Brett Kruse became the 8th person in history to complete the HK360Swim, a solo swim 45 km around Hong Kong Island in 11 hours 32 minutes on December 6th.

Kruse’s HK360 attempt was originally scheduled in November, but was rescheduled due to three typhoons hitting Hong Kong and a People’s Liberation Army Navy (Chinese Navy) visit which forced the swim to be postponed several times.

He started at Sai Wan at 1:15 am and was escorted by an outrigger canoe and a safety boat. The Marine Department also shadowed the swim to prevent boat traffic from coming too close. Kruse was also allowed to have one support swimmer swim with him for an hour every two hours.

Because 47% of teenagers and 70% of migrant domestic workers cannot swim, Kruse dedicated this swim challenge to fundraising for Splash Foundation, a charity teaching children and adults from disadvantaged communities to swim. The charity has already helped more than 8,000 people in Hong Kong learn to swim and is aiming to reach 30,000 by 2030.

Kruse shared with his supporters after coming on shore, ”Thrilled with the day. My longest by a significant margin and such a cool island. Swimming the harbour [at night] with the skyline was epic, then probably had the toughest section for me mentally. Hours 4 and 5 were still dark and I really needed daylight. Then Big Wave lived up to its name, but I enjoy the area and thankfully train there. Then I enjoyed the daylight as I swam the familiar waters of the South side. The final section was tough, but thankfully my various pains remained consistent while not escalating too bad. I was super special to end it with my support swimmers flagging me like a wounded soldier returning from war.”

The HK360swim was organised by Avra.cc. Swim nutrition was sponsored by Escapade Sports and Hammer Nutrition Hong Kong.

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.