Erika Fairweather (Kavanagh College) heading to the Olympics

Dunedin swimmer Erika Fairweather is seen with her gold medal from the Women's 200m Freestyle final at the FINA Junior Swimming World Championships in 2019. Photo: Getty Images/Google

17-year-old Erika Fairweather  is a contender for the youngest New Zealand athlete at the Olympic Games. The Dunedin Kavanagh College student says she's thrilled to be heading to her first Olympic Games.
 
“The feeling of making my first Olympic team is still so surreal. I've worked so hard for this moment and it is all coming together – it’s so exciting!" said Fairweather.
 
"Representing New Zealand and wearing the fern at the Olympic Games is a dream I've had for as long as I can remember, so words don't really do this feeling justice.”
 
Erika competed in the 2019 FINA World Championships and was the youngest swimmer (age 15 at the time) to make top 20 for the 200m and 400m Freestyle distances.
 
She went on to win gold in the 200m Freestyle event at the 2019 World Junior Championships the following month. Erika has been selected to swim the 200 and 400m Freestyle events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

A high school student at Kavanagh College in Dunedin, Erika swims under Lars Humer, the New Zealand Olympic Coach for Tokyo.

Erika competed in the 2019 FINA World Championships and was the youngest swimmer (age 15 at the time) to make top 20 for the 200m and 400m Freestyle distances.

The freestyle swimmer went on to win gold in the 200m Freestyle event at the 2019 World Junior Championships the following month. Erika has been selected to swim the 200 and 400m Freestyle events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Erika has broken an impressive number of NZ age group records over the years. In 2019, Erika broke Rebecca Perrot’s 43-year-old age group (15-years) record in the 400m Freestyle. The previous record was set at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.