Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-14 | Page 11 | Yank Swim Star Smashing Marks in Australia

YMK SWIM SIR . SB IIS in train Norman Ross Shows Speed in Tilts Staged in Foreign Water Wat-er Competition Norman Ross, champion swimmer of the Chicago Athletic club, is In love with Australia and Australians, and.' the Inhabitants of the Antipodes are just as much in love with Ross. It's ; a mutual .proposition all the way through. Ross, who is just about to' opmplete a tour of Australia, succeeded in showing show-ing the Australians what a real American Amer-ican champion can do, for he shattered shatter-ed no less than a half dozen records in the far off island, winning almost every competition he started in. Ross vas defeated a couple of times but his defeat came about in events which are fixtures in Australia but novelties to American watermen. At a big tournament at Newcastle, Ross broke the 300-yard record for Australia when he covered the distance dis-tance in 3 minutes, 31 2-5 seconds, which is 1 2-5 slower than the world's i mark. Ross simply distanced his field in this event. And the race was staged stag-ed in a pool conceded, to be inadequate for such an event. The world's record rec-ord (tank) for this event is now held by Perry McGlllvray, and was madei in Chicago February 4. 1915, when he made it in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. But the victory served to "set" Ross with Australian sports, for after the accomplishment he was honored with' the greatest banquet ever tendered a visiting athlete in Newcastle. Ross used the trudgeon crawl in the Newcastle New-castle event, and the natives went wild over the performance as that stroke is not generally used there in time contests. At Sidney in a big meet at. the Domain Do-main Baths one of the greatest swimming swim-ming centers in the world Ross won every event on the card and did it with such apparent ease that it was with difficulty he got away from the fans who insisted upon honoring him with flowers and other presents. The Australians have in Keith Kirk-land Kirk-land and Reginald Brown two swim-liners swim-liners they believed were unbeatable, but the easy fashion in which Ross disposed of them caused the natives to brand the American as the greatest swimmer who ever visited the island. Other American swimmers are now contemplating a visit to Australia and Ross may return with them. Pie has been very cordially invited to return next year.