Phillip Ryan sliced through the field to win the latest round of the national ocean swim series at Mount Maunganui on Saturday, while Charlotte Webby was even more emphatic in taking out the women's race.
Shocking weather impacted on the event, with organisers making the sensible decision to move all races
from the main Mount Maunganui Beach to the more sheltered and calm Pilot Bay.
Event director Scott Rice consulted Surf Life Saving New Zealand and the Port of Tauranga harbourmaster in making the call to move from the heavy swells and surf hitting the east coast.
The calm water was meant to be a blessing for series leader Bryn Murphy, taking away some of the open-water edge that the likes of specialist Phillip Ryan might otherwise have enjoyed.
But 20-year-old Ryan put 20m on the chasers in the first lap, leading by 10sec at the 1.7km mark with up-and-comer Jonathan Pullon second and race favourite Murphy third.
"I just wanted to go out hard and hold on to it the whole way," said Ryan. "I knew I had a good lead at the end of the first lap, I was able to look behind to check on the chasers.
"That is my first win in the series overall, too."
He said conditions had been better in the water than on land. "It was perfect - not great for the spectators with the rain but in the water was great, beautiful."
Murphy finished strongly for second ahead of Pullon, consolidating his lead in the series before the final race at the King of the Bays on April 16.
Meanwhile Webby, as expected, made no race of it in the women's event, sitting in fifth overall at the 1.7km mark and well clear of second-placed Johanna O'Conner, who snuck ahead of Brenda Russell by just 1sec on the line.
Webby was delighted with her effort. "I'm really happy with the swim, it really didn't feel too hard and I got on the feet of a good group of guys."
The win sets up Webby for the King of the Bays, where she will do battle with Cara Baker, who also has two wins from the series to date.
