New Zealand’s leading open water swimmers take their first strokes towards the London Olympics in Taupo this weekend.
The open water stars will contest the State Insurance NZ 10km Championships on Lake Taupo on Saturday which is the first stepping stone in the qualifying process for the 2012 Olympics.
The national 10km and 5km championships are being staged in conjunction with the Epic Swim Festival which incorporates the New Zealand Masters 2.5km Open Water title as well as a range of recreational swims from 100m to 500m for kids from five years up, along with 2.5km, 5km and 10km swims for age group and adult swimmers.
The focus goes on the State Insurance 10km Open Water Championship on Saturday, which is the Olympic distance event. A finish in the top five will earn qualification for the Australian Open Water Championships at the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith in March. A finish in the top four or within 20 seconds of the winner in Australia will earn selection to the FINA World Championships in Shanghai in July. A finish in the top 10 in Shanghai gets automatic selection for London with a second selection event to take place at a later date.
"It's a very important stepping stone for our open water swimmers," said Swimming New Zealand Open Water National Coach, Philip Rush.
"If they want to get to London, then they have to be ready to take that important first step this weekend. The pressure will go on this weekend for sure.
"The depth of open water swimmers is noticeably improving now that this is an Olympic event and I am impressed with the improvement.
"The men's race has got seven or eight strong candidates and there's really nothing between them so it is going to be a fantastic battle.
"Cara Baker is the real class in the women's field although Alannah Jury is getting back to her best form again also."
There is also a group of Australian swimmers competing that will ensure the New Zealanders will need to deliver their best.
The 10km New Zealand Championship starts at 11am on Saturday after the age and open events, with Sunday's racing featuring the NZ Masters 2.5km swim at 9am and the New Zealand 5km swim at 10am.
For full details, see www.swimmingnz.org.nz.
