Cara Baker is looking to get back on top of the standings at the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series in Wellington this Sunday. Coming 2 weeks after her dominating 5 km and 10 km victories at the New Zealand Open Water Swim Championships in Lake Taupo, she is a strong favorite to remain on a roll. “Those [national championship] races were all about getting the job done and qualifying for the World Championships in Spain later this year,” Baker said. “Wellington will be another step towards those championships, it’ll be a very good hit out.”
As usual, Baker’s biggest rival will be series leader Charlotte Webby. “I expect Charlotte to be firing after what happened in Auckland. What happened [after missing the final buoy] will definitely be in the back of my mind.”
With the Grimsey brothers sitting out the third race in the series, the pre-race favorites are the leading Kiwis including Rotorua’s Kane Radford and Auckland’s Phillip Ryan. Radford beat Ryan in the 5 km by only 2 seconds, and the 10 km by 3 seconds. “Both races were a tough battle and he pushed me all the way,” Radford said. “It’s going to be no different on Sunday.”
While the State Capital Classic is only 3.3 km, a few marathon swimmers are entered including Cook Strait record holder Casey Glover and Ben Campbell-MacDonald, who became the first person to swim the length of Lake Wakatipu in 2012. It took him 18 30 minutes to swim the 81 km from Kingston to Glenorchy.
The final three races in the series are held later in Akaroa, Mount Maunganui and Takapuna.
State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Mens Standings (after Round 2):
1. Codie Grimsey (Queensland) 197.89
2. Phillip Ryan (Auckland) 193.26
3. Trent Grimsey (Queensland) 100.00
4. Ky Hurst (Queensland) 100.00
5. Troy Prinsloo (South Africa) 99.50
6. Kane Radford (Rotorua) 98.28
State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Womens Standings (after Round 2):
1. Charlotte Webby (Taranaki) 199.57
2. Kirsty Wannan (Auckland) 192.74
3. Natalie Woodgate (Auckland) 183.17
4. Cara Baker (Auckland) 100.00
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