LAKE TAUPO, New Zealand. January 15. KANE Radford and Cara Baker confirmed their dominance over the domestic New Zealand open water swimming scene when they won the 5K races at the State New Zealand Open Water Championships in Lake Taupo.
24 hours after qualifying for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race, the Kiwi duo demonstrated an impressive combination of speed, endurance and recuperative powers.
Radford was in the lead pack throughout the first 2.5K lap before he and Australian Josh Richardson open up a comfortable 30-second advantage. It was the senior Radford who had enough kick towards the end to win in 59:30, ten meters ahead of Richardson. Michael Mincham of Waterhole, Auckland finished third.
On the women's side, no one could maintain Baker's pace as she was among the top 10 swimmers overall in her comfortable win of 1:03.27. It was the third straight national 5K title for the 21-year-old Baker, who trains on the Gold Coast in Australia. She finished nearly three minutes clear of Charlotte Webby who out-sprinted Australian Emily Seymour for second.
Results:
1. Kane Radford (Rotorua, HPC) 59:30
2. Josh Richardson (Australia) 59:34
3. Michael Mincham (Waterhole, Auckland) 1:00.31
4. Casey Glover (Capital, Wellington) 1:00.33
5. Jonathon Pullon (Waterhole) 1:00.36,
1. Cara Baker (Howick Pakuranga, Counties Manukau) 1:03.27
2. Charlotte Webby (Aquabladz, Taranaki) 1:06.01
3. Emily Seymour (Australia) 1:06.11
4. Shelby Wilson (Fairfield, Waikato) 1:12.17
5. Grace Sommerville (Ashburton) 1:08.56