Teen swimming sensation Erika Fairweather is going from strength to strength.
The 19-year-old clocked a New Zealand national record in the 400-metre freestyle at the South Island championships over the weekend with a time of 4:00.97, putting her as the eighth-fastest woman in world history.
Fairweather has a formula that's working in Dunedin – so much so, it's drawing other big names to Otago.
Fellow Olympian Zac Reid is one of her training partners in the deep south and fair to say, there’s a bit of friendly rivalry.
“Definitely borderline annoying,” Fairweather joked.
Reid’s response almost as quick as he is in the water.
“She's doing top-eight times in the world but she's still not touching me in the pool!”
But it's that kind of rivalry with Reid that's helping Fairweather go faster than ever before, putting her name alongside the likes of Australian speedster Ariarne Titmus and US legend Katie Ledecky.
“It's crazy, it's so surreal,” Fairweather said of the comparisons.
“Going that time just makes everything more real. Falling into that 4-minute, it's a step away from 3-59.”
Fairweather also revealed to 1News she's adding the 800-metre freestyle to her schedule for the Paris Games.
Reid hopes to join her there next year, moving from Wellington and training with Commonwealth Games champion Lewis Clareburt to chase some records of his own.
“Things weren't quite clicking for me in Wellington. Nothing against anything there, I was swimming alongside some of my best mates down there.”
But now he’s got a new mate.
Or rather, a new rival.
“I said to her, ‘I'm never letting you beat me in a set’.
“There's been times I’ve been pretty tired and it's been close but … I'm chasing my own times, I'm chasing the clock but I've got Erika right behind me so I can't ease up.”
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