The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 62

I ill HS Mil' lit 1DH urn it INJURY A course mix-up disrupted first- heats of the Finn and Endeavour class State championships on Botany Bay yesterday. A painful injury suffered during the week proved to be no handicap to Ken Grove set a State three-metre diving record at Ryde pool yesterday. In a training mishap the 17-year-old Tempe diver badly gashed his right knee. The injury required stitching and it was thought he might be forced to withdraw from yesterday's event. However, Grove decided (o compete and produced a near-faultless set of dives to win the open three-metre title with 491.05 points to eclipse his 1970 record of 489.30.

Philip Cheetham of Par-ramatta, who had earlier won the junior three-metre event, finished well back in second place, with Newcastle's John Buxton third. Commonwealth Games representative Madeline Bollinger easily won the open women's bigboard championship. Although she missed with one of her dives, a backward one and a half, Miss Bollinger scored sufficiently to take out the title. Her total of 311.95 was well below her winning 353.35 scored last year. Bay today.

In the second heat of the 30 square metre yacht championship sailed on Sydney Harbour Fagel Grip (Alf Paton) came from the rear of the field to win. The inward leg was held in a nor-easterly breeze, but soon after the fleet rounded the Manly mark, a rain squall brought up the tail enders. Later most of the fleet were becalmed, and closely bunched, near the Heads. Paton moved to the west and picked up the northeasterly tail of the squall. This enabled him to bypass the becalmed fleet and to be first around the leeward mark at Darling Point.

Fagel Grip held the lead over the next four, legs to the finish, beating home Skerry fT. Cohen) and Teal (G. Stewart). The margins between third and sixth places totalled only six seconds. Flamingo, winner of tho first was unplaced A wind shift just before the start confused competitors and the leaders in the Finn fleet, first to start, headed for a mark buoy laid by the Yarra Bay Skiff Club instead of the correct mark.

Protests have been lodged against the way the course was laid by competitors and by the Finns and the Endeavours. Wrong mark The Finn race was won by Bob Ross (NSW), who was among the tail endcrs after a bad start. But he was among the first to realise that the leading group were heading for the wrong mark. Second, 4 min. 17 sec.

behind was Bill Adams (NSW) with another 1 min 8 sec to James Furber (NSW). Ten times Australian champion, Ron Jenyns was sixth, recovering well after losing a lot. of ground by going for the wrong mark. The Austrian champion, Hubert Raubaschl, who is the standard of the local fleet, was doing well, ahead of Jenyns after going for the wrong mark until he broke a rudder fitting. The protest, which could cause cancellation of the whole race, will be heard on Tuesday night.

The defending champion, Allonville (Tig Thomas), won the first heat of the Endeavour class state championship after being best placed to take advantage of a freak wind shift from north-east to south-east under the influence of a thunderstorm. Allonville had been trailing the early leader, Endeavour II (Reg Gardner) for most of the race until the wind shifted under the influence of a thunderstorm on the last lap. Allonville won by lmtn ,3 sec from Endeavour II with another two minutes to Mia (John Mackay). The second and third heats in both championships will be sailed on Botany Ap rw iA.v:. Bmssm ill '-v -ta Miss Bollinger task was made easier by the withdrawal of Aniella Klaverstyn who is concentrating on xt week's 10-metre event.

The 1970 junior three-metre title holder Lewis Thomas was surprisingly beaten into third place in yesterday's event. Philip Cheetham- won with 308.55 points from Mark Gillard, of Casino, 290.00, with Thomas on 284.70 third. Grand slam winner Margaret Court leaps from the grass in playing a backhand shot against Gail Chanfreau at White City yesterday. Mrs Court had to come from behind to win. Rod Humphries' report is on Page 73.

11 MSfim PROGRAM By PETER NEWMAN (Paul's Thunder, starting at 7-4 on, could only finish third in the Lady Curlewis Stake over 790 yards at Wentworth Park last night. It was the bitch's second successive defeat when "in the red." At Harold Park a week previously she failed at 4-1 on. Paul's Thunder drew the rails box at both Harold Park and Wentworth Park and her two defeats have cost punters a fortune. Last night Geeta, starting at 13-4, quickly set up what turned out to be an unbeatable lead when the starting boxes opened. At the finish Geeta had one and a quarter lengths to spare from the 20-1 chance Nippy Lady with Paul's Thunder a similar distance in third place.

Last night in the run past the winning post the first time, Geeta skipped away with a 10-Iength lead over Nippy Lady, Our Vent and Sheer. Blonde. Paul's Thunder headed the others but even that far from home it was obvious her backers were in plenty of trouble. Geeta, who has now won eight races at Wentworth Park, Including three over tha sprint course (580 yards), was only recently 10 ant Beach Treasure Hunt, for children 14 and under 10.30 am Heatsef Surf Club events commence 1st Teenage Pop Music Concert. 11.30 2nd Teenage Pop Music Concert.

12.30 R.A.N. Band Recital Power Boat Race. 1.00 Surf Boat Marathon starts from Shark Island, Sydney Harbour Finals of Club events com mence. Boat Event Heats. 1,15 Ski-Kite flying exhibition -Water Ski demon- stration 1.30 Juvenile Club March Past, with Navy Band.

2.00 Ski-Kite flying exhibition -Finish Surf Boat Marathon 2.15 Drum Majorette Display with Navy Band 2.30 Grand March Past. 3.1 5 Mass Free-fall Parachute Jump to 3.45 Time subiect to weather. 3.45 Jet Boat Rescue Demonstration Carnival Events PAUL'S THUNDER Park in December, her times were close. to Zoom Top's track record of 42.9. Despite the fact that she was beaten for speed last night, Paul's Thunder ran out the distance very strongly and no fault could be found with her effort.

Bookmakers had. a good result when Hushpower, starting at 201, won. the Tamarama Stake; ovef .580 yards'. Hushpower led all the way from box 8 to score by 2i lengths from the, 7-2 chance Clear Coast. Let's Salute (5-1) was half a length away third in the par time of 31.4s.

Clear Coast, bred and raced by the Pringle family of Clergate, near Orange, was a certainty beaten. But few excuses could be made for the. disappointing run handed out by 2-1 favourite Petite Panther who finished fourth. bought by Mr A. Dunn.

Fi she was raced by her breeder, top Victorian trainer Rod Deakin, but has always been trained in Sydney by NCA committeeman Les Harper. Geeta's time, 43.7s, is comparable with her four previous wins in distance races at Wentworth Park. But when Paul's Thunder won the Sun Toy Fund Cup and the Free-For-All over 790 yards at Wentworth 63 THE SUN-HERALD, JAN 17, 1971 63.