Reported by Bill Goding in Hawaii.
On his third attempt, Simon Olliver (61, New Zealand, MSF bio here, @simon_channelswimmer) from Christchurch completed a 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu in Hawaii, escorted by Ivan Shigaki on August 30th in 14 hours 24 minutes on his third attempt.
The courageous crossing of the Channel of Bones enabled him to achieve the Oceans Seven at the age of 61 years and 114 days, the oldest person to do so. Marcia Cleveland was previously the oldest person to achieve the Oceans Seven at the age of 61 years and 20 days when she achieved this feat in May 2025.
Simon Olliver’s Oceans Seven Journey
- March 2014: 23 km across the Cook Strait in 8 hours 36 minutes, age 49
- July 2015: 33.5 km across the English Channel in 11 hours 8 minutes, age 51
- August 2016: 32.3 km across the Catalina Channel in 10 hours 45 minutes, age 52
- July 2017: 35 km across the North Channel in 11 hours 56 minutes, age 53
- September 2018: 19.5 km across the Tsugaru Channel in 11 hours 58 minutes, age 54
- August 2019: 14.4 km across the Strait of Gibraltar in 3 hours 40 minutes, age 55
- August 2025: 45 km across the Molokai Channel in 14 hours 24 minutes, age 61
Oceans Seven Swimmers
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)
28. Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
29. Mark Sowerby (Australia)
30. Paul Georgescu (Romania)
31. Zach Margolis (USA
32. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria)
33. Nathalie Pohl (Germany)
34. Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand)
35. Ryan Utsumi (USA)
36. Marcia Cleveland (USA)
37. Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo (Peru)
38. Rob Woodhouse (Australia)
39. Alessandra Cima, Brazil
40. Bengisu Avci, Turkey
41. Simon Olliver, New Zealand
Photo above courtesy of Brian Meharg while Olliver enjoyed an hour-long encounter with a minke whale in the North Channel.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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