Katerina Nehua was an endurance swimmer from New Zealand who competed in a number of endurance events during the Depression Era including a second-place finish at the 1931 Manly International 500 Endurance Swimming Contest to Mercedes Gleitze.

Her defeat spurred her on.

Later in 1931, Nehua broke the world record at Sydney’s Balmoral Baths when she swam and floated non-stop for 72 hours 9 minutes in Rushcutters Bay. In a radio broadcast she explained, “A person requires courage and plenty of it, to stay in the water over night. Therefore my advice to young people who might like to try endurance swimming is ‘don’t’.”

But she did. Again and again.

She later broke her own world record in May 1931 in Brisbane by staying in the water for 72 hours 21 minutes. In March 1932 she attempted to stay in the water for 100 hours, but was forced to leave the water after 60.

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, a number of marathon endurance events including non-stop swimming gained traction in the sporting world and among the general public. Large crowds of spectators were attracted to watching athletes swim for duration – not speed – in oceans, lakes and pools as exhibitions of courage and stamina. According to endurance sports historian J. J. George, “The women athletes of this era had varied motivations for extending their utmost physical limits, among their reasons were financial gain, family, fame, nationalistic pride, and the pursuit of their personal bests. These women did not shirk at physical exertion and helped to close the door on the Victorian era of women’s sports and open the way to today’s active lifestyles.”

Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source