Father, daughter duo takes on Taupo

A young Dannevirke swimmer is ready to follow in her dad’s footsteps at this year’s Epic Swim.

Eleven year old Tayla Mitchell is a competitive pool swimmer but looks up to her dad, Aaron, who has been competing in open water swims for the past few years and has also completed the half Ironman at Lake Taupo.

Tayla has also competed in an open water swim before finishing a 200m swim in Napier but thought the Epic Swim would be a great event for her and her dad to complete together.

It will be the father and daughter duo’s first Epic Swim with Aaron competing in the 2.5km swim and Tayla in the 500m swim.

For Tayla the fresh water of Lake Taupo and a chance to have a go at a longer open water swim also drew her to get involved in the annual event.