A coroner has reserved his decision in to the death of a top equestrian in the Waikato River last year.
Mathew Kerst Slade, 21, from Melbourne, was swept away by strong currents in the river downstream of the Aratiatia Power Station on January 9 last year while swimming.
Mr Slade had been training at the National Equestrian Centre, and he and a group of friends had already swum twice in the river the same day.
Giving evidence today at a Taupo inquest, Sergeant Shane McNally of Taupo police told coroner Gordon Matenga that when the group returned to the river in the early evening, the flow was "substantially" higher than earlier in the day.
Witnesses said Mr Slade swam out further than the others, and was picked up by the current and carried downstream, calling for help.
