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Regional | Rotorua

Legend of the Lake takes plunge at NZ Ocean Swim Series

The 10th anniversary of the NZ Ocean Swim Series is in full swing with the Legend of The Lake event, the first fresh water swim of the series at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua today.

The annual series takes pace at seven different locations throughout New Zealand.

Event Director Scott Rice says it's the first time they're had seven events. "(There's) a lot of regular participants who travel the country with us and a whole lot of recreational swimmers want to have a crack. So I think it's nice to be around for ten years and be established and we look forward to another ten."

Special Olympian Troy Rangi has microcephaly but that didn’t deter him before taking to the 1000m swim course, “What special Olympics is about, involves people with disabilities. We’ve got athletes who train hard and get somewhere and improve on what we can achieve," said Mr Rangi.

"We can actually do it, and we just keep training hard till we get the skills right and then we can do the bigger swims when we have to.”

The series caters for swimmers of all skill sets and offers an opportunity for recreational swimmers to take the plunge with elite swimmers.

The New Zealand Ocean Swim Series works in partnership with Surf Life Saving New Zealand.