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Erika Fairweather finished 8th in the 800m freestyle final today – her fourth final at the Paris Olympics.
It was a supercharged race in which legendary American Katie Ledecky held off Australian star Ariarne Titmus to win her 9th gold medal spread over four Olympics.
Fairweather swam 8min 23.27s, about a second slower than in her heat, and finished 8th.
There’s no doubt the 20-year-old Dunedin swimmer has been the powerhouse of the New Zealand swim squad in Paris, having made freestyle finals in 200m (7th), 400m (4th) and 800m (8th) and led the 4 x 200m freestyle relay team into the final (8th).
It’s doubtful if any New Zealand swimmer has ever appeared in four finals at one Olympics.