Erika Fairweather

EVENTS: Women’s 800m, 400m, 200m Freestyle and Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Dunedin’s Erika Fairweather is New Zealand’s first ever Swimming World Champion, having won gold in the women’s 400m Freestyle at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

The meet was extremely successful for Fairweather who also won silver in the 200m Freestyle, and bronze in the 800m Freestyle. In 2023, she won World Championship bronze in the 400m event, sharing the podium with swimming superstars Katie Ledecky and Ariane Titmus.

Fairweather has competed for the New Zealand Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

In Paris, Fairweather became the first ever New Zealander to reach four swimming finals at an Olympic Games (800m free, 400m free, 200m free, 4x 200m relay). She placed fourth in her favoured event, the 400m freestyle.

In Tokyo, Fairweather set a New Zealand record to qualify for the final of the 400m freestyle. She was aged just 17 and was still attending High School at the time.

Fairweather is based in her hometown of Dunedin and is coached by Lars Humer.