The Dunedin swimmer has been on the rise, breaking records and peaking at the right time ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris next year.
That was capped off last month when Fairweather (Ngāi Tahu) won the supreme award at the Māori Sports Awards, and the junior sportswoman title.
But it was back in March where things started to click for the 19-year-old.
She broke the national record in the 400m freestyle with her time of 4min 0.97sec — which she broke several times throughout the year — at the South Island championships in Invercargill, and broke the 200m freestyle at the same event in 1min 56.73sec.
She broke both those records again the following month at the national championships, winning gold in the 100m (54.61sec), 200m (1min 55.44sec), 400m (4min 00.62sec) and 800m (8min 17.65sec).
In May, Fairweather crossed the ditch, winning several medals at the Sydney Open and returned home to be named junior sportswoman at the Otago Sports Awards in June.
But it was July where the Neptune swimmer carved her place in history in the "race of the century" at the world championships in Fukuoka.
She won bronze in the 400m freestyle, finishing in 3min 59.59sec to shave a full second off her personal best, becoming just the fifth woman to go under the 4min mark.
It was a remarkable feat from the Aqua Black, finishing just shy of swimming powerhouses Ariane Titmus (Australia) — who set a world record during the event — and Katie Ledecky (United States).
"To be racing with them was special and to get up on the podium with them was so cool," Fairweather said at the time.
"I really wanted to break that 4min mark — that was my main goal. I had a bit of fun with it and also managed to end up with a bronze medal around my neck, so I’m beyond stoked."
She returned home to break more national records in the 200m (1min 53.07sec) at the national short course championships. She also won gold in the 100m (53.91sec) and 400m (3min 59.79sec) at the same meeting.
It appeared there was no stopping Fairweather, who went on to win the coveted World Cup triple crown.
She won three golds in the 400m freestyle across the three weekends, setting a new World Cup record in Berlin in the opener, with her time of 4min 01.09sec. She also picked up four silver and one bronze in the 200m and 800m events.
Things are only about to get busier for Fairweather. She has qualified for the world championships in Doha in February and then the Olympics.
