ederle's endurance. 1t was some
thing more than luck that enabled
her, just before she left America for
England, to swim 21 miles without
nourishment, from the Battery TO
Sandy Hook, in hours II minutes.
Obviously she is a serious aspirant to
cross-channel honors.
Jabez Wolfe, whose early comment
was that her only failing was that
she was too fast to last" has only
partially succeeded in reducing her
speed. He has got her down to "a
strokes per minute instead of her
normal %, and he hopes to decrease
this at times to 23 or even %.
VIII Increase Her Endurance.
This makes for endurance, and
while there is corresponding loss
in pace, the swimmer always must
be necessary in order to catch tide
or get past a troublesome current.
Miss Ederle swims well out of the
water, with a double trudgeon stroke,
which never before has been adopted
by channel swimmer. 1t is probable
that she will use the six-beat kick in.
stead of the 3-beat which she has used
In her sprints.
I have received several inquiries
L.
greasy substance which is used to
cover the body of a channel swim.
mer in order to insulate the body and
counteract the effect of a long soaking
in sea water. The nature of the sub
stance varies according to the whim
of the swimmer or coach. Pure lard
was used by Capt. Webb, the first sue
cessful cross-channel swimmer. Trio
boschi the Argentinian, and 10th Of
Boston used a dark mixture which
had almost the appearance Of a soft
leather casing over the skin.
Mixture Now Is Favored.
During the past two years most
swimmers have favored a mixture OF
lard and lanoline, which seems very
efficacious, remaining on the body
throughout the entire distance, and
requiring a scrub with gasoline and
hot water to remove 1t after the nm
ish of the ordeal.
Protection for the eyes Is as fully
necessary as for the body. Otherwise
the continental wash of the salt water
is almost certain to blind the swimmer.
The standard protection against this
danger is a pair of goggles, fitted into
q water proof linen case, and glued to
the face with tar or some similar SUBJ
stance.
Man aspirants for channel honors
usually have made the swim without
any bathing suits. Women wear a
very fine and light silk bathing suit.
Miss Ederle started her training at
Brighton, England, with the costume
and goggles which she will wear on
the final effort. But for the first two
weeks, she was oiled. not creased. so
as to accustom herself gradually to
this somewhat uncomfortable phase of
the contest. Since her arrival at Girls
Nez she has been creased daily with
the mixture which has been approved
for her swim, in order mainly to ac-
custom her to the somewhat unpleas-
ant odor.
Feeding Important Factor.
The question of feeding a channel
swimmer always is important. In Miss
Ederle's case, chief reliance will be
placed on beef Juice, chocolate and
grapes, although other foods will be