Sport Blast from the Past: Mary Fisher
Mary Fisher is one of our most successful international swimmers.
A world class athlete, she is an advocate for the blind and has never let her disability stop her.
Living in Upper Hutt, she took up competitive swimming at nine, first representing New Zealand in Australia in 2007.
At the 2009 World Short Course Championships she featured prominently before setting a world record in the women’s 200m individual medley S11 at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Mary always took her sport seriously, training daily with a determination to see how fast she could go.
At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, she won five gold medals.
At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Mary secured a further five medals including three gold, and at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games she again broke a world record in winning gold.
Mary retired from Para swimming in November 2018.
Mary, 26, is well-known for her work as an advocate around disability and environmental issues and for her support developing Para swimmers and mentoring youth with vision impairment and their families.
In 2019, she was appointed to the board of Paralympics New Zealand.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Bridge Lesson starting next week - register now!
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