Among the long successful line of South African extreme swimmers, Kieron Palframan has long made his mark with a tremendous pedigree of success: Guinness World Records, Ice Miles, and as of yesterday the Oceans Seven.

With over 100 Robben Island crossings, 4 Ice Miles, an Ice Kilometer in 0°C water and -33.00°C air, the 49-year-old from Cape Town achieved the Oceans Seven on October 6th with a long 21 hour 26 minute crossing of the 42 km Molokai Channel.

Palframan’s crossing of the Molokai Channel was not easy…at all. It was his second attempt after being hauled out of the Pacific Ocean last year – only 4 km from the finish – due to extremely painful box jellyfish stings. He was on track for a sub-14 hour crossing.

But he returned to Hawaii – and took care of business, quickly.

He explains, “It has been a whirlwind couple of days. I arrive at 12 am on Friday in Hawaii. Went to bed at 2 am. Awoke and was on Mike’s escort boat at 2 pm. Then, the 21-hour swim began. Swam right into a current and could only manage a 1.1 km per hour pace for the last 10 hours. It was insane. I guess this is what makes long distance swimming so interesting.

Anyway, I leave Hawaii today back to Cape Town with a rather sore body, but a great sense of achievement.”

His extreme swimming buddy Ram Barkai who swam across the Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, and Cape Horn with Palframan in Patagonia said, “Kieron is that type of swimmer that doesn’t know how to spell giving up. It has great tenacity to it, but I must admit I was worried, because I knew he is not going back. Hell or high water he is going to complete his Oceans Seven this time [in Molokai]. Box jellies, currents, sharks or heat: he did it. He is an amazingly strong swimmer. And he deserved this 100%. And so his partner Donne who’s second him in his roller coaster Oceans Seven. I am very relieved and proud of them.”

Across the Molokai Channel, Palframan had a boatload of experts: Capt Mike Twigg-Smith, Shelley Oates-Wilding as 1st Mate, Kainoa Lopes as escort kayaker, Jeff Villinger as escort kayaker, Sebastian Conway-Phillips as escort kayaker, and Donne Feede.

At the age of 34, Palframan started his Oceans Seven journey in the English Channel. 15 years later and thousands of oceans swims and thousands of miles of tough training under his cap, he became the 26th person in history to complete the Oceans Seven. Among the 26 Oceans Seven swimmers, it was the first time that the Oceans Seven had been completed in Hawaii – and the conditions were not easy under the guidance of escort pilot Michael Twigg-Smith.

Palframan’s Ocean Seven Channels

• August 2008: 33.5 km English Channel from England to France in 12 hours 3 minutes
• September 2010: 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 4 hours 57 minutes.
• October 2016: 32.3 km Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to California mainland in 10 hours 20 minutes
• August 2018: 35 km North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 11 hours 30 minutes
• January 2019: 23 km Cook Strait from North Island to South Island in 8 hours 13 minutes
• August 2019: 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in Japan in 8 hours 49 minutes
• October 2023: 42 km Molokai Channel from Molokai to Oahu in Hawaii in 21 hours 26 minutes

Oceans Seven Swimmers in History:

1. Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
2. Anna Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3. Michelle Macy (USA)
4. Darren Miller (USA)
5. Adam Walker (UK)
6. Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
7. Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
8. Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia and Ireland)
9. Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
10. Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
11. Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
12. Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
13. Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
14. Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
15. Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
16. André Wiersig (Germany)
17. Elizabeth Fry (USA)
18. Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
19. Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
20. Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)
21. Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
22. Prabhat Koli (India)
23. Dina Levačić (Croatia)
24. Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
25. Andy Donaldson (Scotland)
26. Stephen Junk (Australia)
27. Kieron Palframan (South Africa)

The South Africans have put their mark on the Oceans Seven history books with 3 swimmers: Cameron Bellamy, Herman van der Westhuizen, and Kieron Palframan. Only the USA (with Michelle Macy, Darren Miller, Elizabeth Fry), Mexico (with Antonio Argüelles, Nora Toledano, Mariel Hawley Dávila), UK (with Adam Walker, Jonathan Ratcliffe, and Adrian Sarchet), and Australia (with Lynton Mortensen, Thomas Pembroke, Stephen Junk) have had an equal number of swimmers.

© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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