Like most girls her age, Caitlin O'Reilly admits a fear of sharks and deep water. But as one of New Zealand's most promising ocean swimmers, she hasn't let that get in the way of her goals.
"It definitely crosses my mind when swimming," O'Reilly says, "but I kind of justget past it, block out those thoughts."
The 16-year-old Carmel College student has swum across the 26km Cook Strait and 40.2km Lake Taupo — the youngest New Zealand female to do so.
O'Reilly was first introduced to swimming when her parents signed her up for lessons as a child. She naturally transitioned to competing for her club but quickly realised the pool wasn't for her.
She grew bored of lap swimming, finding the lane ropes frustrating.
Caitlin O'Reilly at the Orewa Beach Series. Photo / Supplied
With her family living by the sea, O'Reilly started training in the ocean and got hooked on the feeling which came with open-water swimming.
"I like being in the ocean because there's more space — I feel more free. You're not staring at a black line for ages, there's lots to look at," she says.
"In the ocean, it's not necessarily about speed, it's not about getting a certain time, it's just about wanting to get to the other side."
O'Reilly didn't have many goals in mind until she started swimming under the guidance of former New Zealand representative-turned-coach John Gatfield, who had been the youngest person to swim Cook Strait, aged 13.
When Gatfield mentioned his achievement, O'Reilly was struck with motivation to one-up her coach's record.
Caitlin O'Reilly and coach John Gatfield. Photo / Supplied
O'Reilly surpassed Gatfield's mark in 2017, aged 12, and quickly looked towards her next challenge.
"I knew I didn't want that to be my last thing, I wanted to go on and do something else," she says.
O'Reilly started training to become the youngest female to swim Lake Taupo, which she achieved last February. She now has sights set on becoming the youngest swimmer to conquer Oceans Seven — a swimming challenge consisting of seven open-water channel swims.
Oceans Seven, devised as the equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge, consists of the North Channel (between Ireland and Scotland), Cook Strait, the Moloka'i Channel (Hawaii), the English Channel, the Catalina Channel (California), the Tsugaru Strait (Japan) and the Strait of Gibraltar.
Needing to swim all seven before she turns 19 to claim the record as the youngest person to achieve the feat, O'Reilly believes her body is already up for the challenge. Mentally, however, she says there's work to do.
"I think that's going to be the biggest challenge," she says. "I know physically I can do it if I just keep up my training, that's easy enough, but mentally, it's tough.
"If I can stay motivated, then I know I can do it."
Training will remain relatively the same for O'Reilly, who swims six days a week covering 5km-10km a session.
A keen rower, too, it's not always easy for O'Reilly to balance her commitments.
"All my friends at school are always like 'how do you do this? No wonder you're asleep in class all the time'," she says with a laugh.
"It is hard balancing school, rowing and swimming, and catching up with friends, but I guess I just stay focused on what my goal is at the end and that drives me.
"If I want to continue doing my swimming and my rowing, I have to make sure I balance it. I have a timetable to make sure I'm getting to bed on time, make sure I'm getting the recovery I need — recovery is the most important thing to get me through the week."
The 2019 Chopper Swim. Photo / Supplied
O'Reilly was set to compete in last Friday's Westpac Chopper Swim — a 20km swim between Waiheke and Auckland — before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Although disappointed over the event's cancellation, O'Reilly remains focused on what lies ahead.
"It is unfortunate the chopper swim was cancelled but it was for the best to keep everyone safe and healthy," she says.
"Fortunately, I can still do my squad training with North Shore Swimming.
"I'm going to take it swim by swim and see what happens."
