New Zealand Marathon Swimmer Breanna Ward Achieves Triple CrownAnd Doing It For Shark Survival
Inspirational New Zealand marathon swimmer and passionate ocean conservationist Breanna Ward has joined a select band of swimmers to complete the country’s triple crown of marathon crossings – her final swim, raising awareness and her concerns for the future of sharks.
The proud 27-year-old from Wellington, spent 9 hours and 25 minutes in the waters of the Foveaux Strait (Te Ara a Kiwa) last month, completing the final piece of an eight-year marathon swimming journey.
CALMING THE WATERS: Breanna Ward in a pensive mood before her Foveaux Strait crossing. Photo Courtesy Jessica Russel.
All in aid of bringing attention to the world’s ocean life and raising funds and awareness along the way – a passionate swimmer wanting to make a difference.
On a journey that started with her 26km Cook Strait debut swim in 2018 at the age of 21, followed by a 40km Lake Taupo crossing from Little Waihi to Taupo two years later in 2020.
Fulfilling a dream that she had from the age of six when Breanna first travelled across Cook Strait on the Ferry she would one day work on as well.
And in between her swimming feats, the Wellington native divorced herself from her ocean love affair – mounting her bike and cycling the length of both the North and South Islands of her beloved and picturesque country– making her the only person to have achieved “The Big Five.”
But there is an undeniable love affair with the water, inspired by people like ocean exploration pioneer Jacques Cousteau and his mantra that “The future depends on water…you have the responsibility.”
Her final swim to Stewart Island had been two years in the making, forced to cancel previous attempts because of the weather conditions and a lingering dose of Long Covid which further delayed her swim from December 2024 to January 2025.
“I was literally out of the water for three months with Long Covid, sometimes managing just 5km a week and I and didn’t get back to training until Christmas-New Year and built up to 50km per week,” said Breanna.
“I only trained for a month-and-a-half to two months…. but I had a whole base behind me and I just had to wait till my body got better.
“The human body is pretty good at healing itself most of the time…..it’s pretty resilient.”
AFLOAT IN FOVEAUX: Breanna Ward takes a break in the the middle of Foveaux Strait. Photo Jessica Russel
Breanna Ward wasn’t giving up her fight to bring attention to her causes to protect the world’s oceans, raising money and awareness along the way.
A determined young woman who swims and lives with purpose and passion and who brings with her a steely determination for the survival of marine life in the ecosystem.
And Foveaux Strait just happens to be a stretch of water that is known as a great white shark breeding ground – one of the few places in the world where sharks congregate.
With New Zealand marathon swimming legend, Philip Rush in her corner, and her Australian-based coach Gary Toner following her progress on a computerised tracking device from across the ditch, Breanna embraced any fears she may have had.
She took the plunge at Bluff on the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island at around 7 am on January 31 before swimming ashore on Stewart Island just before 4.30pm in the afternoon.
Her pilot ship captain John, plotting a perfect course through the first part of her crossing, setting up an achievement to remember across a stretch of water where every summer, around 80 great whites return.
“At one stage I saw some shadows beneath me but I think they were just fish,” recalled Breanna when Swimming World caught up with her.
“My brain wanting to fill in some gaps, a case of survival brain I think.
“When I started getting a bit anxious, I swam really close to the IRB with Phil (Rush) on board and I was able to quickly shut those thoughts down.
GUARDIAN ANGEL: Albatross following Breanna Ward on Foveaux Strait crossing January 2025 Photo Courtesy Jessica Russel
“I had almost stopped thinking about it and then these huge albatrosses started following me and they are so beautiful and of course have these massive wings and cartoon like faces and are quite intimidating.
“The expressions they have are elegant and graceful but also powerful and you don’t want to mess with them, but they were just floating behind me and following me for hours.
“Another one joined in front of me and waited for me to catch up before flying ahead and waited for me again…it was like they were looking out for me…my guardians of the ocean. It was pretty cool.
“And while there were moments where I felt scared about sharks, overall we need to be a whole lot more scared about an ocean without sharks than an ocean with sharks…they have a massive impact on the ecosystem.
STRAIT ACROSS: Breanna Ward crosses Foveaux Strait Photo Courtesy Jessica Russel.
“Sharks are so important to protect. They help keep fish populations healthy and abundant, and they keep the ecosystem balanced.
“In Shark Bay, Australia, the presence of tiger sharks encourages sea turtles to limit the length of their dives. This results in the turtles not overgrazing the seagrass and letting it grow back to a healthy population. As seagrass aids in carbon sequestration, this is an example of sharks helping to mitigate climate change!”
And how did she feel when it was all over?
“It was certainly a sense of relief…I was almost too tired to feel elated…. but gratitude for all of my support crew including my. Mum Tanya, Jessica Russel who was also capturing the day with her camera and Daniel Jackson….and all the people who followed me and supported me…..that kept pushing me forward, ” said Breanna.
“And I was pretty sore; my muscles were aching and I swallowed some salt water…..but I was just so hungry.
“I said please just give me food and Mum shoved a bunch of donuts in my mouth, which was awesome, the best donuts I’ve ever eaten and then I had the best sandwich ever too, just cheese and coleslaw before we had fish and chips later that night, so good.”
And what’s next for Breanna?
INWARD BOUND: Breanna Ward approaches Stewart Island at the end of her Foveaux Strait crossing. Photo Courtesy Jessica Russel.
“I start work for Outward Bound – an outdoor education program for health development, who I fund-raised for during my Cook Straight crossing,” said Breanna.
“The biggest drive for me to work there is to have the same positive influence on people as my instructors had on me…. Outward Bound was pretty life-changing for me.
“Raising awareness for marine conservation and the need for marine reserves and what a difference they can make for ocean health and shark conservation and broadly for ocean conservation.
“It is quite special that all these swims and challenges have been linked to wanting to protect these places and the challenges that all of our environments are facing…..”
But swimming will always be a part of her life.
“Although I promised Mum I’m never going to do a swim with sharks again…. ! But I’ll sign up to do some ice swimming which I have done before and I’ll do again….i really love it,” said Breanna.
A day that belonged to a special Kiwi woman who sure does love a challenge and who will continue making a difference.
Swimming across Te Ara a Kiwa (Foveaux Strait) to raise funds for Mountains to Sea Wellington. Give a Little Page: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/swimming-te-ara-a-kiwa-for-sharks
WE DID IT: Time to celebrate, Breanna Ward and support crew member and photographer on Stewart Island after taking 9 hours 25 minutes to swim from Bluff. Photo Courtes Jessica Russel.