Copeland swims fastest time in 6 Years across Lake Taupo

Bronwyn and the Spoils of Apolima Strait 2018

Apolima Strait 2018 Champion Bronwyn Copeland has done it again. She has swum the length of Lake Taupo, 40.2 km in 11hrs 59secs. It is the fastest time in six years and the first woman to go sub-12-hrs in nine years. 

The last sub-12hr swim was recorded by Casey Glover (M) in 2013 in a time of 10:52:48. The last female to swim under that time was Stephanie Bennington of Wellington in 2010 with a time of 11:54:00. 

Bronwyn was guided in her swim by ultra-marathon swim legend Philip Rush. 

In 2018 Bronwyn undertook her first long swim in Samoa across Apolima Strait. She won the 22.3 km crossing in a time of 7hrs 30mins34s in very rough conditions. She said to herself then, never again. 

But such is the lure of chasing ultra-marathon swims that in less than 12-months after Apolima she was in the water doing double the distance. 

Well done and congratulations Bronwyn. 


Lake Taupo Times - Long course, South to North - 40.2km
24 Feb 2008 Jason Papps (Wellington)12:38:10s
11 Mar 2008 Anna Marshall (Wellington)11:26:58s 
?? Mar 2009 Ben Campbell-Macdonald (Wellington)11:45:00
2 Apr 2010 Stephanie Bennington (Wellington)11:54:00s 
2 Mar 2011 Pam Dickson (Rotorua)13:54:00s 
25 Feb 2013 Casey Glover (Wellington)10:52:48s 
16 Feb 2014 Katrina Price (Thames)14:45:46s 
22 Feb 2015 Simon Olliver (Christchurch)14:50:00s 
21 Mar 201 5Heather Osborne (Tauranga)15:37:45s 
8 Feb 2016 Holly Cassin (Christchurch)15:51:15s 
22 Feb 2016 Mike Cochrane (Auckland)14:29:53s *
15 Feb 2017 Kim Sherwen (Christchurch)12:31:21s 
26 Feb 2017 Samuel Muir-James (Auckland)14:58:03s 
22 Dec 2017 Chloe Harris (Christchurch)13:49:00s
20 Jan 2018 Hannah Drury (Christchurch)14:19:00s
30 Jan 2018 Gabrielle Gunn (Wellington)16:31:59s 
4 Feb 2018 Alice Sagar (Wellington)12:35:51s *
15 Feb 2018 Hayley Underwood (Palmerston North)14:13:00s
18 Feb 2018 Angela Moir (Christchurch)15:38:08s 
6 Mar 2018 Vicky Tate (Wellington)15:04:00s
4 Feb 2019 Helen Conway (Australia)14:43:00s 
9 Feb 2019 Steve Mckain (Clive, Hawke’s Bay)13:00:53s 
14 Feb 2019 Caitlin O’Reilly (Auckland)13:27:40s 
19 Feb 2019 Andrew Powell (Australia)16:30:38s 
27 Feb 2019 Bronwyn Copeland (Tauranga)11:59:05s  *
12 Mar 2019 David Edgar (Blenheim) 14:57:00 *

*Indicates Apolima Strait swimmers

END