It's a sport that requires patience, speed and skill but doesn't involve being on a track or field.
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Completing jigsaw puzzles at a fast pace has seen Hannah Farthing fly across the world to Spain to compete.
It was an activity she loved doing growing up but decided to master from her Wodonga, VIC, home during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
"I was doing them very frequently so then I started to sort of look into it and do online competitions initially," she said.
She was sent puzzles in the mail to complete on Zoom during a timed competition, and she finished the 500-piece jigsaws in around one hour.
The doctor, a former Catholic College Wodonga student who moved to Gippsland in 2021, competed in her first in-person state competition in Melbourne in 2022 and has only looked up, finishing second in the 2023 Victorian competition and first last year.
As well as playing solo, she also competes in pairs with 500-piece puzzles and teams of four with 1000-piece puzzles.
She has since entered the national Australian competition and will compete in the world championships in Spain in September for the third time.
Out of 1200 competitors in 2024, Dr Farthing placed 29th in the solo competition, 10th out of 700 groups for pairs and her team placed sixth.
"It's really welcoming and wholesome and there's always people that don't finish the puzzle but they still get so much enjoyment out of just attending and having a good time," she said.
As the sport is still growing in popularity, state, national and world competitions are open to anyone who pays to enter.
The keen puzzler said part of the skill in completing the puzzles was drowning out the noise of the cheers and applause when competitors finished.
"It's certainly a mindset thing to keep going once people start to win," she said.
The puzzles vary in different designs and illustrations, but Dr Farthing keeps to the same strategy each time.
"I tip the box out so all the pieces face up and then I usually pull out the edges while I do that, most of the time I will do the edges first but not everyone does," she said.
"I'll also grab things that stand out to me, I'll grab those and then build that section and just keep on doing that over and over essentially."
She can now complete a 500-piece puzzle in about 40 minutes.
When she first told her family and friends she was going to the world championships, they thought it was a gimmick.
"But they still got up to watch it, live streamed and they were surprised at how fun and exciting it was to watch because they've got commentary as well," she said.
The doctor now owns more than 400 puzzles and has started an online catalogue to keep track of what puzzles she has lent to her family and friends.
She also finds it is a regular present she is gifted on birthdays and Christmas.
Dr Farthing has decided to take a small break from completing jigsaws until she attends the South Australian competition in May.
Madilyn McKinley
You can contact me at madilyn.mckinley@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
