Erika Fairweather Snags World Cup Record In 400 Free From Fellow Kiwi Lauren Boyle

2023 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – BERLIN

• October 6-8, 2023
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Full Entry List
• Live Results

Erika Fairweather kicked off the first finals session of the 2023 World Cup circuit in style on Friday, smashing the series record in the women’s 400 freestyle by more than three seconds.

Fairweather, a New Zealand native, went toe-to-toe with Australian Lani Pallister throughout the majority of the race, as they flipped within a few tenths of one another at every wall before Fairweather made her move on the closing 50, splitting 29.53 coming home to secure the victory by nearly a full seconds in 4:01.09.

The 19-year-old’s time broke the eight-year-old World Cup Record of 4:04.26, set by fellow New Zealander Lauren Boyle at the Dubai stop in November 2015

The World Cup series is traditionally raced in short course meters, but shifts to the long course format in the pre-Olympic year.

Fairweather’s swim marks the fourth-fastest of her career, having joined the elite sub-4:00 club this past July at the 2023 World Championships, winning the bronze medal in a time of 3:59.59. Earlier in the year, she swam times of 4:00.97 (March) and 4:00.62 (April) which both briefly stood as Kiwi Records.

Entering 2023, her fastest time stemmed from the Tokyo Olympics, when, at 17, she went 4:02.28 to qualify 4th into the final, ultimately placing 8th in 4:08.01.

Boyle, who won 400 free bronze at the World Championships a decade earlier than Fairweather in 2013, was the longtime Kiwi Record holder prior to Fairweather’s emergence, having logged a time of 4:03.63 at the 2012 Olympics in London.

WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 3:55.58 – Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2023)
• World Cup Record: 4:04.26 – Lauren Boyle, New Zealand (2015)
• World Junior Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh, Canada (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Erika Fairweather (New Zealand) – 4:01.09 (World Cup Record)
• SILVER: Lani Pallister (Australia) – 4:02.07
• BRONZE: Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong) – 4:05.30

Pallister was the runner-up in 4:02.07, while Siobhan Haughey set a new Hong Kong Record of 4:05.30 to round out the podium.