Ned Denison, chairperson of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, formally inducted Lynton Mortenson as an Honor Swimmer in the IMSHOF Class of 2024.
The 59-year-old Australian attorney was honored today at the Class of 2024’s International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cancún, Mexico – along with the following luminaries of the sport:
- Penny Lee Dean, EdD – ISHOF Poseidon Award
- Massimo Giuliani – ISHOF Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award
- Melissa Cunningham Roberts – The Dale Petranech Award for Services to IMSHOF
- Leonie Beck, Honor Swimmer, Germany, 2024
- Ros Hardiman, Honor Swimmer, Great Britain, 2024
- Allan do Carmo, Honor Swimmer, Brazil, 2024
- Sam Greetham, Honor Administrator, Great Britain, 2024
- Catherine Vogt Kase, Honor Coach, United States of America, 2024
- Lynton Mortensen, Honor Swimmer, Australia, 2024
- Pauline Jackson, Honor Administrator, United States of America, 2024
- Dr. Evgenij Pop Acev, Honor Swimmer, Macedonia
- Courtney Moates Paulk, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Arianna Bridi, Honor Swimmer, Italy
- Suzanne Heim-Bowen, Honor Swimmer, USA
- Dan Simonelli, Honor Coach, USA
- Simone Ruffini, Honor Swimmer, Italy
Lynton Mortensen Legacy
Mortensen was the first Australian and 12th person in history to complete the Oceans Seven channels. He also completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming within 3 months and the Australian Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2020. His nickname is Sea Bull.
Denison explains about history of the swimmer, globally known as the Sea Bull, “In addition to his standard channel crossings and marathon swims, he is also a pioneer. He is the first person to circumnavigate 30 km around Lord Howe Island and to completed both the Australian Triple Crown and the Australian Grand Slam.
He set two records: the quickest completion of the Oceans Seven within two years and two months, set in 2019 and held until 2023. He also set the shortest time (17 days) between crossings of the English Channel and North Channel, set in 2017 that he still holds.“
His Oceans Seven included
- 33.5 km English Channel in 12 hours 35 minutes
- 35 km North Channel in 13 hours 49 minutes
- 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar in 5 hours 12 minutes
- 32.3 km Catalina Channel in 13 hours 59 minutes
- 23 km Cook Strait in 14 hours 14 minutes
- 42 km Molokai Channel in 14 hours 49 minutes
- 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel 9 hours 34 minutes
He also completed many other marathon swims around the world including the 50 km Jersey Island circumnavigation in the middle of the English Channel, the 45.9 km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in New York, the 34 km Derwent River Swim in Tasmania, 15 km La Bocaina Strait in the Canary Islands, the 17 km Kaulakahi Channel (between Kauai and Ni’ihau Islands), and 1the 4.1 km Au’au Channel (between Maui and Lanai Islands).
Steven Munatones added, “In addition to his marathon swims and channel crossings, he has also swum in Mongolia and Norway where he did an Ice Kilometer at -0.77°C water temperature and -15.9°C air temperature, finishing in 33 minutes 56 seconds.
He swims so much he was nominated for the Barra Award for Most Prolific Overall Year by the Marathon Swimmers Federation in 2017 all while raising money for his charity, the Children’s Hospital Foundation, to help ill children in need and their families. He is, clearly, an everyday hero.”
An attorney on dryland by day, a swimmer by any other times and places, Lynton Mortensen is a well-deserving member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Class of 2024.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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