History has been made in the Bay of Islands after a talented woman taught the men a lesson in round two of the New Zealand ocean swim series.
The 2009 world champion Melissa Gorman, of Australia, dominated both the women's and men's fields in the Paihia Classic on Saturday, inher first venture on this side of the Tasman.
Gorman finished 22 seconds ahead of 18-year-old men's race winner Stefan Talbot, of Pakuranga, and 1min 23sec ahead of Australian-based Kiwi Cara Baker in the 3.3km swim from Russell to Paihia.
"It's pretty exciting," Gorman said. "I don't think I've ever really been in a race where the boys have been happy to sit on my feet. I was like 'come on, take the lead' for a while."
It was also the first time Gorman had worn a full wetsuit, let alone raced in one. "It's definitely very different from what I'm used to but, as the race went on, I got used to it. I thought the water was going to be colder."
Gorman, who has already qualified for the London Olympics, is using the New Zealand open swim series as valuable race preparation.
Baker, who won the opening round of the series in Auckland, has retained her overall lead with her second placing as she works towards next month's national open water championships in Taupo, the selection event towards the final London Olympic qualifying race in Portugal.
Talbot was the men's favourite heading into the race, despite having never won an ocean swim series event before. He proved his worth on Saturday in winning the men's race by 40 seconds over nearest rival, triathlete Graham O'Grady of Hamilton.
"I stuck with Melissa most of the way," Talbot said. "She's a very good swimmer so I decided to try to stick with her but she just got me at the end there."
The conditions deceived the swimmers by flaunting a calm, flat surface at the start line in Russell. But once out of the protection of the bay, the strong northeasterly made it testing on competitors.
About 800 swimmers between the ages of 6 and 81 took the plunge in a range of recreational swims.
The third round of the six-race series is in Wellington on January 29.
