Kiwi defies odds to win NZ's first Spearfishing World Champs medal

Amongst the waves is where you'll typically find Alex Edwards and one shot at a time, the 22-year-old Kiwi is upstaging the spearfishing world.

In her first time competing at the Spearfishing World Championships last month, Edwards won silver — the first time a New Zealander has ever claimed a medal at the event.

"It's pretty cool," Edwards told 1News.

"Everyone was telling me, 'you've got so many years to turn this into gold' — hopefully one day!"

As a student at Otago University, Edwards' study commitments meant her build up to the event was far different to other female competitors.

The top divers spend months scouting the area, gaining knowledge of the fish and terrain before the competition but Edwards spent only 10 days in the water up there, New Zealand team manager Malcom Bird said.

Not only that, but Edwards was also battling an ear infection.

"It only takes one dive, if you're a little bit dehydrated — pop, and you're done," Bird said.

"She had all the things going against her — she didn't have a big boat, she didn't have the crews to tell her where to go.

"She did it by herself!"

The competition is fierce with 100 boats and 100 different divers all hunting the biggest fish over two days of competition.

Each day, athletes have five hours to dive and hunt the list of targeted species.

"We all start in the same place and when they say 'go', these boats just spread out and it was pretty hectic with all the wakes and the water," Edwards recalled.

"On the first day I went to this one spot and I had this fish, it was a scorpion fish but an Italian lady was down hunting it as well — she was sitting on top of the ledge, my boat got there a little later so I swam over, she dove down looked on one side of the cave I went on the other and luckily the fish was on my side.

"I got it but sometimes it's a bit argy bargy!"

But Edwards held her own on day one, bringing home a total 14 fish.

At the weigh in there was another surprise as Edwards shot into the lead with 26 percentage points ahead of the reigning champion, Malén Sart of Spain.

"The commentators made quite a few comments about it — they were like, 'this young girl from New Zealand, we were not expecting that'," laughed Edwards.

However Malén showed her class on the second day, overtaking Edwards to win gold while the Kiwi held on for silver and also caught the best fish of the women’s competition with a 1.7 kg pinto maragota wrasse.

Bird said the result is "simply huge" for New Zealand spearfishing.

"No New Zealand diver has ever won a medal at the worlds and we have been trying for many years!"

Edwards said she called her parents immediately after the historic result.

"I think it was like 4am [in New Zealand] and I was like, 'I don't care, give them a call up'.

"They were pretty stoked."

The New Zealand men’s team featuring Dwane Herbert, Chris Marshall and Rowan Virbickas, finished in 6th place.