Gráinne Moss is arguably Irelands most accomplished female open water swimmer.
At 16 she was the first female to represent Ireland in open water swimming at the World Championships.
At 17 she became the first Irish woman to swim the English Channel. She has continued to achieve many firsts including the first Irish woman to swim Cook Strait (2001) Foveaux (2022), Lake Taupō (2021) and the Channel of Bones in Hawaii (2023).
Gráinne holds three Triple Crowns of Open Water Swimming (awarded when a swimmer has completed three of the toughest swims in any nation) - including appropriately the Irish and New Zealand Triple Crowns given she was born in Ireland and moved to New Zealand in 1998.
Since 2022 Gráinne has teamed up with Kenzie's Gift to use her swims as an opportunity to raise vital funds for this important charity which cares for children and young people who have experienced serious loss and grief.
Her next adventure is in May this year when she will swim the famous straits of Gibraltar crossing from Africa to Spain.
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Show notes
- Who is Gráinne
- Being born in Ireland
- Emigrating to New Zealand at the end of the 90s
- Living in Wellington, New Zealand
- Representing Ireland and the first Open Water Swimming Championships (1986)
- Her early years and memories of water
- Being spotted as talented at swimming at 6 years old
- Wanting to better herself and try new things
- Swimming for Bangor Swim Club
- Making the transition to open water swimming
- Meeting people from around the world who loved open water swimming
- The pressure of swimming competitively and wanting to swim well
- Getting married and having 4 children
- Swimming through out the years
- Getting back into big swims in 2021
- Lessons learning from the big swims
- Making an emotional commitment to the swim
- Keeping motivated while waiting to compete the big swims
- Having her family involved in the big swims
- What the journey of a swim looks like
- Swimming the Channel of Bones in Hawaii (43km)
- Having anxiety and neves before the swim and feeling full of doubt
- Taking medication for sea sickness
- Swimming for charity - Kenzie’s Gift
- Training and maintaining swim fitness
- Working with a swim coach (Phillip Rush) and the importance of stretching
- The importance of recovery
- Handing changes in her body over the years
- Being aware of her body
- Not using a watch or GPS
- Learning how to train smart
- Nutrition while swimming and getting the fuel needed to complete the big swims
- Homemade leek and potato swims for the cold swims
- PURE Sports Nutrition
- The importance of feeding fast
- Digging deep and getting through the dark/tough moments
- Taking it one stroke at a time
- The next swim challenge in May
- Swimming from Spain to Morocco - The Straits of Gibraltar
- How to connect with Gráinne
- Final words of advice for new swimmers and swimmers who want to take it to the next level
- The power of finding your community
Social Media
Website: grainnemoss.com
Instagram: @swimirishkiwi
Charity: Kenzie’s Gift supports the mental health of tamariki (children) and mātātahi (young people) affected by serious illness or grief.
Link to Fundraising: winter-swim-challenge-2024.raiselysite.com/grainne-moss