In 2017 Caitlin O’Reilly won the AIMES Junior Excellence swimming award, on the back of becoming the youngest female to swim Cook Strait at the age of 12. This summer, Caitlin, now a Year 11 student at Carmel College, swam the length of Lake Taupo (40.2km) in 13 hours and 26 minutes, becoming the youngest female swimmer (at the age of 14) to complete this feat. 

Christine Young: What excites you about swimming – and long-distance swimming in particular?

Caitlin O’Reilly: I enjoy the training, the racing and the adrenaline rush you get at the beginning of the race. I love long distance swimming because there are no limits, I feel free in the ocean and I know how good the success feels when you have achieved your goal. In the future I am hoping that my swimming will allow me to travel the world and meet new people. I do it because I love it and I don’t have to worry about anything, I just stay in the moment. 

CY: Why did you apply for an AIMES award?

CO’R: I applied for the AIMES award to help me progress in my swimming so that I could be the best I could be.

CY: Please tell us your reaction when you learned you had won the award? What opportunities did winning it offer to you?

CO’R:  I was so stoked when I received the news that I had won. It is such a privilege and honour to be part of the AIMES community which has given me loads of opportunities to meet other winners and sports people that have inspired me. I was so lucky to meet Terenzo Bozzone at a North Harbour Club luncheon last year. Winning the award has helped me compete in overseas open water races which has been a huge benefit. I can’t thank the sponsors enough for their support.

CY: Since winning, has your sports or academic focus shifted? If so, why? We also know that you’ve continued to develop your long-distance swimming career - what have you done to continue to develop that? 

CO’R: After swimming Cook Strait it took me some time to figure out what my new goals were and I realised that completing Cook Strait was just the beginning of many new challenges. Winning the Award and seeing the amazing achievements of the other recipients has helped me realise what I wanted to achieve.

Swimming 40.2km across Lake Taupo earlier this year cemented my love for long distance marathon swimming and I knew that I was up for more. I have also started swimming 5 and 10 km open water races which has been exciting and given me some shorter term goals to focus on. I still love racing in the pool – 200m butterfly is my favourite.

CY: What are your long-term swimming ambitions? And other ambitions? 

CO’R: I have thought a lot about this and know I am going to continue to do my long-distance swimming. I have big plans to complete a couple of big Channel swims next year in the hope of completing the Oceans 7 marathon channel swims in the future. Preparation and sponsorship planning for next year is already under way. Training will be intense and require cold water and night swimming practice. One thing I’ve learnt is that if you don’t put in the hours you won’t get the results!