Greerton swimmer Mia Pugh wins NZ swim title

IN FORM: Greerton's Mia Pugh won her first NZ swim title last weekend. PHOTO: Supplied

The New Zealand Open Water Swimming Championships held in Taupo last weekend also doubled as the NZ Secondary Schools Championship.

Since the inclusion of the ocean swim version of the sport at the Olympics in 2008 the standard of racing globally has quickly become very high - and Taupo was no exception.

Mia Pugh, 15, from the Greerton Swim Club was a surprise winner of the 5km event, winning her first Swimming NZ medal of any colour.

Pugh won the 13-15 year old girls' title from a field of 30 swimmers, finishing 8th overall female behind the outstanding Charlotte Webby from Taranaki.

Despite a slow start due to an unfavourable start line position, Pugh worked her way through the field and late in the race looked a certainty for gold. But fast-finishing NZ development squad member Milla Theobold from Rotorua closed the gap to just two seconds on the finish line.

Pugh held on to claim the gold medal and finished in a time of 1 hour 9 minutes 41 seconds to Theobold's 1:09:43 with Manawatu's Paris Cutler third in 1:10:42.

It was double delight in Taupo for Pugh as she was awarded a second gold medal as NZ Secondary Schools Champion in the 14-15 year age group, representing Bethlehem College.

Kim Cadzow, 15, also from the Greerton Swim Club finished 12th in the same event after narrowly missing a medal finishing fourth in the NZ Secondary School 1km event the previous day.

In the non-championship events, Greerton Swimmers placed in the top three were Louis Fitzjohn over 1km, Brooke Ross in the 500m, along with Arianna Roberts and Will Quin in the 100m.