Mistake Proves Costly for Radford in State Capital Classic Swim

A mistake missing the final buoy proved costly for New Zealand’s top open water swimmer Kane Radford in today’s State Capital Classic event on the Wellington waterfront.

An eager Wellington crowd witnessed a drama filled trans-tasman dual with the Australians coming out on top in both the men’s and women’s battles in the third round of the State New Zealand Ocean Swim series.

Australian George O’Brien was first to reach the finishing tape in the 3.3km elite race after Radford was forced to return to round the buoy after he missed the final marker, which cost him any chance of winning.

The two men battled hard throughout the entire race and were stroke for stroke as they rounded the Journeyman lighthouse, before O’Brien stretched out a few lengths in front of the Kiwi on the home straight.

“I knew it would be a good race between me and Kane, I’ve raced him a couple of times and it’s always been close,” said O’Brien who set a new race record in winning the prestigious 3.8km Roughwater Swim in Honolulu last year.

“I’m just really happy to come away with the win. The 3.3km distance seems to suit me all right; you can put a bit of pace on at the start which is good,” said O’Brien who won in a time of 37 minutes 12 seconds.

Radford’s mistake cost him second place as Cook Strait record holder Casey Glover passed him during the mix-up, with the national champion settling for third.

As expected, Australian Melissa Gorman destroyed the rest of the field in the women’s race to win in 39:10, which was fourth place overall, with only O’Brien, Glover and Radford beating her home.

Gorman, the 2009 world champion, was nearly three minutes ahead of second placegetter Emma Robinson from Wellington’s Capital club.

“I really wanted to see how long I could stay with the boys. That was my main priority going into this race,” said Gorman.

This victory makes in two wins from two attempts in New Zealand for the 26-year-old after she won round two of the State Ocean Swim Series in the Bay of Islands last December, where she beat all the men home.

Having already qualified for the Olympic Games, Gorman said she is using the State NZ Ocean Series to prepare herself for London.

“I wanted to get a good hit out. I don’t get too many race opportunities in the lead up the Olympics so I just wanted to get out there and have a good crack,” she said.

“I think I’ll be back to New Zealand for one more of the swims and I have a couple of events coming up at home in Australia so I’ve got quite a busy few months, then a hard training block leading into London.”

The State Capital Classic boasted the participation of many elite athletes, but it also accommodated almost 1000 swimmers from children to retirees who competed in one of four different distance swims on offer.

Celebrity broadcaster Kerre Woodham was a notable Kiwi face amongst the field for the ‘Give it a go’ 300m swim.

“It was as hard as I had imagined it to be. I think I need to start training for the next one now,” said Woodham.

Hurricanes players Jeff Allen and All Black Jason Eaton competed in the same distance as Woodham and were surprised at the level of difficulty.

“We come here for recovery sessions sometimes and looking at the 300m swim it appears a lot easier than it actually is,” said Eaton.

The overcast Wellington morning served up a characteristic wind, accompanied by a decent chop which added to the already difficult task of a 3.3km ocean swim.

The next round of the State NZ Ocean Series is La Grande Swim in Akaroa on 19 February.

Results:
Elite Men: George O’Brien (Australia) 37:12, 1; Casey Glover (Capital, Wellington) 38:42, 2; Kane Radford (Rotorua – HPC) 39:08, 3; Brett Newall (Capital) 39:23, 4; Isaac Foote (Capital) 39:24, 5.

Elite Women: Melissa Gorman (Australia) 39:10, 1; Emma Robinson (Capital) 41:50, 2; Brenda Russell (Auckland) 44:19, 3; Chantelle Cowlrick (Capital) 44:20, 4; Samantha Harnett (Kaiapoi) 45:43, 5.

Full results: www.oceanswim.co.nz