Radford in freestyle race at home pool

CHAMPION SWIMMER: New Zealand No. 1 open water swimmer Kane Radford has returned home to make an appearance at the Swim Rotorua meet today. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER 151113SP1

IF you ain't first you're last.

Those are the words Rotorua swimmer Kane Radford had tattooed across his wrists recently.

Radford will try and live up to the motto today when he takes part in a Swim Rotorua meet at the Rotorua Aquatic Centre.

The New Zealand No. 1 open water swimmer, who is based in Perth, has not raced in the 50m outdoor pool at the aquatic centre for four years.

However, he still calls Swim Rotorua his home club and can not wait to get back into the water where he trained as a teenager.

"It is the pool I have done the most laps in in my life," he said.

"It is good to be able to come home and interact with the younger kids.

"The sport has helped me out in so many ways so it is not hard for me to swim in a local event and give back to the sport."

Radford will compete in one event today, the 400m freestyle at 8.45am.

He will then pack up and leave for Auckland, where he will compete in the 2.9km Harbour Crossing tomorrow - the first race of the 2013/2014 State New Zealand Ocean Swim series.

Radford has won the Harbour Crossing race on four out of five attempts. The event is now in its 10th year and will attract almost 1800 swimmers tomorrow.

About five months ago he moved from Auckland to Perth to train under new coach Mel Tantrum.

"She trains Rhys Mainstone, Australia's best open water swimmer," he said.

"There is a group of us that are just an open water squad. It is very rare to find [a group like that], we don't have one in New Zealand like that, and it is the only one in Australia that is like that as well."

He said he was really enjoying training alongside Mainstone and some of Perth's top triathletes.

Earlier this year, Radford picked up his best result at the Fina World Swimming Championships, finishing 20th in the 10km and 18th in the 5km open water races in Barcelona.

The 23-year-old is considered relatively young in the sport with the top 10 athletes in the sport aged between 28 and 30.

He said his main goal for the next few years was to train hard for the 2015 Fina World Swimming Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My plan for the next two years, leading into Rio, is to get into the world cups and get the exposure and experience which comes with them, and make sure I keep on tracking towards the top guys," he said.

"I want to qualify [for the Olympics] and not just make up the numbers but be in with those top-10 guys for a position to medal in Rio." The Olympic distance for open water swimming is 10km.

The Swim Rotorua long-course meet today will see about 160 swimmers taking part.

Bay of Plenty Swimming president Bronwen Radford said the event would include all the swimming clubs in the Bay.

She said it was the first long-course event of the season in the Bay of Plenty, and it was great to have her son Kane taking part.

The event starts at 8.30am and ends at 1.30pm.