Marcia Cleveland (61, USA, MSF bio here, IISA bio here, @marciac944) has done it all in the open water swimming world:

• Wrote a highly popular book Dover Solo
• Achieved the Frosted Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming with an Ice Mile in 4.15°C water and 2.20°C air completed in 2020
• Certified as an IISA Official Observer L1 
• Inducted as an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Class of 2020
• Member of the Half Century Club 
• Set the fastest Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in history with a cumulative time of 24 hours 38 minutes
• Participated in a 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim relay in 6 hours 33 minutes that set the mixed record
• Completed a 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim relay in 7 hours 0 minutes to set the women’s record
• Crewed for many successful crossings of the English Channel since 1996
• Participated in English Channel relays, both one-way and two-way crossings
• Won the 10 km Bermuda swim and the 8-mile Boston Light Swim 
• Was the solo finisher in the 25 km Swim Across The Sound n 9 hours 26 minutes in 2014
• Completed the California Triple Crown of Marathon Swimming with crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel, Catalina Channel, and Lake Tahoe at the age of 53.
• Achieved the Grand Slam of Open Water Swimming upon the completion of 38 km Tampa Bay Marathon Swim 
• Was named one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women in 2019
• Coach of the North Shore Masters Swim Club
• Set the women’s American record around Manhattan Island in 5 hours 57 minutes in 1996 

Achievement of the Oceans Seven

With her May 20th crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, she has now achieved the Oceans Seven – as the oldest person – male or female – to do so. An incredible total of 11,253 days elapsed between the date of her first channel crossing in the English Channel and her seventh channel crossing in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Talk about her persistence, diligence, and patience – 30 years 9 months and 22 days between her first Oceans Seven crossing when she was 30 years old and her last when she was 61. This has also set a new standard for the longest span to complete the Oceans Seven.

After her final Oceans Seven channel in a tandem swim with her daughter Julia Cleveland Green and Emily Frank, she suggested that the EKA Magic Jewelry store in Tarifa, Spain become the central meeting spot for swimmers of the Strait of Gibraltar. Owner Ivan Queredo posts pictures of successful Strait swimmers wearing his jewelry.

The mother-and-daughter duo have been swimming together a long time…

Oceans Seven Journey

• July 1994: 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 9 hours 44 minutes at the age of 30
• August 2005: 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to the mainland in 8 hours 56 minutes
• July 2018: 35 km crossing of the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 15 hours 3 minutes
• August 2019: 19.5 km crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in northern Japan in 10 hours 11 minutes
• March 2022: 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai to Oahu in 17 hours 45 minutes
• March 2023: 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait between South Island and North Island in New Zealand in 11 hours 54 minutes
• May 2025: 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 4 hours 1 minute at the age of 61
• Her cumulative time for the Oceans Seven crossings was 77 hours 34 minutes

Oceans Seven Swimmers

1. Stephen Redmond (Ireland)
2. Anna Carin Nordin (Sweden)
3. Michelle Macy (USA)
4. Darren Miller (USA)
5. Adam Walker (UK)
6. Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand)
7. Antonio Argüelles (Mexico)
8. Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Moldavia and Ireland)
9. Rohan Dattatrey More (India)
10. Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic)
11. Cameron Bellamy (South Africa)
12. Lynton Mortensen (Australia)
13. Thomas Pembroke (Australia)
14. Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)
15. Mariel Hawley Dávila (Mexico)
16. André Wiersig (Germany)
17. Elizabeth Fry (USA)
18. Attila Mányoki (Hungary)
19. Jonathan Ratcliffe (UK)
20. Jorge Crivilles Villanueva (Spain)
21. Adrian Sarchet (Guernsey)
22. Prabhat Koli (India at 23 years 7 months 5 days, shown below on right)
23. Dina Levačić (Croatia)
24. Herman van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
25. Andy Donaldson (Scotland in 354 days)
26. Stephen Junk (Australia)
27. Kieron Palframan (South Africa)
28. Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile)
29. Mark Sowerby (Australia)
30. Paul Georgescu (Romania)
31. Zach Margolis (USA)
32. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria in 173 days)
33. Nathalie Pohl (Germany)
34. Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand at the age of 20 years 7 months 15 days)
35. Ryan Utsumi (USA)
36. Marcia Cleveland (USA)
37. Eduardo Collazos Valle-Guayo (Peru)

For more information on Cleveland, visit www.doversolo.com.

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