A Herculean Swim From Robben Island By Troy Prinsloo

Hercules Troyden Prinsloo of South Africa has been seemingly swimming everywhere since qualifying for the London Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Portugal.

He has competed in New Zealand and did a double at the world’s largest swim, the Midmar Mile in Pietermartizberg including a solo 25 km swim in the dam after taking second in the main mile. He will continue to compete on the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit as he continues to train with the goal of representing his country at the 5 km and 10 km races in Barcelona, Spain at the 2013 World Swimming Championships in July.

And he tackled Robben Island today, taking down the record by such marathon swimming stalwarts as Christof Wandratsch of Germany and Steven Klugman, a local South African hero. He dropped the record from 1 hour 33 minutes to 1 hour 23 minutes in the 15ºC (59ºF) water with some wind and swells.

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