Brearna Ward Completes New Zealand’s Open Water Triple Crown

In February, Brearna Ward became the 12^th open water swimmer to complete New Zealand’s triple crown. The trio of swims is the Cook Strait (Raukawa Moana), Lake Taupō, and the Foveaux Strait (Te Ara a Kiwa). Ward, a passionate supporter of ocean conservation, supported that effort with her swims as she raised money for Shark Allies, which she began doing in 2021. The partnership was particularly appropriate for her final swim in the Triple Crown, the Foveaux Strait (Te Ara a Kiwa), as it’s a breeding ground for great white sharks.

“Sharks are so important to protect,” she told The Shark Café. “They help keep fish populations healthy and abundant, and they keep the ecosystem balanced…the work Shark Allies does is powerful and impactful and I believe in their mission,” she said, affirming she’ll keep raising awareness for them as she looks ahead to her next open water challenges.

Ward began her journey to complete her home country’s Triple Crown in December 2018, when she swam the Cook Strait (Raukawa Moana), which she said was her first big open water swim. She completed Lake Taupō in January 2020.

As she explained her journey to complete the Triple Crown, she said “Te Ara a Kiwa is something that’s been important to me for a long time and feels like a big milestone in my life. After cycling the North and South Island, and swimming across Taupō and Cook Strait, it’s kind of like the final piece of a journey for me.”

The final piece was not without challenges. In an in-depth blog post on the swim and the preparation that went into it, Ward wrote about how the swim was delayed by months while she recovered from long COVID-19. But, despite feeling like “the last few hours of swimming were some of the hardest [she’d] ever done,” Ward completed the swim and the Triple Crown.

She finished the swim in 9:25:00, which gave her an overall time of 31:00:13 for the Triple Crown. 11 of the 12 swimmers who have completed the New Zealand Triple Crown have a total time, and Ward now ranks fourth among them.

New Zealand Triple Crown, Overall Time Rankings

1. Liana Smith (New Zealand) – 25:47:35 (Feb. 2022)
2. Jonathan Ridler (New Zealand) – 26:36:37 (Feb. 2021)
3. Chloe Harris (Great Britain) – 29:36:24 (Dec. 2017)
4. Breanna Ward (New Zealand) – 31:00:13 (Jan. 2025)
5. Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand) – 31:08:41 (Feb. 2021)
6. Corinna Conner (Great Britain) – 31:33:38 (Feb. 2024)
7. Simon Olliver (New Zealand) – 32:19:00 (Feb. 2017)
8. Belinda Shields (New Zealand) – 34:23:00 (Mar. 1984)
9. Sandra Blewett (New Zealand) – 36:22:00 (Feb. 1988)
10. Susan Sherwin (New Zealand) – 36:35.37 (Mar. 2022)
11. Grainne Moss (Ireland) – 39:41.19 (Mar. 2022)

She accomplished the feat just over 11 months after Great Britain’s Corinna Conner. Seven swimmers have completed the Triple Crown since 2020.