Going the distance SUSAN SWIMS into the record books

THIS AMBITIOUS MUM SHARES HER STROKE OF INSPIRATION

- Lynley Ward

For as long as she can remember, Susan Sherwen had wanted to swim across Lake Taupo.

Summer days spent cooling off in the water as a youngster, as well as a memorable encounter at a Christmas parade with the first person to accomplish the feat, had Susan eager to follow in her wake.

Now, nearly 50 years later, she can tick this remarkable endeavour of endurance off her to-do list. Taking 14 hours and 40 minutes to swim the challenging 40.2km distance, the Auckland grandmother crawled onto the shore on International Women’s Day, thrilled to finally achieve her childhood dream.

Making the achievement even sweeter, Susan (59) swam right into the record books as part of the first mum-and daughter duo to make the lake crossing. Her youngest daughter Kim (28) swam the leg in 2017 and was on the water in a support vessel during the March 8 crossing.

“I had this dream and now I’ve done it,” Susan proudly tells the Weekly, revealing she was stricken by a vomiting bug, cramp and a sore shoulder during the attempt. “It’s kind of overwhelming.

“This is definitely one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. It’s something so few people have done and to have two people from the same family to do it is extra-special!”

Physiotherapist Kim couldn’t be more proud of her mother. “Every time I fly into TaupoÌ„and look down on the lake, I think, ‘Wow, that’s huge and I swam it.’ And now I’ll be thinking both me and Mum swam it!”

It’s a triumph for the grandmother of four, who once held dreams of Olympic greatness before international politics saw her walk away from a promising sports career.