Neptune swimmer Ruby Heath has defended a pair of national titles.
Heath, a hopeful for the Paris Olympics in 2024, had a particularly impressive 10km performance on Saturday.
She finished in 2hr 8min 59sec to win the open women’s championship.
However, it also placed her second overall, open men’s winner Eligh Ashby the only swimmer to beat her, clocking in 59sec ahead.
She followed that on Sunday with a time of 1hr 1min 9sec in the 5km, 7sec ahead of second-placed woman Abbey Smale.
That left Heath seventh overall.
Fellow Neptune swimmer Jordan Rogers also had a useful weekend, finishing 10th in the 5km women’s category and 11th in the 10km.
Wanaka’s Nevaeh Reddy placed 11th in the girls 13-14 grade in the 2.5km race, and 10th in the 5km.
-- JEFF CHESHIRE
