Zoe Pedersen might be a reigning junior world champion, but her family has never watched her swim overseas – and they don’t have any plans to change that.
When the young athlete races in the 50m and 100m freestyle at this month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, her parents Hilary and Ollie, her brother Oscar and her partner Jasper Cornish will all be cheering her on from back home on Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast.
“It’s a decision we’ve all had to make to give me the most opportunities possible,” Zoe, 19, tells Woman’s Day. “The money can’t stretch forever.”
However, if it’s a swim meet in New Zealand, they’ll all be there to watch their girl, who won the 50m butterfly title at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Romania last year.
“Anything they can easily get to, they never miss,” says Zoe, adding that her “favourite people” were all there when she was named in Aotearoa’s swim team for the Games in Scotland.
Her biggest support
Forever grateful for the unwavering support of builder Ollie and medical receptionist Hilary, who have sacrificed so she can chase her swimming dreams, Zoe is equally thankful for Jasper, 20, who pushes her in the pool every day as her training partner, having represented New Zealand in both swimming and surf lifesaving.
“We swam at the same swim club for as long as I can remember,” tells Zoe. “Jasper’s 50m backstroke is a little bit faster than my butterfly, so he helps make me swim faster. I’m so lucky to have someone who’s happy hanging out and talking to me, but who also wants to beat me! It’s pretty hard explaining to someone who doesn’t swim why I’m swimming nine times a week.”
The waters that shaped a champion
Zoe has been in and around water since she was a toddler. Living on the Whangāparaoa Peninsula, it was a Pedersen family rule that the kids took swimming lessons until they were early teens.
She has spent a lot of time at the beach, following her dad’s family into sailing and windsurfing. Zoe has also made quite a splash in surf lifesaving, breaking youth records at the 2024 world champs.
But it was always swimming where her heart lay.
Zoe says, “Even when I was younger, I just loved the training. It’s only since I turned 14 that I actually started to enjoy racing.”
Being the youngest swimmer in the Kiwi team in Glasgow doesn’t faze her – in fact, it’s been a longtime goal to get there.
“I’ve always had goals since the beginning of high school,” she says. “I’ve dreamed of going to the Commonwealth or Olympic Games and doing something really cool, even though I sounded a bit crazy saying that at 12 years old.
But it’s definitely been on my mind since my first junior world champs in 2023, where I made the final.”
Zoe finished seventh in the 50m freestyle at that competition and, within seconds, made up her mind about her future.
“I climbed out of the pool, walked over to my coach and said, ‘I’m coming back in two years’ time and I’m going to stand at the top of the podium,’” she tells. “I became really obsessed with wanting to hear my national anthem play and you can only do that if you win. That’s all I thought about for the next two years – how I was going to get onto that top step.”
Grounded by gratitude
The former Whangāparaoa College student insists beating a Japanese Olympic finalist to win gold at the world junior champs hasn’t changed her.
“Sometimes I forget what I’ve accomplished until someone reminds me,” she laughs. “I don’t want my close friends treating me differently, but I’m proud it’s a title that’s always going to be attached
to my name.”
In her first year out of high school, Zoe has zeroed in on swimming, but she’s already thinking about life after the Games, when she’ll start studying for a Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in occupational health and safety.
And when she hits the pool in Glasgow, she knows her family, including her beloved cat Loki, will be cheering her on from their Manly home.
“My parents have given up so much for me to get me to all these competitions around the world,” smiles Zoe. “It’s wonderful to have a family who really want to support your dreams.”
