Everyone is a legend around here.
Cool water, an endless crowd of supporters and volunteers and only a drizzle of rain made for yet another successful Whakatipu Legend race on Saturday in Queenstown.
Lucky enough to not be struck off the schedule by Covid the past few years, the annual open water swim event saw 230 athletes do more than just dip their toes into Lake Wakatipu, competing across five distances.
This year introduced the 10km Whakatipu-wai-Māori category to the schedule, starting from Kelvin Grove beach and including five laps around the clear-water course.
Swimmers could also choose from a 1km, 2km, 3.8km or 5km distance, the latter two beginning from less-sheltered spots in the lake.
The event was a great success, and he and fellow organiser Lucas Fornes were pleased to see people come from across the country to get involved, including a stand-out group from Wellington who visited every year for a swim, Mr Lambert said.
Of the 11 racers brave enough to take on the 10km challenge, it was 23-year-old Ruby Heath who returned the fastest, with a time of 2hr 18min 1sec.
She won over second-placed Mark Cockroft, who crossed the line 15 minutes behind.
The 5km was taken out by Cameron Stanley in 1hr 12min 27sec, the 3.8km by Drew Morse in 58min 47sec, the 2km by Sophie Hutchens in 31min 32sec and the 1km lap was won in 14min 35sec by Finn Henderson.
