Swimming: Kane Radford set for showdown

Australian champion Trent Grimsey and New Zealand champion Kane Radford are set for a showdown to decide the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Championship.

Grimsey proved too classy for the Rotorua swimmer in the penultimate round of the series, winning the 2.6km State Sand to Surf race at Mount Maunganui at the weekend.

Whoever wins between the pair in the final round in Auckland next month will claim the series title.

It proved an emotional victory in the women's race for defending series champion Charlotte Webby from Taranaki, who dedicated the win to her uncle - "my biggest supporter" - who died a few months ago.

She dominated the race to claim her first win of the series.

There was real interest in the men's race which attracted the strongest field of the series with all of New Zealand's best swimmers against some of Australia's best including three-time national champion Grimsey and Australian Swim Series champion Michael Sheil.

The field was bunched until the midway point of the U-shaped swim around Rabbit and Leisure Islands before Grimsey put his foot on the accelerator.

"The pace until halfway was easy. I picked it up from there and the others fell off," Grimsey said.

Radford, who is building towards the Olympic open water qualifying event in Europe in June, said the swim was good practice but he was still disappointed.