Caitlin O'Reilly during her Lake Taupo double challenge. Photo / Supplied
Caitlin O'Reilly during her Lake Taupo double challenge. Photo / Supplied
After more than 28 hours of her epic quest to swim two laps of Lake Taupō , Caitlin O'Reilly thought she spotted a golf ball.
Despite more than a day in the water she still had the strength to dive down and attempt to retrieve it before her coach shouted out "focus, you've got 20 metres to go".
The 17-year-old overcame the worries of falling asleep and badly wrinkled hands and feet to complete the 82km swim on Sunday, in 28 hours and two minutes to become just the third person to ever finish the double-crossing.
"Still pretty exhausted. I'll get there," she told the Country Gold Breakfast this morning.
"I enjoy challenging myself and pushing myself. But it was pretty much something to do while I was waiting for the borders to open and I've got a few more swims lined up for this year and next year."
O'Reilly, who swam the Cook Strait at age 12, was also raising money for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter after the Waiheke Island to Auckland event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Caitlin O'Reilly during her Lake Taupo double challenge. Photo / Supplied
It's the longest swim recorded for the teenager who had previously completed the crossings of Cook Strait, Foveaux Strait and one lap of Lake Taupō.
She said swimming through the night and staying awake was the biggest challenge.
"That was probably one of the harder parts of the swim. Just getting through the night. I was really worried about it at the start, thinking how am I going to start awake for 28 hours. But it worked itself out.
"All my supporters kept motivating me to stay awake. It wasn't really much of an issue, I didn't feel like I was going to fall asleep. I was just focusing on my stroke and what I was doing. Trying not to think too much about doing another lap."
She started from Lake Taupō Yacht Club at 1.03pm on Saturday and reached the other side at 3am before eating some hard-earned lasagne and heading back, eventually finishing 5.03pm Sunday.
Caitlin O'Reilly after completing her epic swim.
Getting back in the water for the second leg was a challenge.
"That was one of the harder parts, knowing I could just walk out. But I had worked hard just to be there and I wanted to get it done," O'Reilly said.
"During the swim I was really concerned about how wrinkly my hands were. My hands and feet were so wrinkly. But my body has handled it really well. I thought I wouldn't be able to walk but I got straight up after the swim. And I went for a swim last night as well. A nice recovery swim to get the body moving again."
Next up is the 30km Tsugaru Strait in Japan as O'Reilly continues her challenge of completing the Oceans Seven – swimming's equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge – followed by the English Channel in 2023.
