produced. James Smart, the subject of this sketch, is a brother of the famous "Fish " Smart, who so long held the championship, but whom James defeated in 1889 at Lingay Fen, thus taking the title. Born in 1865, James Smart began racing on skates in 1887, when he beat Benedict Kingma, the Dutchman, in a mile race in the splendid time of 2 minutes 5345 seconds. Victory in a ten-mile race at Spalding followed this, the time again being first-rate—36 minutes 39 seconds. On February 28, 1888, he won the Dutch Scarf in competition with twenty-four of the best Dutch skaters, beating, among the others, Vanden Berg and Kingma; this scarf, with the colours of the Amsterdam Club, he still holds. The skating season of 1889 saw him English champion in virtue of his defeat of his brother already alluded to. Since that time he has won many races, at Leytonstone, Tottenham, Boston, Littleport, Cambridge, Chatteris, Huntingdon, St. Ives, Wisbech, and other places, one of the most notable of these contests being the mile race open to the world for £100 at Heerenveen in Holland. The skating season just past saw him the winner of a few more races in this country, but most of it he spent in Norway, unfortunately not always skating with success, the long racing skates used in that country being new to him. Smart is about 5 feet 10 inches in height, and weighs 11 stones. The skating traditions of the Smart family are great ones, and no doubt James will maintain them as well in the future as of old.
S. W. Greasley.
"S. W. Greasley."
From a Photo. by Heawood, Leicester.
Mr. Greasley is a representative amateur of swimming. Many admirable performances in earlier years heralded his victory in the Midland Championships, at 100 yards, 220 yards, quarter-mile, and half-mile in 1889. In 1890 he was fortunate with the mile National Championship, winning it in 29 minutes 31 seconds—fastest on record for a swimmer wearing costume. In this race he beat the famous Evans, of Manchester, who holds championships of many shorter distances. At Leamington, however, the tables were turned by Evans in a 500 yards race, whereat Greasley had to put up with second place. The year was well completed by the acquisition of the mile championship of Great Britain at Kidsgrove—a runaway win by some sixty yards. The following year brought forth at Exminster the most exciting race swimmers had ever seen, when Greasley swam the half-mile championship neck and neck the whole way with Evans, just winning in 13 minutes 4225 seconds—a world's record, amateur or professional, by nearly four seconds for the distance in open water. After again succumbing to Evans in two of the shorter distance championships, Greasley won the Mersey championship in tidal salt water in the remarkable time of 24 minutes. After this he set to work upon the mile record, and, entirely without the assistance of pacemakers, brought it down to 29 minutes 4 seconds—25 seconds better than the old record. To show that he could swim a fast short distance when he wanted, he beat the 120 yards record at Coventry, making the distance in 1 minute 24 seconds. His many wins in races of smaller importance are much too numerous to be chronicled here. Mr. Greasley is not yet 25 years of age, his height is 5 feet 212 inches, and he weighs 10 stone 8 lbs.
