INTERVIEW

Liana Smith –

BIG DIPPER, ‘STRAIT’ TALKER

Holding her back has not held back Liana Smith! Spinal injuries slow many down but, with support and understanding, they make some more determined than ever, as JON RAWLINSON discovered ahead of her next epic swim.

An Olympic pool is 50 metres long but former Howick Pakuranga Swim Club star, Liana Smith, will be covering just a little further than that – roughly 560 times more – during her next big dip. And, ‘roughly’ will be a fitting description when this plucky, young ultramarathon swimmer hits the chilly waters of Foveaux Strait.

“It’s a bit tricky with Foveaux because there are only one or two good days to swim,” she says. “The tide is meant to be a bit gentler than in the Cook Strait but, on the other hand, there’s the sharks and, with the subantarctic currents, the cold!”

Earlier this year, Liana completed Taupo in 12 hours (40.2km), 34 minutes and the Cook Strait (27km) in six hours, 59 minutes – just 10 minutes off the record for a female competitor. Now based in Wellington, she expects to check Foveaux Strait off her list in October; in doing so she will become just the ninth swimmer to complete the New Zealand Triple Crown.

In general, ultra-marathons are defined as covering at least 20km in open water. To stay faithful to the origins of the sport, wetsuits, which provide buoyancy, as well as warmth, are not permitted during the Triple Crown and other requirements must be met.

Liana began swimming competitively with clubs in south Auckland but hit her stride out east.

“I was with HPK [Howick Pakuranga Swim Club] for years. Every morning, at 4am, mum and I would hit the highway for training. I was with them when I broke a New Zealand record, qualified for the New Zealand [age group] teams and really hit the peaks of my career,” she says. “HPK was massively important for me. My coaches were phenomenal in shaping me as a swimmer and as an athlete in general. They will always be my ‘family club’.”

With a swimming scholarship in the US on the horizon and, all going well, the Olympics too, Liana, was making every post a winner.

Liana Smith has kept moving forward. To help ensure she still can, search ‘Swim for something’ at www.facebook.com. And, to help her help others, search ‘Marathon swimming for mental health’ at www.givealittle.co.nz.

“For three years I was the fastest female 14-year-old to swim the 100 metre individual medley, which was pretty neat. I also have a number of school, club and regional records which are still standing.”

However, Liana didn’t realise that beneath the surface a spinal fracture on one side of her back was set to derail her sporting dreams.

“As an athlete pushing your body, you learn to live with muscular aches and creaks. When the other side fractured as well, I began having leg spasms and nerve issues. By then, the first fracture had completely split off so there was no way I could heal naturally,” she explains. identity. Going from being an athlete to needing Mum’s help to put socks on was quite the change.”

Considering how upbeat she is, now, it’s hard to understand the anguish Liana went through, with her dreams on the rocks, facing surgery plus extensive (and painful) rehabilitation. Thankfully, she says she received plenty of support from those who cared about her most.

“It took me a while to walk and all those basics but, after the [disc] fusion surgery, I could have been competing again in two to three years. However, with swimming, one week away from training means three weeks to catch up, so it would have been a hell of a job getting back to the level I was at previously.”

Following rehabilitation, Liana was working to get her life ‘back on track’ after studying adventure tourism and working as a hiking guide. Then, along with the New Zealand borders, another door of opportunity slammed shut because of Covid-19. But, never one to let a crisis stop her, she found a window. “When the pandemic started, I joined the Southern Lakes Swim Club in Queenstown then returned to open water swimming last September. In January, I had a 10km race and did pretty well – a second non-wetsuit overall! I thought ‘bugger it, I’ll give Phil [Rush] a ring and see what he reckons about me doing the Triple Crown.” she laughs.

Phil Rush once coached Liana. An acclaimed open water swimmer, he holds records for crossing the Cook Strait, Lake Taupo and the English Channel.

Despite her serious injury and a seven-year hiatus from serious swim training, Liana is back on course, as shown by her crossings of Taupo and Cook Strait earlier this year.

“Taupo was (technically) an easier swim than Cook, even though more energy is used to keep afloat, as well as moving forward, in fresh water. This kind of swimming is about 80 percent mental. You have a lot of time and your mind plays against you; you aim for a ‘flow state’, undistracted and focused,” she says.

“Cook was very different [to Taupo]. Due to swells and weather, I was aware of every single stroke. It certainly felt like I was being tested to see if I was ‘worthy’!”

Considering her life has been anything but smooth sailing, it’s hard to imagine that something will stop her now.

“I have to keep in mind that I have a chunk of metal in my back, near my nerves. When it gets cold, it’s a hell of a feeling,” she confesses. “[But] my surgeon said the day I stop being fit and strong is the day I deteriorate. So, [the Triple Crown] isn’t a bad thing to do, in a weird and sadistic way!”

“HPK was massively important for me. My coaches were phenomenal in shaping me as a swimmer and as an athlete in general. They will always be my ‘family club’.”

FORTUNES (SHOULD) FAVOUR THE BRAVE

Some athletes glean rich rewards; others need to dig deep. With the cost of support boats totally $24,000, more than just a little help is needed to carry Liana Smith to her Triple Crown goal.

“If I don’t raise the money I need for Foveaux [Strait – the last of the three crossings] I’ll, definitely, be sinking in debt!” she smiles. “Money’s not the biggest thing in life to me, though, I chase memories and adventures.”

In return for sponsorship, Liana has been providing motivational talks. In addition, she is raising money for the I Am Hope mental health charity established by Mike King. Liana faced depression herself in wake of her back injury.

“The injury definitely kick-started my depression,” she says. “You never move past something like that [depression or her back injury] but, with the help, understanding and support of family, friends, colleagues and groups like I Am Hope, you can move through it.” Liana Smith.