Andreas Waschburger (Germany, 37, MSF bio here, IISA bio here, @andreaswaschburger) is well ahead of pace to set the fastest cumulative time in completing the Oceans Seven.

With a course record across the English Channel and the Molokai Channel, he has recently completed very fast crossings of both the 23 km Cook Strait (Te Moana-o-Raukawa) in 5 hours 13 minutes at the end of March and across the Strait of Gibraltar this month in 2 hours 51 minutes on his fourth Oceans Seven channel.

With four crossings completed in four attempts, Waschburger is more than 6 hours faster than the current world record time for the Oceans Seven, currently held by Scotland’s Andy Donaldson in 63 hours 2 minutes.

Andy Donaldson versus Andreas Waschburger

• 33 km English Channel between England and France: 8 hours 0 minutes versus 6 hours 45 minutes (record)
• 45 km Molokai Channel between Molokai and Oahu in 15 hours 52 minutes versus 9 hours 55 minutes (record)
• 23 km Cook Strait in New Zealand in 4 hours 33 minutes (record) versus 5 hours 13 minutes
• 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco in 2 hours 56 minutes versus 2 hours 51 minutes
• 32.3 km Catalina Channel in Southern California in 9 hours 22 minutes versus To Be Swum by Waschburger
• 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan in 13 hours 4 minutes versus To Be Swum by Waschburger
• 35 km North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland in 9 hours 13 minutes versus To Be Swum by Waschburger

Top Fastest Strait of Gibraltar Crossings in History

1. Georgios Charcharis (Greece, 25, MSF bio here) in 2009 in 2 hours 16 minutes
2. David Čech (Czech Republic, 22, MSF bio here) of in 2008 in 2 hours 38 minutes
3. Carlos Franco Canton (Mexico, 48, MSF bio here), Cynthia Aguilar Valdéz (Mexico, 41, MSF bio here), Patricia Guerra Menéndez (Mexico) in 2023 in 2 hours 43 minutes
4. Mateo Pesquer Campos (Spain, 30) in 2005 and Andreas Waschburger (Germany, 37, MSF bio here) 2 hours 51 minutes
5. Christof Wandratsch (Germany, 40, MSF bio here) in 2007 in 2 hours 52 minutes
6. Nathalie Pohl (Germany, 21, MSF bio here) in 2016 in 2 hours 53 minutes
7. Jim Barber (USA, 51, MSF bio here) in 2011 and Andy Donaldson (Scotland, 32, MSF bio here) in 2023 in 2 hours 56 minutes
8. Christof Wandratsch (Germany, 39, MSF bio here) in 2006 in 2 hours 57 minutes
9. Thomas Ladurner (Italy, 37) in 2015 and Clemens Duft (Austria, 30) in 2018 in 2 hours 58 minutes
10. Chip Blankenhorn (USA, 40) in 2010 in 3 hours 0 minutes

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.