Seven Times Winner

Marie Retires At 15

The South Pacific Games saw the best swimming yet produced from youthful champions from the Islands—so much for the con clusion, after the first Games at Suva, that the Islands cannot produce good swimmers.

Men and women swimmers set 16 new Games’ records out of a total of 19 events. They re-wrote the Games’ swimming record book and a 17th new record was missed by only one fifth of a second.

New Caledonia, which won every event at the last Games in Noumea, made a complete sweep of the women’s races, winning all the nine gold medals.

New Guinea, spearheaded by several youngsters trained by top Australian coaches and cheered on by a wildly partisan crowd at Moresby’s attractive Olympic pool, took most of the men’s gold medals. New Cale donia had to be content with the re maining four men’s medals.

Fiji, the only territory to give NG and Caledonia serious competition, was unlucky not to win a gold medal —game Olive Pickering went very close. But it picked up a batch of silver and bronze medals.

French Polynesia didn’t win a medal and Guam, the only other territory “in the swim”, came last in every event with the exception of Doug Harrison’s silver medal in the 200 metres breaststroke. Obviously it had no real competitive experience, perience.

Fiji's potential

One obvious lesson is that stan dards have spiralled in the past six years. Regular training by good coaches and competition has paid off.

Fiji should take note as it has the potential and the swimmers to do better at the next Games.

Noumea’s slight reticent schoolgirl, Marie-Josie Kersaudy, repeated her Noumea achievement of being the Games’ top gold medal winner by collecting another seven (including relays).

She had only one peer—Tonga’s equally reticent Keta longi, who went home with four athletics’ gold medals. Marie, aged 15, says she will now retire from swimming to con centrate on her school work.

Not that Caledonia has any worries—another prodigy, Dolores Anewy, all of 12 years, appeared at the Games as Marie’s understudy.

Dolores swam better times than Marie did at the age of 12 in Noumea.

Versatile Marie won the 100 metres backstroke and the 100 metres butter fly from Olive Pickering and teamgirl (NC), Simone Manner, respectively, by mere touches.

Manner came back to win the 100 metres freestyle and Marie also took the 200 metres individual medley and the distance races (400 and 800 metres). All these five wins were records.

Slight and rather tall for 15, Marie fairly ploughed through the water and treated both heat and final in a modest, businesslike manner.

New to the Games, a NG trio, Nigel Cluer, Neal Bostock and Max Mowen, won five individual golds and led the NG medley relay team to a three second win over the fast Cale donian men.

Nigel Cluer was a particular favourite with the big local crowd who packed the Boroko pool to see him win the 100 metres backstroke, the 200 metres breaststroke and the 200 metres individual medley.

There was also great all round ap plause for Caledonian Jean Mamelin who clipped 1.2 sec. off the 100 metres freestyle record to go well under the the magic minute with 57.2 seconds.

Team managers found the Moresby pool top-class and they were happy with the efficient organisation of the programme.

But New Caledonian officials were distressed to see two of their swim mers disqualified for not touching the end of the pool while turning.

The competitors used fast somersault turns a yard before they approached the pool end and no appeals were made.

New Caledonia's Marie-Jose Kersaudy, who won more medals than anyone at the '69 Games, after winning her heat at the women's swimming 800 metres.

Youngest swimming star of the Games, New Caledonia's 12-year-old Dolores Anewy, after winning her heat of the women's 800 metres freestyle.