Robert Woodhouse (Australia, 58, MSF bio here) has spent decades around the pool deck, as an Olympic medalist, administrator, agent, commentator, CEO of Swimming Australia, and uncle to accomplished Olympic swimmers, but over the last few years, he has spent a significant time in the open water.
He has completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and is one channel crossing away from achieving the Oceans Seven.
- 2022: he swam the 33.5 km English Channel from England to France in 10 hours 45 minutes at the age of 56
- 2023: he swam the 14.4 km Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 3 hours 18 minutes at the age of 56
- 2023: he swam the 34.5 km North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland in 9 hours 48 minutes at the age of 57
- 2023: he swam the 32.3 km Catalina Channel from Palos Verdes to Catalina Island in 10 hours 14 minutes at the age of 57
- 2023: he swam the 45 km Molokai Channel from Molokai to Oahu in 12 hours 15 minutes at the age of 57
- 2024: he swam the 23 km Cook Strait from South Island to North Island in 7 hours 0 minutes at the age of 57
At the age of 58, he will have one more crossing – the Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan this coming July- to achieve the Oceans Seven.
He spoke about his journey in the ocean and on the pool deck on the Torpedo Swimtalk Podcast here.
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