Fergal Somerville of Ireland may have swum further and longer in colder water than any person in recorded history.

A relative newcomer to the sport, Somerville began open water swimming in 2007 and quickly adapted, moving upwards to the marathon distances in 2009. He was soon labeled a pioneer for his unprecedented swim around the Aran Islands in Co. Galway.

In 2010, Fergal recorded the first Inis Meáin to Rosaveel swim along the Galway Coast and followed this swim in 2011 with an English Channel crossing. He also pioneered the Dublin Bay 2- way swim late in 2012 after he was trained and looking for a swim when his chance to swim the North Channel disappeared due to very poor conditions.

The member of the Eastern Bay Swim Team in Dublin, he swims year round at High Rock in Malahide (Dublin).

All of this training and swims led up to his 2013 North Channel crossing in 12 hours 21 minutes after the coldest winter in Ireland in 62 years. And he wasted no time as he become the first swimmer to complete the toughest channel in the world before the month of July. With the average water temperature of 9ºC (48ºF), he set a standard and has inspired another generation of cold-water specialists.

His talk on how he has adapted to the cold and rough will be fascinating and inspirational at the Rochestown Park Hotel.

For more information, visit the Global Open Water Swimming Conference Cork on October 11th-13th here. Registrations can be booked here.

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