Swimming: Loader shows he's still got it

Danyon Loader

New Zealand Olympic great Danyon Loader turned back the clock by winning the annual 2.6km Fiji Swim off Beachcomber Island.

Loader headed a strong contingent of Australians to win the open water race over the weekend.

The double gold medallist from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics eased past Australian Andrew Spagnardi near the end to win in 31 minutes 12 seconds, with Spagnardi 11sec back.

Third was Australian Darren Jones, the 2000 open water world surf champion.

Loader retired from swimming in 1999. More recently he has returned to prominence as a contestent on television show Dancing With The Stars.

- NZPA