KEY POINTS:
New Zealand opened up a healthy lead on the first day of the world lifesaving championships in Germany after a world record start to the pool competition.
Team captain Glenn Anderson anchored the men's 4x50m obstacle relay team to victory in the final, beating their own world mark set last year by 1.4 seconds.
Anderson, Michael Buck, Andy McMillan and Steven Kent clocked 1min 39.55sec, in front of Italy on 1min 41.42sec and Australia at 1min 41.77sec.
Anderson, Buck and Kent helped set the previous world mark of 1min 40.95sec at last year's German Cup meet late but the skipper believed this was far more satisfying.
"The team were hopeful of a world record but the gold medal was the priority and we knew if we did things right we would go close to both," Anderson said.
" All the guys really stepped up - it was one of the highlights of my career when we first broke it last year but to do it at a world championship is just so much better."
The New Zealand women's team finished third in the 4x50m obstacle relay while McMillan earlier captured silver in the 200m obstacle swim, breaking Trent Bray's 10-year-old national record.
McMillan clocked 1min 56.06sec, pruning 1.8sec off the mark Bray set at the 1998 world championships in Auckland.
He finished just behind Italian Federico Pinotti, who narrowly missed breaking the world record with a 1:55.51 swim.
New Plymouth's Ayla Dunlop-Barrett picked up bronze in the same event, also setting a new national record, with her 2min 12.25sec erasing Natasha Hind's 2min 13.05sec set last year.
Barrett's teammate Georgina Toomey was close behind in fourth, with China's Ying Lu setting a new world record in 2min 09.03sec.
Toomey and sister, Julia, also starred in the 50m manikin carry, picking up the silver and bronze medals respectively, while Buck added to his tally with bronze in the same event.
New Zealand finished the first day on 139 points, 26 in front of Italy with defending champions Australia another five points adrift.
There are two days left of the pool competition, with the beach events starting on Friday.
Day 1 points: New Zealand 139, Italy 113, Australia 108, China 64, Germany 48, Sth Africa 46, Canada 40, Spain 36, Denmark 26, Poland 25.
- NZPA
