Living in the water to turn the world around

Hi I'm Lachlan...

I’m 16 years old and a Year 12 student at John McGlashan College in Dunedin. I’m a competitive swimmer, training around 11 hours a week, and last year I swam 850km — that’s nearly the distance from Dunedin to Wellington.

I also compete in open water swimming events, and this year I was lucky enough to place second in both the Ruby Island 5km race in Lake Wanaka and the Caroline Bay 5km Ocean Swim in Timaru. I was the youngest swimmer in both races, which was a real highlight.

But this year, I want to do something more than just compete. I’ve signed up for the McGlashan Challenge – a voluntary school initiative where students take on a personal challenge to raise funds and push themselves. I’ve chosen to support the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand, with a goal to raise $1,500 to help fund life-changing research into conditions like stroke and dementia.

These are illnesses that have impacted people in my own family, and I know how hard they can be. I want to use the hours I spend training in the pool to contribute to something that can help others.

Here’s my challenge:

1.      Swim 1,000km by the end of the school year (November) – that’s about the distance from Auckland (where I was born) to Dunedin. I’ll need to average 21km per week over 37 weeks. So far I’ve swum over 216km since 1 January.

2.      Complete the Whakatipu Legend Triple Challenge – this includes three open water races: 4km, 2km and 1km, all in one event.

3.      Swim a full 10km Olympic open water distance – this is a serious endurance swim, and my coach, Lars Humer, suggested it as a final goal. He’ll be there to support me through it.

This won’t be easy, but that’s part of the reason I’m doing it. Living with a neurological condition often requires long-term resilience and strength, and I want my challenge to reflect that same spirit.

Why I’ve chosen to support brain research:

Neurological conditions like dementia affect 1 in 3 Kiwis. Dementia alone impacts more than 70,000 people in New Zealand, and that number is expected to double by 2050. It can affect memory, thinking, and independence — not just for the person with dementia, but also for their families. By raising funds for the Neurological Foundation, I hope to support the scientists and doctors working to better understand, treat and one day prevent these conditions.

If you’re able to support my challenge, I’d be really grateful. Every donation helps fund research that could change lives.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

– Lachlan