Trans Tasman Honours Shared At Sovereign Capital Classic
It may have dawned cold and wet in Christchurch today, but that didn't stop 670 dedicated swimmers turning out for race three of the Sovereign NZ Ocean Swim Series, the Corsair Classic.
But while on land conditions were nippy, in the water calm, flat seas made life easy for the elite swimmers competing for the $1500 prize on offer for the winners.
And there were no surprises in either the men's or women's races, with Olympian Melissa Ingram cruising to victory and former champ Bryn Murphy holding off the field for another win.
Ingram finished in a time of 39.46 seconds 1 minute and six seconds ahead of second placed Brenda Cockcroft, with Phoebe Williams in third.
"It was a really hard swim and I've just come off a huge six week training block, I was really just looking to get out there and have a real tough swim as I missed a training session to do this race, so I had to work hard," Ingram said.
Further down the field another star of the pool was enjoying the switch to ocean swimming with Paralympian Sophie Pascoe finishing in a time of 56:57.
Pascoe won three gold medals at last year's Paralympics in Beijing and was nominated for sports women of the year and says she was relieved to get the big ocean swim under her belt.
"I'm very happy, I wanted to swim something in the 50's so I'm stoked, that was amazing," she said.
On hand to support her was former Commonwealth Games backstroke champion Anna Forrest (nee Simsic), who welcomed Sophie to shore after finishing third in the 750 metre race.
"I'm just so out of shape that hurt the whole way, I was shaking and I've got sore legs, but it's just such a different feeling to pool swimming," said Forrest.
In the men's competition Bryn Murphy was rapt with his victory, with a layoff from competitive ocean swimming not impacting too much on his time of 37.06 minutes
"It was a real surprise to win that one, but I stuck to my strategy. I went out hard to start with, which I don't always do, and I just really enjoyed being back out there," he said.
Big turn out of Shortland Street for Corsair Classic
Six of New Zealand's most loved actors turned out for the race, with Shortland Street Stars Harry McNaughton (Gerald Tippett), Bonnie Soper (Morgan), Kiel McNaughton (Scotty), Anna Jullienne (Maya), Fleur Saville (Libby) and Beth Allen (Brooke) making waves in Christchurch.
While Fleur Saville raced the 750 metre event the other five all finished the 2.8 km course, with Harry McNaughton the best of the stars with an impressive time of 43.42.
"I just kept swimming, I didn't really have any tactics, just tried to keep pace with people I'd marked out early on," he said.
"It's just a really good event to be a part of; Surf Lifesaving is an awesome charity, so the whole thing is just great."
Sovereign Corsair Classic, Christchurch, 2.8km
Elite Men
1 Bryn Murphy Invercargill 37:06
2 Adam Simpson Dunedin 37:38
3 Stefan Talbot Auckland 38:14
4 Shane Patience Dunedin 38:24
5 Lance Talbot Auckland 39:03
Elite Women
1 Melisssa Ingram Auckland 39:46
2 Brenda Cockcroft Auckland 40:53
3 Phoebe Williams Dunedin 41:32
4 Samantha Harnett Nth Canterbury 41:35
5 Gina Ferguson Oxford/Christchurch 42:30