Chen Suwei (陳蘇偉, 57, Chinese, MSF bio here) began life in 1968 in Lingwu Village in China’a Guangdong Province. Finding his niche quickly as a school child, he moved to Beijing at the age of 11. By the time he turned 16, he was selected for the Chinese national swim team where he later won twice at the Asian Swimming Championships and silver medals twice in the Asian Games.
He first got into channel swimming in 2016 when he crossed the 29.5 km Qiongzhou Strait between Guangdong and Hainan Island in southern China in 6 hours 9 minutes. By 2018, his open water swimming goal became the Oceans Seven.
- In August 2018, he completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 11 hours 8 minutes
- In October 2018, he completed a 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 11 hours 35 minutes
- In July 2019, he completed the 45.9 km 20 Bridges Manhattan Island Swim around New York City in 7 hours 12 minutes
- In October 2022, he completed a 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai Island to Oahu in 14 hours 2 minutes
- In August 2023, he completed a 35 km crossing of the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 11 hours 35 minutes
- In February 2024, he completed a 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait from South Island to North Island in 9 hours 47 minutes
- In May 2025, he completed a 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 51 minutes
- In July 2027, the Dongguan Culture, Tourism and Sports Promotion Ambassador hopes to become the first Chinese to achieve the Oceans Seven at the age of 58
For more information in Chinese, listen to an article here.
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