Surf lifesaving: Kiwi wins in Australia

Ayla Dunlop-Barrett. Photo / Jamie Troughton

Taranaki's Ayla Dunlop-Barrett struck a blow at the very heart of Australian surf lifesaving by winning the women's belt race title at the Australian Championships on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Dunlop-Barrett, representing Queensland's Northcliffe club, headed home defending champion Naomi Flood (Manly) in heavy, dumping surf at Kurrawa Beach, the first time a Kiwi has ever won gold in the event.

"I thought Naomi had it in the bag on the start line - she's such an awesome competitor," Dunlop-Barrett said. "I have so much respect for her and it feels pretty good to beat her but that last 50m in that race was pretty tough. We got hit by a couple of big sets on the way out and it was definitely the hardest one I've done."

Her achievement is even more remarkable given it's only the second time she's ever competed in the event - the first was at last weekend's Queensland state titles.

The belt race is threaded throughout the sport's history, with a swimmer taking a line out through the surf in a race to the buoys, a nod to the time when a belt and reel were the most used lifesaving equipment on a beach.

But the belt race hasn't been raced at the New Zealand championships since 2000. Ironically, the last national champions were Glenn Anderson - Dunlop-Barrett's fiancé and coach at her New Plymouth Old Boys club - and his sister Rachael.

In Australia, recent belt champions include ironman superstar Zane Holmes.

It's been a big week for the Dunlop-Barrett clan. Ayla also picked up medals with Northcliffe in the surf teams race (silver) and tube rescue (bronze), while her younger brother Dylan smashed Danyon Loader's 20-year-old 800m record at the New Zealand swimming championships on Tuesday.