One of the central swimmers in the new film Don’t Be Prey is 52-year-old Paul Leonard (53 Great Britain, MSF bio here).
The film is centered around Australian entrepreneur Mark Sowerby who after a life-changing event, takes on the Oceans Seven while pushing his limits and learning that true strength often surfaces in the most unexpected places. Directed by Jeff Tseng, co-written by Steven Sander and Tseng, the film features Mark Sowerby, Red Top Swimming Club coach Tim Denyer, Steven Munatones, Heidi Sowerby, Bengisu Avci, Jamie Mackay, and Joanne Norman that will premier in London on October 24th with a scheduled release in 2026.
Leonard is one channel away from achieving the Oceans Seven, an incredible feat considering he was bitten by a cookiecutter shark during a Molokai Channel attempt this March.
Since 2022, Leonard’s marathon swimming adventures have taken far from his Tarporley, Cheshire home:
- September 2022: 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France in 12 hours 39 minutes
- April 2023: 14.4 km crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 24 minutes
- August 2023: 45.9 km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in New York City in 8 hours 38 minutes
- October 2023: 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel in California in 11 hours 24 minutes to achieve the Triple Crown
- January 2024: 23 km crossing of the Cook Strait from South Island to North Island in New Zealand in 8 hours 45 minutes
- June 2024: 26 km crossing of the Bristol Channel from Wales to England in 9 hours 15 minutes
- August 2024: 34.5 km across the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 12 hours 30 minutes in 14-15°C water
- 2024: he was selected as the British Long Distance Swimming Association Veteran Swimmer of the Year
- March 2025: 45 km Molokai Channel crossing was aborted due to a cookiecutter shark attack around midnight
- August 2025: DNF of the 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel in Japan after 10 hours
- August 2025: 38.6 km crossing of Loch Lomond in Scotland in 11 hours 58 minutes
- September 2025: 10.5 km crossing of Galway Bay in Ireland in 3 hours 23 minutes
- October 2025: 45 km crossing of the Molokai Channel in 13 hours 50 minutes, setting a record in the Oahu-to-Molokai course
- July 2026: scheduled rematch with the Tsugaru Channel
All In The Family
His son Andrew Leonard was on his swim manager during his 26 km crossing of the Bristol Channel from Wales to England in 14-15°C water temperatures and across Galway Bay swim manager in 13-14°C water while both Andrew and his daughter Rebecca Leonard served as his dual escort pilots during a 38.6 km crossing of Loch Lomond in the 14-15°C water temperatures that he faced in an overnight crossing.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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