Bárbara Hernández Huerta is swimming across the Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan as this article is being posted.
If she successfully crosses in the 19.5 km channel between Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido in northern Japan, she will be the 28th person in history to achieve the Oceans Seven – and the first person from South America and her native Chile.
Hernández’s Ocean Seven Channels
- Strait of Gibraltar: In August 2018, she completed a 14.4 km crossing from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 5 minutes
- Catalina Channel: In June 2019, she completed a 32.3 km crossing from Santa Catalina Island to the mainland on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California in 10 hours 11 minutes
- English Channel: In August 2019, she completed a 33.5 km crossing from England to France in 12 hours 13 minutes
- Molokai Channel: In May 2021, she completed a 45 km crossing from Molokai Island to Oahu in 15 hours 41 minutes
- North Channel: In July 2022, she completed a 35 crossing between Northern Ireland and Scotland in 12 hours 19 minutes
- Cook Strait: In March 2023, she completed a 23 km crossing in New Zealand in 8 hours 16 minutes
- Tsugaru Channel: Today on June 13th, she is attempting a 19.5 km crossing from Aomori to Hokkaido in northern Japan
Oceans Seven Swimmers in History:
- Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
- Anna Carin Nordin (Sweden)
- Michelle Macy (USA)
- Darren Miller (USA)
- Adam Walker (UK)
- Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
- Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
- Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia and Ireland)
- Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
- Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
- Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
- Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
- Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
- Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
- Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
- André Wiersig (Germany)
- Elizabeth Fry (USA)
- Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
- Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
- Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)
- Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
- Prabhat Koli (India)
- Dina Levačić (Croatia)
- Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
- Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
- Stephen Junk (Australia)
- Kieron Palframan (South Africa)
Steven Munatones says of Hernández, “She embodies a high sense of adventure, tenacity, and perseverance for which open water swimmers are known. She is an ice swimmer – known as Ice Mermaid (Sirena de Hielo), known for her unprecedented glacier swims in South America. After this swim in Japan, she will still continue to do incredible swim like participating in the 12-day 300 km circumnavigation swim called Epic Swim Maui, together with Mariam Saleh Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, John Clark of Hawaii, Andrew Donaldson of Scotland, Prabhat Koli of India, Nathalie Pohl of Germany, Jonathan Ridler of New Zealand, Yvette Dickson Tetteh of Ghana, Sarah Thomas of the USA, and Mostafa Zaki of Egypt around the island of Maui in Hawaii.“She has also done the 20 Bridges Swim and the 40 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island, Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, and the Frosted Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, and has long been a dominant figure on the International Winter Swimming Association World Cup circuit.“
Munatones said of Hernández, “Bárbara is known as the Sirena de Hielo (Ice Mermaid) in her native Chile where she specializes in glacier swimming, winter swimming and high-altitude swimming. Undeniably, she has a special adventurous spirit and passionate love of extreme swimming. She has always been a remarkable swimmer, but in 2020, Bárbara really stepped up her game and extended the boundaries of her potential.
Plus, she has another Oceans Seven swimmer and very fast Tsugaru Channel swimmer (6 hours 20 minutes in 2018) on her escort boat guiding her, Nora Toledano.“
To follow Hernández in northern Japan, click here. So far, the conditions have been quite calm, apparently without strong winds and no whitecaps.
Her marathon swimming career is summarized here on the Marathon Swimmers Federation LongSwims database and her ice swimming career is summarized here on the International Ice Swimming Association database.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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