Scotland’s Andy Donaldson Complete Oceans Seven Challenge
Scottish marathon swimmer Andy Donaldson has become the 24th person in history to complete the Oceans Seven Challenge.
Donaldson completed his final leg on July 27, a crossing of the Tsugaru Strait in Japan. He’s the first person to complete all seven within a year and completed the swims in a record time, breaking the mark held by Attila Manyoki of Hungary.
The Oceans Seven was created in 2008 as swimming’s equivalent of the Seven Summits for mountain climbing. The comprises the English Channel, the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland, the Cook Strait in New Zealand, Hawaii’s Molokai Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, California’s Catalina Channel and the Tsugaru Strait.
The fastest overall time, according to the World Open Water Swimming Association, had been 64 hours and 35 minutes. Donaldson accomplished the feet in 63 hours even.
Donaldson began his attempt in August 2022 with the English Channel swim, the fastest crossing from England to France in 10 years and the fastest ever for a British male. He’s also the first person to finish the Tsugaru Strait crossing in 2023.
Here are Donaldson’s times for each leg:
- English Channel (England-France, 33km): 8 hours 0 minutes (British Record)
- North Channel (Ireland-Scotland, 34.5km): 9 hours 13 minutes (British Record)
- Cook Strait (New Zealand, 22km): 4 hours 33 minutes (World Record)
- Molokai Channel (Hawaii, 43km): 15 hours 52 minutes
- Strait of Gibraltar (Spain-Morocco, 14.5km): 2 hours 56 minutes (British Record)
- Catalina Channel (USA, 32km): 9 hours 22 minutes (British Record)
- Tsugaru Strait (Japan, 19.5km): 13 hours 4 minutes
His world record in the Cook Strait in March broke the record set in 2008 by Casey Glover.
Donaldson, 32, was a pool swimmer in his native UK. He moved to Australia in 2013 and switched to open water. One of his first major swims was the Cottnest Channel in Western Australia in 2021.
Donaldson’s final effort, Tsugaru, landed him in the hospital. It was the shortest swim in terms of distance but the second-longest for time, in part because of currents that drew him away from shore in the final five kilometers.