Northland's Cam Leslie wins another para swimming gold

Northland's double Paralympic swimming gold medallist Cam Leslie has added to his collection by winning gold in the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships.

It was almost straight out of the wheelchair and into the pool for Whangārei double Paralympic swimming gold medallist Cam Leslie, but it still didn't stop him collecting another gold medal.

Leslie won gold in the men's 150m individual medley at the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in Cairns, Australia, on Monday night, the last night of the championship.

Leslie, who also holds the world record for the event, only joined the NZ para team 48 hours before the race after competing for the Wheel Blacks at the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Sydney.

But the switch from murderball, as wheelchair rugby is affectionately known, to the pool didn't phase the experienced campaigner.

"I swam the target time we had set prior to the championships so got to be happy with that. Still a few things I could sharpen up on,'' he said.

''The transition from wheelchair rugby to para swimming has worked really well and my body has performed well. Hats off to the High Performance Sport New Zealand support crew who helped me get there."

Leslie swam an aggressive heat in the morning and took a commanding lead, however in the final it was a little closer in the breaststroke leg.

"I have always come home strong in the medley race so I was not too worried about being out-touched at the 100m mark," he said.

Leslie's win saw the New Zealand para swimming team better the record-breaking performance at the same event four years ago. With a total medal tally of 14 this games the team bettered the record-breaking medal haul at the 2014 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships of 13 medals with just over two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Sophie Pascoe won a gold and silver medal on Monday night taking her overall medal tally for the championships to three gold and two sliver.

"I'm pretty pleased with this meet and there is a lot to take away and put into training when we get home. Considering the head wind tonight I'm happy with the swims. The atmosphere has really lifted tonight and we all finished on a good high. The New Zealand team can all be proud of our races and go home with lots to work on going into the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics," Pascoe said.

Para swimming programme manager Graeme Maw said it was a solid effort at the Championships as the team leave with 14 medals

''Cameron Leslie came in from the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships, settling in quickly and getting on with the business to win a gold medal in his best time since the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.''