Florence McLaughlin of the First Regiment Swimming Pool, Philadelphia, was the most remarkable juvenile swimmer and diver in this country and her many records and prizes over all distances stamp her as a great swimmer.
Miss Anna C. Kean of Lansdowne, Pa., swam from Ocean City to Atlantic City, 12 miles in the sea, August 21, 1916, in 8 hours and 28 minutes, and on September 18, 1916, swam 26 miles in the Delaware River in 11 hours 8 minutes 41 3-5 seconds, this performance being the longest swim ever made by a woman in the world under same conditions.
Modern Methods of Life-Saving
It is often remarked by those who have a very limited knowledge of swimming matters, that it is the good swimmer who gets drowned. This is a very erroneous impression and one that will not bear investigation.
It is the fellow who thinks he is a good swimmer and who usually tries some fool-hardy stunt which he is not competent to undertake, who loses his life. Besides, this sort of chap may be a fair swimmer, but he does not get any practice, and probably overeats before going into the water, and goes far out beyond his depth, forgetting that he has to come back again, and when his muscles and wind, which are not accustomed to the extra tax, give out, loses his head, gulps a big shipment of water, and then the excitement strangles him and brings on heart-failure and he is gone for good. He is not literally drowned, he is shocked to death, for I mean to say it, and most medical men and other experts competent to judge will bear out my statement when I tell you that there are very few people drowned in the water, and that most of the deaths occur from heart-failure, as I have stated above, while the fact that many of the drowning cases in the surf are found floating face down, show that the shock has closed up the epiglottis, and no water has penetrated the stomach or lungs.
But until everyone who attends school is taught to swim and be competent to take care of themselves in the water under all conditions, life-saving must be part of the educational work of swimming, in fact, made a strong feature of natatorial instruction; therefore, it behooves the skilled swimmer to learn the best ways to approach a person in the water who may need help, and better still, to know how to release one’s self from the death-grip of a drowning person.
LIFE-SAVING—FRONT STRANGLE HOLD, HELD AT DISTANCE.
