He not might be an open water swimming specialist, but make no mistake, when the starting hooter sounds at the State Capital Classic on Sunday morning, 2012 London Olympian Dylan Dunlop-Barrett will be a strong contender.
The Taranaki 22-year-old heads into the 3.3km race as one of the favourites, after a surprising performance in round one of the series, Auckland's Harbour Crossing in November.
 Dylan Dunlop-Barrett during the Harbour Crossing in 2013(Photo: State NZ Ocean Swim Series; click to enlarge) |
Dunlop-Barrett beat everyone home except New Zealand's best open water swimmer and race winner Kane Radford, someone in hindsight Dunlop-Barrett believes he should have also beaten.
"Yeah, the Harbour Crossing was a bit of a nightmare. I should've won that race. I didn't know the course as well as I should have, and hesitated near the end to get my bearings. That allowed Kane to overtake me and win," he said.
Despite coming second, Dunlop-Barrett has taken heart from the performance, and he's motivated to win in Wellington.
"I'm swimming with no expectations, no pressure, because my major goal of the summer is to peak for April's Commonwealth Games trials and qualify in the 200m freestyle.
"However if you're asking me whether I'm in Sunday's race and the overall series to win it, then the answer is yes. That is not going to be easy though, with a large group of others swimming well right now," Dunlop-Barrett said.
That group includes swimmers like Auckland's Phillip Ryan, and another pool specialist Nathan Capp, who just last month smashed Kane Radford's New Zealand record for the 1500m freestyle by more than five seconds.
Both are on the start line for Sunday, along with Australian George O'Brien, the only swimmer from across the Tasman who's venturing over for the race.
O'Brien, 22, from Coolum, hasn't been in the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series since he won the Capital Classic two years ago. Since then he's had major surgery on his shoulder, which took him out of the water for six months. But now he's back and ready to resurrect a promising career, which took him to the brink of qualifying for London 2012.
"My ultimate quest in swimming is to represent Australia in the 10km open water race at Rio 2016.
"One of my major goals this season though is to win this series, which is going to be challenging. But, I've won this race before and I'm confident I'll be competitive," O'Brien said.
The women's race is set to be a battle between New Zealand's two best up and coming long-distance specialists.
18-year-old Wellingtonian Emma Robinson, who represented New Zealand at last year's world champs in the open water 10km race, will square off against 17-year-old Grace Somerville from Ashburton.
And both are in good form with Robinson winning the 5km national title in Taupo two weeks ago, and Somerville the 10km national title.
 Emma Robinson (orange cap) looking out of the line before the start of the Harbour Crossing in 2013(Photo: State NZ Ocean Swim Series; click to enlarge) |
"Grace is a top swimmer," Robinson said. "She's in good form so the race this weekend is going to be tough."
Both have been seen just once in the series so far, with Robinson finishing 4th in the Harbour Crossing in November, just one second ahead of Somerville, who finished 5th.
"I'd just come off a week of full-on training for the Harbour Crossing, but for this race I've backed off a little so we will see what happens," she said.
Robinson's recent schedule though has been heavy, with the recent Wellington long course summer champs, helping her build towards her ultimate goal.
"The big goal for me is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in the 800m freestyle. That's what this season is all about," she said.
The State Capital Classic is a 3.3km journey from Frank Kitts Lagoon out to the Pt. Jerningham Lighthouse, before finishing at Freyberg Beach in Oriental Bay. The race is the third in a six race series around the country this summer. The final three rounds are in Akaroa (Feb 22nd), Mount Maunganui (March 22nd) and Auckland's North Shore (April 12th).
 Swimmers going around the Oriental Bay fountain in Wellington Harbour during the 2008 race(Photo: State NZ Ocean Swim Series; click to enlarge) |
State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Mens Standings (after Round 2)
1. Jarrod Poort (NSW) * 199.81
2. Phillip Ryan (Auckland) 198.04
3. Kane Radford (Rotorua) * 100.00
4. Dylan Dunlop-Barrett (New Plymouth) 99.90
5. Nathan Capp (Tauranga) 99.73
State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Womens Standings (after Round 2)
1. Paige Schendelaar-Kemp (Auckland) * 196.61
2. Liana Smith (Auckland) * 189.84
3. Charlotte Webby (New Plymouth) * 100.00
4. Jessica Walker (Queensland) * 98.98
5. Courtney Carson (Lower Hutt) 97.08
• Not swimming this round
