Jacqueline McClelland of Ireland (is a master of all trades when it comes to marathon swimming and channel crossings. Up early, down late, driving here and there, both on dryland and in the open water, giving advice as well as listening with a compassionate ear, McClelland shares her deep passion and comprehensive knowledge of the seas with swimmers of all ages and abilities.

With her roots in Ireland, she is the Co-Founder and Director of infinity Channel Swimming and a Committee member of the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association. “She always seems to step up and help out when swimmers need it most,” observed Steven Munatones. “Cold water, rough water, strong tides, unfathomable currents, inexperienced support teams, worried family members, Jacqueline just seems to have mastered it all – and knows what to say and do to make bad situations better, and good situations even better.”

With her pedigree and history of services to marathon and channel swimmers, McClelland was inducted as an Honor Administrator in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in its Class of 2026, a very well-deserved recognition for her dedication.

Since 2013, McClelland created solutions to myriad issues with the growing demand of channel swimming and worked hard behind the scenes to serve as a liaison with swimmers. Her work has become most clearly evident in the notoriously difficult North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland. Between 1947 and 2016, there were 34 solo successes, but from 2017 to the present, that number has ballooned to 150 solo successes – or an average of 0.5 successes per year to nearly 17 per year with the help of McClelland.

September 4th 2025 was one prime example of the footprint that McClelland has on the North Channel. infinity Channel Swimming concurrently supported 4 separate crossings of Andreas Waschburger (38, Germany, MSF bio here, IISA bio here, World Aquatics bio here, @andreaswaschburger) piloted by Pádraig Mallon and McClelland, Brenda Norman (44, Australia, MSF bio here) piloted by Jack Boyle, Jonathan Wall (53, Australia, MSF bio here) piloted by David Hughes, and Anel Sytdykova (46, Kazakhstan, MSF bio here, @sytdykova_anel) piloted by Jerry McGrady. After managing 5 different support teams throughout the hectic week of changing weather and the 4 remaining teams at the Bangor Marina at 2 am on swim day, McClelland was relentless in attending to details and support.

Ultimately, all four swimmers got across in times that ranged from 8 hours 11 minutes to 16 hours 21 minutes.

She was clearly a dream maker on that day.

Ned Denison, chair of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, further explained her special talents and vision, “Jacqueline established new methods for swimmers with physical disabilities to achieve their marathon swim goals. She obtained approval of a thin cloth band to hold a colostomy bag to the swimmer’s body. She also adapted the use of a ‘Roll Up Recovery Method’ for swimmers (with or without physical disabilities) for onboarding post swim, a method previously used for divers and casualties at sea.”

North Channel – September 2025

Swimmers from around the world traveled to Donaghadee to its changing weather. Day by day, time past as McClelland kept them informed that no crossings would be attempted starting on Friday.

Friday came and went. They were weathered out of attempting their crossings of the North Channel, but the swimmers and crews remained patient and anxious. Saturday also came and went. That decision was due to a storm that blew through the area. Sunday also came and went due to similar conditions. Monday was a new day, another opportunity, another chance to challenge themselves against the cold water, cold weather, tough tides, strong currents, and relentless winds. But similarly, Monday came and went. Same with Tuesday. Echo that on Wednesday. The conditions did not look good at all. The swimmers and teams would have to return to the North Channel, not only incurring additional costs, but also delaying their dreams and changing their work, family, and training schedules.

But three times a day, Mallon and McClelland reviewed the live weather data and predictions and kept everyone well informed. Daily, they reviewed the possibilities of starting at three separate points, including beginning the crossings from Scotland and swimming to Northern Ireland.

McClelland had to balance safety, the reasonable possibility of success, with the increasing anxiety and questions raised by the swimmers – which is does with authoritative diplomacy and genuine care.

She needs a weather window of 15-20 hours of swimmable weather – which many times is out of the question.

It is not an easy position to be in – but McClelland handles the pressure as well as any in the sport.

With an email that came at 7 pm on Wednesday night, McClelland informed the 4 swimmers and their teams that there may be a slight window on Thursday with a break in the weather. That is all the swimmers needed – and wanted – to hear as they quickly readied their drinks and swim gear, and prepared themselves mentally.

Mallon and McClelland greeted Waschburger, Norman, Wall, and Sytdykova everyone with broad smiles in the quiet darkness, wearing only short-sleeve shirts while everyone else was bundled up in parkas and cold-weather gear. Their enthusiasm is infectious and provided the perfect early-morning balance to the overwhelming nervousness that hung over the groups surrounding the four swimmers.

From Bangor Marina, the four escort boats motored over to The Gobbins, the famed cliff walls in Northern Ireland. McClelland was constantly on the radio, communicating with all the pilots. Shortly after 3 am, the four swimmers separately jumped into the water and swam in the direction of the high-powered torches that were fixed against the sheer cliffs of The Gobbins.

In the calm darkness, their collective sense of purpose in the 14.6°C water was clear – and McClelland had done her job getting the swimmers into position. But her responsibilities were not nearly over. In fact, her onshore energy continued through the morning and throughout a long day on the North Channel.

McClelland has guided four swimmers from completely different backgrounds, from different countries, of different ages, and with different upbringings to this point. But they all swam with a common purpose: to walk out safely onto the shores of Scotland.

Waschburger shot off, like he was racing a 10 km race. Norman, Wall, and Sytdykova started as a much more reasonable pace, knowing they had a long way to go. Both Norman and Sytdykova were on their third attempts and knew well what the North Channel could throw at them.

McClelland never seemed to stop, either moving, directing, pointing, advising, communicating, or calming others – on all four points. It was an impressive act of balancing responsibilities.

After four hours of darkness, sunlight started to pierce the darkness and lightness brightened the moods of everyone, both on the boats and in the water. But McClelland’s ever-present smile was periodically punctuated with a focused look of concern. Fortunately, McClelland had read the tides, winds, and currents right and the sea laid down in their favor as the winds remained very light. There were no surprises and no massive swells of water that came unexpectedly from either the north or south.

True to her prediction, the North Channel remained swimmable for Waschburger in the lead and Sytdykova pulling up the rear with only a soft weathering of the surface water. Bright blue skies broke out and the day remained incredibly beautiful with scenic views of the welcoming Scottish shoreline in the horizon.

Mallon and McClelland guided the flotilla towards the finish point of the beach at Klllantringan Bay in Scotland. The tides continued to cooperate and the winds never increased to the point of unswimmability. Waschburger landed after 8 hours 11 minutes. Norman on her third attempt landed after 10 hours 22 minutes. 53-year-old Wall was next in 15 hours 19 minutes, followed by the Kazakhstan pioneer Sytdykova in 16 hours 21 minutes.

Sytdykova said later, “The swim was great. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

It was a good day, a day planned and guided by McClelland with Mallon at her side. The pair’s coordination and expertise proved invaluable to helping these four swimmers realize their dreams on this day.

And this dream-making happens throughout the year with McClelland, the ultimate doer in the sport.

She is a swimmer, an official, a support crew member, a pilot, an administrator, a coordinator, a communicator, a volunteer, and a visionary.

She also developed the NEWS Swim Series, a global series of four very difficult solo marathon swims:

• In the South, there is the 33 km False Bay Swim in South Africa, supported and ratified by the False Bay Swimming Association, the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association, and Big Bay Events
• In the North, there is the 35 km North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, supported and ratified by the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association, the North Channel Swimming Association, and infinity Channel Swimming
• In the East, there is the 34 km Derwent River Big Swim in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, supported and ratified by Derwent River Big Swim, Australian Long Distance Swimming Federation, and iSwimHappy
• In the West, there is the 40.2 km Monterey Bay crossing in Northern California, supported and ratified by the Monterey Bay Swimming Association

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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