Kane Radford and Cara Baker remain on top of the New Zealand open water national team and have qualified for the 2013 world championships by winning the 10K swim at the State Epic Swim Series event at Lake Taupo. Radford won the race in a time of one hour fifty eight minutes and forty five one hundreths. Philip Ryan was second in the race and also qualified for the world championship team.
Baker had a close battle with two of the Kiwi’s up and coming open water swimmers, Emma Robinson and Grace Sommersville. It was Robinson who took second and also gained a spot on the 2013 team headed to Barcelona.
Radford and Baker had been offered spots in the Olympic field in 2012 based upon their finish at the last chance qualifier in Portugal in June 2012, but according to NZ Swimming selection standards they were not added to the the Kiwi Olympic squad.
Men’s Top 3: Kane Radford 1:58.45; Phillip Ryan 1:58.48; and Troy Balvert 2:01.53, 3.
Women’s Top 3: Cara Baker 2:04.32; Emma Robinson 2:04.36, 2; Grace Sommerville 2:04.41
The State Epic swim series continues with a 5K race on day two. Roughly 600 swimmers are expected to compete in the tow day event.