Swimming
RE-RELEASE – Sir Bernard Freyberg's heroic wartime swim and our ANZAC tribute (with special guest John Hancock)
Swim Chats›
Apr 22, 202643:17
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Episode Notes
This episode was originally released on 11/04/25.
Our first 'swim history' episode! Featuring special guest John Hancock, a marathon swimmer and the organiser of this year's ANZAC Day swim in Wellington. In this episode John tells the story of the brave, accomplished, and fascinating Sir Bernard Freyberg who painted himself in black and undertook a stealthy nighttime swim in Gallipoli during World War One. We also discuss a few other notable swimmers in history: John F Kennedy, Kahe Te-Rau-o-te-Rangi, and Mao Zedong. Finally, John Hancock reflects on his own 'big' swims, across Lake Taupō and Cook Strait / Raukawa Moana.
Lots of background links for this one – it is a history episode, after all!
Shona's family war tortoise (Great War Stories, NZHistory.govt. nz).
ANZAC biscuit recipe (Edmonds Cooking)
Bernard Freyberg's Wikipedia page
Image of Freyberg (taken in 1904 at Te Aro Baths in Wellington) is courtesy of Horowhenua Historical Society inc, Levin, New Zealand
'Debunking Freyberg's Mexican myth' – NZ International Review
'When Sir Bernard tried to swim the Channel' – Greymouth Evening Star, August 1950, via paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Kahe Te-Rau-o-te-Rangi, who swam from Kāpiti Island to the mainland in 1824 (Eleanor Spragg. 'Te Rau-o-te-rangi, Kahe', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990, updated July, 2013. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
'The swim that changed Chinese history' (Mao Zedong's river swims) The China Project, 14 July 2021.
'Caroline Kennedy recreates her father JFK's heroic wartime swim.' CNN, August 2023. (correction: JFK's crew were attacked by a Japanese boat, not a plane as I incorrectly stated in this episode)
John Hancock talks about his Cook Strait and Lake Taupō swims on the Effortless Swimming podcast
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"RE-RELEASE – Sir Bernard Freyberg's heroic wartime swim and our ANZAC tribute (with special guest John Hancock)" is an episode of Swim Chats. Runtime 43 min. Published April 22, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.
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Quick FAQ
- When was this episode published?
- April 22, 2026.
- How long is this episode?
- 43 min.
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- Swim Chats. Browse the full back catalog on the show page.
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- Swim Chats covers swimming. This episode runs on the show's regular cadence.
