"I've no idea who nominated me."
She said she had read up on her fellow nominees and had followed the progress of Diane Nyad during her open water challenge this year. Nyad attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida but had to be pulled from the water some 30 hours in.
"It makes my 11 hours in Lake Taupo seem pretty insignificant really. Seeing these other women and what they've taken on has given me more ideas. Swimming the English Channel is next for me but maybe I should have slotted something in between as it's still almost two years away."
Dickson has first rights to a slot to swim the channel at the end of August in 2013.
She's preparing for that event by swimming in Blue Lake non-wetsuit and has planned for a couple of six hour swims this summer. Even though she swam Lake Taupo 9 months ago, she said she could remember every bit of it.
"The length of it sticks out, it was never-ending. It's such a long swim and a real mental challenge.
"You have to let the hours tick by, keep your stroke rate up and monitor your technique."
Last Sunday she swam - non-wetsuit - across Auckland Harbour at the first State Ocean Swim Series race, finishing the 2.9km race first in the 55-59 age group in 56 minutes and 39 seconds.
The awards are not necessarily for the best athlete, but for the individual who best embodies the spirit of open water swimming, possesses the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and has most positively influenced the world of open water swimming this year.
One-legged swimmer Salvatore Cimmino, who swam 26km across Cook Strait last month becoming the first amputee to swim the strait and the first person to complete the crossing in October, is among the men's nominations. Cimmino, whose right leg was amputated when he was 15 because of cancer, said swimming the strait left him "exhausted but very, very happy".
World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year nominations: Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) World Marathon Swimming Champion; Pamela Dickson (New Zealand) Lady of the Lake; Elizabeth Fry (USA) Two Times Makes Double; Pat Gallant-Charette (USA) Nursing Marathon Excellence; Pilar Geijo (Argentina) World Professional Marathon Swimming Champion; Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco A Royal Supporter; Marcy MacDonald (USA) Freestyling Foot Doctor; Angela Maurer (Germany) Mother of Marathoners; Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden) Swedish Aloha in the Channels; Diana Nyad (USA) Inspiration and Determination Redux; Penny Palfrey (Australia) Marathon Swimmer Extraordinaire; Keri-Anne Payne (Great Britain) World Champion and Olympic Favourite.
World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year nominations: Roger Allsopp (Britain) Barrier-Breaker; Bruckner Chase (USA) Ocean Advocacy and Awareness Visionary; Salvatore Cimmino (Italy) Champion of the Disabled; Spyridon Gianniotis (Greece) World Professional Marathon Swimming Champion; Simon Griffiths (England) Open Water Swimming Publisher Visionary; Thomas Lurz (Germany) World Professional Marathon Swimming Champion; Simon Murie (England) Open Water Swimming Tour Operator and Enabler; Jamie Patrick (USA) Adventure Swimmer; Stephen Redmond (Ireland) Courageous Channel Challenger; Yutaka Shinozaki (Japan) Founder of the Japan International Open Water Swimming Association; Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria) World Professional Marathon Swimming Champion; Doug Woodring (Hong Kong) Ocean Recovery Alliance Visionary.
Vote at www.openwaterswimming.com. Votes close on December 31, the winner will be announced on January 1.
