Open water swimmers Alex Dunkley, of Auckland, Abbey Smale, of Nelson, and Liana Smith, of Arrowtown, took the three-peat on Saturday morning, winning their sections of every race run as part of The Whakatipu Legend 2024.
All three started with 154 others leaping from the historic TSS Earnslaw — which had transported them into the Frankton Arm — just before 8am, to start the 4km "The Legend Swim", which finished at Queenstown Bay.
Swimmers either jumped one or two at a time from the 3m-high top deck, or the 1.5m-high lower deck, with a few shrieks and squeals on their way down and after hitting the water — the temperature of which was around 14°C — before they made their way to the buoys marking the start-line.
Dunkley, a first-time entrant, described it as "a great experience".
"I had to take the opportunity to jump off the top."
Event co-organiser Richie Lambert, who was indebted to the volunteers on the lake, including boaties and kayakers, said this was the fourth edition of The Whakatipu Legend — every year they had changed the course and used different transport options, aiming to continue evolving the event and "add the magic".
He was elated by the way the Earnslaw fitted seamlessly into the game plan this year, and hoped she may become a permanent feature.
"There are a few other events around the world that use boats — there’s on in Norway and another in America ... and they have become bucket-list events for people to come and do.
After the Earnslaw sounded its horn to start the race, Dunkley wasted no time getting to work.
He won the overall race in a blistering time of 48 minutes and 59 seconds, while Smale was the first woman home, in 53:45, followed by Smith — in 2022 she became just the 10th person to complete New Zealand’s Triple Crown swimming challenge — who won the non-wetsuit female race in 1:07:02.
Brian Corley was the first man home without a wetsuit, in 1:09:51.
Once again, Dunkley won the overall title in 24:25, Smale won the female category in 26:12 and Smith took the female non-wetsuit title in 35:02, while Moses Ramirez won the male non-wetsuit category in 31:50.
Still not content, the top three had a third dip, this time in the 1km "The Bay Swim".
Dunkley finished that one, first overall, in 12:25, Smale came in first woman home in 13:27, and Smith — still without a wetsuit — finished in 18:27.
