Radford wins in Western Australia

Kane Radford took honours in the 10km open water event at the Open Water Swimming State Championships in Western Australian over the weekend.

Radford finished in 1:57:02.20, ahead of Scotsman Mark Deans and said the strong competition was a key part of his success.

“It was a good field out there and that’s the great thing about WA - there’s a good group of guys who are very, very strong swimmers,” he said.

Sitting with the lead pack all morning, Radford said he knew he had more to offer at the start of the fourth, and final, 2.5km lap.

“I was just going to hold it in gear and see how I feel,” he said. “With 2.5km to go I just pushed.”

Four more New Zealand swimmers were also in action at the New South Wales Open Water Championships over the weekend.

Charlotte Webby (Aquabladz New Plymouth) was third in the 5km event in 1:00.11.68 while Penelope Hayes (St Peter’s) was 6th in 2:04:44.93.

Webby also finished fourth in the 10km in 2:00:06.00.

Auckland swimmer Philip Ryan (Waterhole) was sixth in the men’s 10km in 1:52:51.58 and seventh in the 5km in 57:53.68.

Jordan Gadsby placed fifth in the 17-18 years 10m (2:06:52.99) and sixth in the 5km (1:03:01.64).