Harbour Crossing: Pacemaker's race strategy pays off

Australian Codie Grimsey coped well with the choppy conditions. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Australian Codie Grimsey took out the Harbour Crossing in Auckland yesterday ahead of a clutch of New Zealanders.

In showery and overcast conditions the 19-year-old from Brisbane dominated from the beginning and came home in 33m 18s, 20s faster than Dunedin's Bryn Murphy.

Auckland's Matthew Stanley was third over the 2.8km Bayswater to Viaduct Harbour course in 34:53 while three-time winner Kane Radford settled for fifth.

Australian-based Kiwi Cara Baker, the Australian and New Zealand open champion, also had a good day in the State-sponsored event, being fastest woman, with a time of 36m 15s, more than 2min ahead of Olympic and Commonwealth Games representatives Lauren Boyle and Melissa Ingram.

It was the first time the 10km Oceania water champion Grimsey had pulled on a wetsuit for a swim. Even so, he couldn't bring himself for the full neck-to-ankle option.

"It was quite cold and it took a bit to get warmed up. I chose to swim without the sleeves because I thought it might restrict my shoulder movements but I realised not many other swimmers had the sleeveless.

"I quite like these conditions actually, when you have sun you have trouble seeing the turning buoys."

Grimsey said it was important to get out ahead of past champions such as Radford and promising elite competitor Phillip Ryan, who was fourth.

"I just tried to get a quick start, I saw some of the results from the short course last week and they had quite fast times. I knew I had to get out fast and dictate the strong pace for most of the way. That was the game plan - try and put a psychological gap on everyone else."

Parts of the swim was quite choppy - just how Baker likes it.

"It's so unpredictable you just have to pretty much go out there and do your best," she said.

"That's why ocean swims are so fun, because anyone can win - it's not the best person it's not the first one to touch the wall. It's so unpredictable."