Swimming: Kane Radford ready for home leg

Bay of Plenty's Kane Radford headlines what he believes is the best men's field in recent history for round four of the State NZ Ocean Swim Series at Mount Maunganui tomorrow. Radford said he will do everything in his power to reign supreme in his "home" leg of the series.

"I want to do well here as it's my home race really, it's in the Bay of Plenty and I come from nearby in Rotorua," he said.

Standing in his way is a powerhouse Kiwi contingent of no less than 10 swimmers, each with winning potential on their day.

Adding Australia's highest ranked male open water swimmer Trent Grimsey and current Great Australian Swim Series champion Michael Sheil to the mix makes the line-up for the State Sand to Surf second to none.

"I think this is the best field of all the State NZ Ocean Swim races this year for the men so it is definitely going to be a great hit-out for me," said Radford.

"A win would push me up into the lead overall and make up for the poor effort in Wellington [when Radford missed the final buoy and cost himself the race]."

Event manager Scott Rice said the addition of international opposition such as these two Australians is crucial for the development of the series, but also of New Zealand's local talent.

"One of our key objectives is to help raise the standard of open water swimming in New Zealand," he said. "Attracting top international fields provides important competition for our leading swimmers like Kane Radford, in what is now an Olympic sport."

Mount Maunganui is the only pure surf beach included in this season's calendar. The swimmers may have to negotiate tumbling waves as they enter and exit the water, which if not done carefully could ruin their chances of success.

"This race is a bit different to the rest. Sometimes it can be quite flat at the Mount but sometimes it can have some quite sizeable surf," said Radford, who is using the series as preparation for an upcoming Olympic qualifier open water swim event in Portugal. "You need your surf skills firstly to get out into the water and then coming into the finish at the main beach also. It's where the race could be won or lost."

The women's field is headed by Olympic pool hopeful and multi-national record holder Lauren Boyle, a member of Swimming New Zealand's High Performance Squad and ranked in the top-10 in the world.

Taranaki-based open water specialist Charlotte Webby, a winner in the State Ocean Swim series, will be a serious contender along with Australian 10km open water medallist Tash Harrison, experienced Aucklander Brenda Russell and well-known Bay of Plenty surf exponent Johanna O'Connor.

As well as the elites, around 750 swimmers of all ages and abilities will be competing in any one of four distances on offer at the State Sand to Surf including the 2.6km long swim, intermediate swims of 1000m and 300m, and a 200m kids swim which will feature a demonstration of technique from one of the elites.

Entries are still open so for more information visit the website at www.oceanswim.co.nz.