Some call her crazy, others incredible, but Kiwi swimmer Fi Fairbairn has finally achieved her goal of swimming Lake Wanaka.
Having attempted to become the first person to complete the distance in March last year, Fairbairn was forced to call her attempt short after 12 hours and 37km into the race, with her wetsuit tearing leaving her in an intense battle with hypothermia.
Never one to give up though, Fairbairn was far from done after that attempt, having another crack, only this time more determined than ever in tackling the 46km distance.
Aided by her son Finn, Fairbairn raised nearly $8,000 with her mighty effort, battling through the tough conditions to finally achieve her goal all in memory of her late husband Darryl who took his own life in 2004.
Fairbairn's efforts will see the money raised go towards children and families suffering from similar grief and trauma.
She fell short of completing the Lake Wanaka swim in March, 2018 with hypothermia forcing her to pull out.
"I'm so stoked to have done it. I'm really proud," she told 1 NEWS.
"It's not that easy and I thought it was going to be easier.
"When it was getting really dark I was looking at the hearts on my hand and i was like 'swim that's right.
"Do it, swim from the heart."
And she did just that, Fairbairn becoming the first person in history to swim the length of Lake Wanaka, doing so in 16 hours, and all for a great cause.
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