Kiwi Kate making waves for Oz

Australia has more world class swimmers than you can shake a boomerang at - but their latest long-distance star is former Aucklander Kate Brookes-Peterson, who won't be coming back.

And before you accuse Australia of claiming another New Zealand phenomenon as their own - along with Phar Lap, Split Enz, pavlova and bogans - it's more a case of the 20-year-old open-water swimmer calling Australia home.

"I consider myself an Australian. I have been here four years and I don't see myself going back," she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The North Shore native described waiting for her clearance to compete for Australia as a "horrible process". "There were times I thought about giving up, I was really upset. I was denied at first. It was a big heartache but I just wanted to compete so badly for Australia."

Brookes-Peterson won the 5km/10km double at the Australian championships on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago and so far is Australia's only female qualifier for July's world open-water champs in Montreal, where she is tipped to win gold (her Gold Coast 10km was two minutes faster than the winningtime at last year's world champsin Dubai).

So, we've lost her. "No, you haven't lost me," she told the Herald on Sunday from her home near Brisbane. "I'm a proud Kiwi. I always go for the All Blacks and the Warriors ... but, when it comes to swimming, there's a lot more [financial] support in Australia."

In Brooke-Peterson's eyes, Swimming New Zealand lacked the support of tight-fitting Speedos. "They weren't willing to pull their finger out to help me. They could see how far ahead of everyone else I was - right up with the boys. There were some people trying to help but it could have been done better."

Kiwi companies wouldn't fork out either - "because they've never heard of me before so I could never get a name for myself. I was stuck in a circle".

The only way out of the whirlpool was to become Australian, to go to the dark side. "I wouldn't call it that," she said.

"They were just so supportive of me. I had to do something. It was pointless just training but not being able to afford to compete."

Coached at North Harbour by her mother Beth Peterson, Kate was no slouch in the pool, winning national titles in the 800m and 1500m freestyle. Australia Swimming want her to compete at the Olympics, but she is resisting. "I enjoy open-water swimming better - it's so much more psychological and interesting."

And more dangerous. It's not so much the rips, sharks and sea snakes but the opponents.

"They'll rip your cap and goggles off if they can get away with it. They'll team tackle you, they're really rough."

Despite her Australian citizenship, Brookes-Peterson is an Ocker outsider. "They see me as a Kiwi. People know I'm not a true Australian. The papers call me Kiwi Kate."

Brookes-Peterson has just finished bingeing on chocolate and ice cream since her Gold Coast glory. Now it's back to healthy eating and swimming 80km a week. And if she wins in Montreal and is given an Australian flag to wave, will she get a blue pen and colour out a couple of stars? "I'll see what I can do," she says.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY