Natalie Wiegersma was one of Southland's greatest swimmers. Photo / Supplied
Natalie Wiegersma boasts many titles.
Olympian, missionary, student, coach and now, constable.
It sets the scene for what should be a story about setting goals and accomplishing dreams but for Wiegersma, that's far from reality.
Instead, the former New Zealand swimmer's journey from sport to the front line has been one led by chance and snap decisions.
It all started when Wiegersma first jumped in the pool for swimming lessons at age four.
Her only intention was to learn to swim so that the next time she visited family in the Netherlands, her grandad wouldn't have to fence off the river which ran alongside their house.
Showing potential in the water, however, Wiegersma and her sister Joyce followed advice to join a swimming club.
Wiegersma's sporting pursuits remained relatively casual until Joyce started taking swimming more seriously and as a result, earned selection to represent New Zealand.
Seeing her sister don the fern inspired Wiegersma to train toward selection herself and it didn't take long before she burst onto the scene breaking 12 national age-group records over short and long-course distances.
In 2006 - at just 16-years-old – she won gold in the 100m backstroke at the inaugural World Youth Championships in Rio de Janeiro as she quickly rose as one of Southland's greatest swimmers.
She then attended the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 where she finished fourth in the 200m individual medley while smashing a New Zealand record.
But despite her impressive success, the Olympic dream most athletes set their sights on wasn't one which crossed Wiegersma's mind.
"It wasn't something I said when I was young, that I was going to go to the Olympics, not a chance," Wiegersma told the Herald. "Even in my teens I still never thought I'd be able to get to the Olympics."
In 2012 though, Wiegersma made history when she became the first female swimmer from Southland to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games, qualifying and racing in both the 400m and 200m individual medleys in London.
Wiegersma went along with talks of her future in the sport, even as far as publicly stating during the lead up to the London Games that her plan was to kick on to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
However, shortly after returning to Invercargill, things began to shift and Wiegersma quickly realised she needed to come clean and declare she had lost her passion for swimming.
"I tried to stick at it, but the passion and motivation died off and it wasn't such an easy time for me when I came back," Wiegersma says. "There was a part of me that thought there's got to be more to life than just swimming.
"Things between me and my coach weren't going so well and I looked at going to America or Australia to keep swimming but they were all going to cost a lot of money and my mum asked me 'how much do you want to keep swimming?' and I said, 'to be honest, not that much'."
Calling her retirement at the height of her career and at just 22 years old didn't come without backlash, however.
She knew she needed to get out of Southland and no longer being tied to a training schedule, Wiegersma packed her bags and went overseas in a bid to start the next chapter in her life.
"I wanted to go somewhere where no one knew me," she says.
"While I was swimming I didn't have that luxury to just go, so I said 'I'm leaving, I'm out, I'm going to do my own thing without having to worry about having to train.' That was just me wanting to have a bit of freedom."
Without plans about where to go or what to do, Wiegersma spent her first few months visiting family in the Netherlands.
Three months on, Wiegersma wasn't yet ready to return home and instead decided to do missionary work in Africa.
Wiegersma based herself in Namibia for three months where she volunteered at a school teaching underprivileged children.
It was an experience she describes as eye-opening.
"It was quite a reality check for me, just how blessed and privileged I am with everything I've got," she says. "You forget how privileged you are to have clean water, a roof over your head, heating and food everyday in abundance.
"These kids had no aspirations. When you asked them what they wanted to do later in life it was things like being a taxi driver, it was kind of heartbreaking.
"I just wanted to give them some encouragement and show them that they can aspire to do great things."
When the time came for Wiegersma to return home she was faced with the big question, of 'now what?'
Having left an arts degree unfinished, she decided that was the best place to start.
She completed her bachelor's degree and was keen to do post-graduate study in art therapy but when things fell through and she wasn't accepted into the course, it was time for plan B.
Wiegersma started coaching swimming but again, things quickly unravelled and so she turned to her final option – joining the police force.
"The same day I got that news about my post-grad study, I joined the police," she says. "I knew I wanted to make a difference with my time here on earth. I couldn't stand the idea of having a mundane job that didn't really make any difference."
In the time Wiegersma's 18-month application process took place, she moved to Tauranga to join her now-fiance.
Last week Wiegersma graduated from police college and was posted to the Waikato District.
Excited by the opportunities her new career presents, Wiegersma says it's special to know she was set to make a difference in her community.
"I want to make a difference and change how people view the police, I want to help kids, ones that don't have a nice upbringing here in New Zealand, I want to help so many people," she says.
Although having gone through ups and downs, Wiegersma looks back on the past ten years and her journey both in and out the pool proudly.
Keen to continue going with the flow and seeing where life's currents lead her, Wiegersma says if she can help just one person in her newest venture it'll be worthwhile.
"I want to help people who don't have the opportunity to help themselves," she says. "If I can make a difference to just one person and turn their life around then I can say I've done my job."
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