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World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims In History

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There have been so many great open water solo swims in history that it would be impossible to reasonably limit the swims to 100.

But we tried.

The World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims In History is a list of audacious, unprecedented, extreme, geographically-dispersed open water swims across and in various open bodies of water around the world dating from 1810 to the present.

Because the different niches within the open water swimming community are so dramatically different (i.e., channel swimming versus marathon swimming versus stage swimming versus ice swimming versus professional marathon swimming versus high-altitudes swimming), we have listed the swims by the swim type:

  • Victorious races
  • Record-setting swims
  • Channel crossings
  • Ice swims
  • Extreme duration swims (time or distance)

We have listed 15 swims per category below and reserved 5 swims per category for suggestions from readers. Please feel free to email your favorite individual swims to headcoach@openwatersource.com.

Victorious Races

  1. Maarten van der Weijden (Netherlands): won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10K Marathon Swim in 1 hour 51 minutes after recovering from leukemia
  2. Larisa Ilchenko (Russia): won the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10K Marathon Swim in 1 hour 59 minutes
  3. Abdul Latif Abou Heif (Egypt): 96.5 km across in Lake Michigan in 1963 in 34 hours 38 minutes
  4. Alfréd Hajós (Hungary): 1.2 km at the 1896 Athens Olympics in rough 13°C water in the Bay of Zea in 18:22.1
  5. Cliff Lumsdon (Canada): swam 51.5 km in the 1955 Canadian National Exhibition, winning $84,000
  6. Natalie du Toit (South Africa): finished 16th in the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10K Marathon Swim as an amputee
  7. Shelley Taylor-Smith (Australia): won overall the 1991 36.6 km Atlantic City Around the Island Swim in 7 hours 12 minutes
  8. Shelley Taylor-Smith (Australia): won overall the 1989 45.9 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 7 hours 32 minutes for the fourth consecutive victory
  9. Greta Andersen (Denmark/USA): won overall the 1957 33.5 km English Channel race in 13 hours 53 minutes over second-place Ken Wray in 16 hours
  10. Greta Andersen (Denmark/USA): won overall the 1958 33.5 km English Channel race in 11 hours 1 minute over Brojen Das in 14 hours 52 minutes
  11. Florian Wellbrock (Germany): won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 10K Marathon Swim in 1 hour 48 minutes
  12. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil): won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 10K Marathon Swim in 1 hour 59 minutes
  13. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): won the 2011 FINA World Championships 25 km race in 33°C water in 5 hours 10 minutes
  14. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil): won her 5th FINA World Championships 25 km race in 5 hour 22 minutes in 2022
  15. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): won his 11th consecutive 32 km Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean in 6 hours 36 minutes in 2011
  16. Xavier Desharnais (Canada) and Tomi Stefanovski (Macedonia): tied for first in the 32 km Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean in 2014 in 7 hours 9 minutes 8 seconds
  17. Grace van der Byl (USA): won the 193 km 8 Bridges Swim in a total of 31 hours 47 minutes, winning all 7 stages during the 8-day stage swim in 2012
  18. Claudio Plit (Argentina): won the 64 km Traversée international du lac St-Jean in 17 hours 45 minutes over Philip Rush in 17 hours 46 minutes, his second over three 64 km victories
  19. Yuri Kudinov (Russia): won the FINA World Swimming Championships 25 km race in 5 hours 2 minutes, 0.4 seconds over David Meca and 0.6 seconds over Petar Stoychev in 2003
  20. Britta Kamrau (Germany): won the FINA Open Water Swimming Championships 10 km race in 1 hour 56 minutes, 0.03 over silver medalist Viola Valli in 2002

Record-setting Swims

  1. Sarah Thomas (USA, shown above): swam 70 km in a two-way crossing of the North Channel in 21 hours 46 minutes in 2022
  2. Jaimie Monahan (USA): completed a 183 km Quadruple Manhattan Island Swim in 45 hours 24 minutes in 2020
  3. Chloë McCardel (Australia): completed her 44th career English Channel crossing in 10 hours 1 minute in 2021
  4. Chloë McCardel (Australia): pioneered a 124.4 km swim in the Bahamas in 41 hours 21 minutes in 2014
  5. Sarah Thomas (USA): completed a 68.4 km two-way crossing of Lake Tahoe in 22 hours 30 minutes in 2013
  6. Caroline Block, PhD (USA): completed a 103.6 km two-way crossing of Lake George in 52 hours 24 minutes
  7. Tina Neill (USA): completed a 83.7 km crossing of the San Clemente Channel in 28 hours 41 minutes
  8. Sarah Thomas (USA): completed a 127.7 km swim in Lake Powell, Utah in 56 hours 5 minutes in 2016
  9. Penny Dean (USA): set an overall record across the English Channel in 7 hours 40 minutes in 1978
  10. Philippe Croizon (France): swam across the English Channel without limbs in 2010 in 13 hours 26 minutes
  11. James di Donato and Jonathon di Donato (USA): swam 65.34 km butterfly from the Bahamas to Florida in 1985 in 20 hours 6 minutes
  12. Julie Bradshaw (UK): swam butterfly 33.5 km across the English Channel in 2002 in 14 hours 18 minutes
  13. Vicki Keith (Canada): swam butterfly 32 km across the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 14 hours 1 minute in 1989
  14. Tina Neill (USA):: swam backstroke 33.5 km across the English Channel in 13 hours 22 minutes in 2005
  15. Andy Donaldson (Scotland): completed the Oceans Seven within 1 calendar year with a 13 hour 4 minute crossing of the 19.5 km Tsugaru Channel in 2023
  16. Cindy Cleveland (USA): pioneered a 77 km circumnavigation around Catalina Island in 1979 in 34 hours 24 minutes
  17. Dr. Seán O’Connell (Bermuda): pioneered a 43 hour 27 minute 60.3 km circumnavigation swim around Bermuda in 1976
  18. Philip Rush (New Zealand): swam a 3-way English Channel crossing in 1987 in 28 hours 21 minutes. Along the way, he established a two-way crossing record in 16 hours 10 minutes
  19. Trent Grimsey (Australia): swam a 6 hour 55 minute English Channel crossing in 2012
  20. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): swam a 6 hour minute English Channel crossing in 2007

Ice Swims

  1. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 1 km at the magnetic North Pole in the Arctic Ocean in 2007 in -1.7°C water in 18 minutes 50 seconds
  2. Bhakti Sharma (India): swam 1.4 miles in 41.14 minutes in Antarctica in 2015 in 41.14 minutes
  3. Henri Kaarma (Estonia): swam 2.15 km in 35 minutes 20 seconds in Murmansk, Russia in 2013 in 0.8°C water and -7°C air
  4. Lynne Cox (USA): swam the Bering Strait in 4°C from Alaska to Russia in 1987 in 2 hours 6 minutes
  5. Lynne Cox (USA): swam 16 km across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru at 3,812 meters altitude in 1992 in 3 hours 48 minutes in 13°C water
  6. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 1 km at 5,200m altitude in 2°C water in Lake Pumori on Khumbu Glacier, Mount Everest in 2010
  7. Jaimie Monahan (USA): completed the first Ice Sevens Challenge with a 29:05 minute crossing of Beagle Channel in 2017 in Argentina in 4.76°C water
  8. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 350m in -1.7°C water and -37°C air in the Ross Sea in 2015 where the waves froze in air
  9. Pauline Barker (UK): pioneered the first butterfly Ice Mile in England in 52 minutes in 2016 in 4.73°C water.
  10. Chun Kong Mak (Hong Kong): completed the fastest butterfly Ice Mile in Austria in 43 minutes 3 seconds in 2020 in 4.7°C water
  11. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): completed an Ice Kilometer in -1°C water and -10.0°C air in in Norway’s in 2022
  12. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): won the Antarctica Ice Kilometer Swim in 11:08:49 in -1.4°C water
  13. Krzysztof Gajewski (Poland): completed a 3.25 km swim in -0.02°C water, 0.0°C air in 43:08 minutes
  14. Henri Kaarma (Estonia): completed an Ice Mile in 0.3°C water and -33°C air in 25:25 minutes
  15. Ram Barkai (South Africa): completed the first Ice Mile (2.3 km) in 4°C water in 43 minutes in 2009
  16. Jonty Warneken (UK): completed the first disabled swimmer (amputee) Ice Mile in 58:54 in 4.87°C water in Lake Ellerton, England in 2014 (1.4 miles total)
  17. Krzysztof Gajewski (Poland): swam 6 km in 1 hour 46 minutes in 4.84°C water, 1.00°C air temperature in 2023 in Poland
  18. Krzysztof Kubiak (Poland): swam 4.7 km in 1 hour 23 minutes in 3.87°C water, 2.90°C air temperature in 2022 in Poland
  19. Ram Barkai (South Africa); swam an Ice Mile in 28:16 in 4.61°C water, 0.3°C air temperature in Svalbard, Arctic Sea in 2017
  20. Jaimie Monahan (USA): swam 1.03 miles in 30 minutes 20 seconds in Tyumen, Russia in -0.03°C water (wind chill of -31°C) in 2016

Channel Crossings

  1. Sarah Thomas (USA): swam 132 km in a four-way crossing of the English Channel in 54 hours 10 minutes in 2019
  2. Captain Matthew Webb (Great Britain): first crossing of the English Channel in 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes, swimming breaststroke
  3. George Young (Canada): first crossing of the Catalina Channel in 1927 in 15 hours 44 minutes
  4. Antonio Abertondo (Argentina): first two-way crossing of the English Channel in 43 hours 10 minutes in 1961
  5. Philip Rush (New Zealand): fastest three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1987 in 28 hours 21 minutes
  6. V.S. Kumar Anandan (Sri Lanka): first two-way crossing of the Palk Strait in 1974 in 51 hours
  7. Bert Thomas (USA): first crossing of Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1955 in 11 hours 10 minutes
  8. Barry Devonport (New Zealand): first crossing of the Cook Strait in 1962 in 11 hours 20 minutes
  9. Stève Stievenart (France): first three-way crossing of the Catalina Channel in 2023 in 51 hours 18 minutes
  10. Harry Huffaker (USA): first crossing of the Alenuihāhā Channel from Hawaii to Maui in 1970 in 20 hours 8 minutes
  11. Jon Erikson (USA): first three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1981 in 38 hours 27 minutes
  12. Henry Charteris Hooper (South Africa): first crossing from Robben Island to Cape Town in South Africa in 1909, 11 km in 6 hours 55 minutes
  13. Gertrude Ederle (USA): first crossing of the 44.5 km English Channel by a woman in 1926 in 14 hours 30 minutes
  14. Keo Nakama (USA): first crossing of the 42 km Molokai Channel from Molokai to Oahu in Hawaii in 1961 in 15 hours 30 minutes
  15. Stewart Evans (USA): swam from the Farallon Islands to California in 1967 in 13 hours 44 minutes
  16. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): first person to cross the English Channel under 7 hours, finishing in 6 hours 56 minutes in 2007
  17. Penny Dean (USA): set the 32.3 km Catalina Channel record in 7 hours 15 minutes in 1976, a record that still stands
  18. Dr. Otto Thaning (South Africa): crossed the English Channel at the age of 73 years 6 months in 12 hours 52 minutes in 2014 to become the oldest individual in history to cross the Channel
  19. Marcy MacDonald, DPM (USA): pioneered swim across the English Channel from England to Belgium in 39 hours 20 minutes at the age of 58 in 2022
  20. Diana Nyad (USA): swim across the Florida Strait from Cuba to Key West, Florida in 2013 in 52 hours 54 minutes

Extreme Duration Swims (time or distance)

  1. Sarah Thomas (USA): swam 168.3 km in Lake Champlain in 67 hours 16 minutes in 2017
  2. Sarah Thomas (USA): pioneered a two-way crossing of Lake Tahoe in 2013 in 22 hours 35 minutes
  3. Brenda Sherratt (Great Britain): pioneered a crossing of Loch Ness in Scotland in 1966 in 31 hours 27 minute
  4. Jacques Amyot (Canada): pioneered a crossing of lac St-John in Canada in 1955 in 11 hours 32 minutes
  5. Kevin Murphy (Great Britain): pioneered a 90 km circumnavigation swim of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel in 1971 in 26 hours 51 minutes
  6. Lord Byron (Great Britain): pioneered the first crossing of the Hellespont in 1810 in 1 hour 10 minutes
  7. Penny Palfrey (Australia/Great Britain): pioneered a 108 km crossing from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands in 2011 in 40 hours 41 minutes
  8. Mihir Sen (India): pioneered a swim across the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in 1966 in 35 hours 30 minutes
  9. Martin Strel (Slovenia): completed a 66-day 5,268 km stage swim in the Amazon River in 2007
  10. Vicki Keith (Canada): pioneered a butterfly crossing of Lake Ontario in 2005 in 63 hours 40 minutes
  11. Vicki Keith (Canada): pioneered a two-way crossing of Lake Ontario in 1987 in 56 hours 10 minutes
  12. Cameron Bellamy (South Africa): pioneered a 150 km swim from Barbados to St. Lucia in the Caribbean Sea in 56 hours 55 minutes in 2019
  13. Joe Zemaitis and John Zemaitis (USA): pioneered a 25-day, 50 marathon swim across 50 states of America that took a cumulative time of 164 hours 15 minutes, swimming a total of 521.02 km
  14. Martin Strel (Slovenia): completed a 40-day 4,003 km (2,487-mile) stage swim along the Yangtze River in 2004
  15. Craig Dietz (USA): the Limbless Waterman, born without arms or legs, completed a 10 km Kingdom Swim in Lake Memphremagog in 4 hours 12 minutes in 2016
  16. Neil Agius (Malta): completed a 126.3 km swim from Linosa, Italy to Xlendi Bay on Malta in 52 hours 7 minutes in 2021
  17. Pablo Fernández Álvarez (Spain): completed a 250 km current-positive swim in the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf Stream in 26 hours 36 minutes in 2021
  18. Ricardo Hoffman (Argentina): swam 481.5 km down the Paraná River in 84 hours 37 minutes in 1981
  19. María Digna Ezcurra de Ortellado (Argentina): swam 318 km) downstream in the Paraguay River in in 1957 in 80 hours 45 minutes
  20. Pat Gallant-Charette (USA): became the oldest person to complete a 27 km Bristol Channel in 12 hours 55 minutes and the oldest person to complete the Original Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming at the age of 71

For reference purposes, below is our 2015 list of the World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims In History:

  1. Abdul Latif Abou Heif (Egypt): swim 60 miles (96.5 km) across in Lake Michigan in a pro race in 1963 in 34 hours 38 minutes
  2. Alfréd Hajós (Hungary): won the 1896 Athens Olympics Games 1200m race in rough 55°F (13°C) water in the Bay of Zea off the Piraeus coast, Aegean Sea, Greece in 18:22.1
  3. Alison Streeter (Great Britain): 43rd crossing of the English Channel, a record that may never been broken
  4. Alison Streeter (Great Britain): first crossing of the North Channel in 1989 from Scotland to Ireland in 10 hours 4 minutes
  5. Andrei Sychev (Russia): swam 2250m in 1 hour 6 minutes in Tyumen, Russia in 2012 in 0.8°C water and – 30°C air
  6. Annette Kellerman (Australia): competed against men in the 7-mile Seine Swim through Paris in 1902 in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators
  7. Annette Kellerman (Australia): swam 42 km down the Thames in England in 1902 in 5 hours
  8. Antonio Abertondo (Argentina: first two-way crossing of the English Channel in 43 hours 10 minutes in 1961
  9. Barry Devonport (New Zealand): first crossing of the Cook Strait from North Island to South Island in New Zealand in 1962 in 11 hours 20 minutes
  10. Benoît Lecomte (France): assisted stage swim across the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts, USA to Quiberon, France in 73 days in 1998 across 3716 miles
  11. Bert Thomas (USA): first crossing of Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1955 in 11 hours 10 minutes
  12. Bhakti Sharma (India): swam 1.4 miles in 41.14 minutes in Antarctica in 2015 in 41.14 minutes
  13. Brenda Sherratt (Great Britain): first crossing of Loch Ness in Scotland in 1966 in 31 hours 27 minute
  14. Cameron Perry (New Zealand): first crossing of the Cook Strait from South Island to North Island in New Zealand in 1972 in 9 hours 36 minutes
  15. Captain Matthew Webb (Great Britain): first crossing of the English Channel in 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes, swimming breaststroke
  16. Carl Kawauchi (USA): first crossing of the Pailolo Channel from Molokai to Maui in Hawaii in 1993 in 8 hours 38 minutes
  17. Carol Lee (USA): first crossing of the Maui Channel from Lanai to Maui in Hawaii in 1983 in 4 hours 14 minutes
  18. Chloë McCardel (Australia): first crossing from Eleuthera to Nassau in the Bahamas in 2014 in 42 hours 30 minutes
  19. Christof Wandratsch (Germany): swam 1 km in Lake Semenovskoe, Murmansk, Russia in 2015 in 13:00.51 in 0°C water and -7°C air
  20. Cindy Cleveland (USA): first 48-mile (77 km) circumnavigation around Catalina Island in 1979 in 34 hours 24 minutes
  21. Cliff Lumsdon (Canada): swam 51.5 km (32 miles) in the 1955 Canadian National Exhibition swim in 1955, winning $84,000+
  22. David Yudovin (USA): first crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Honshu to Hokkaido in 1990 in 11 hours 56 minutes
  23. Denize Le Pennec (Jersey): first circumnavigation of Jersey in 1969 in 13 hours 55 minutes
  24. Diana Nyad (USA): swim across the Florida Strait from Cuba to Key West, Florida in 2013 in 52 hours 54 minutes
  25. Éva Risztov (Hungary): won the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in London in 2012 in 1:57:38.2
  26. Fred Rogers (USA): first crossing of Lake Tahoe in 1955 in 19 hours 6 minutes
  27. George Young (Canada): first crossing of the Catalina Channel in 1927 in 15 hours 44 minutes
  28. Gertrude Ederle (USA): first crossing of the English Channel by a woman in 1926 in 14 hours 30 minutes
  29. Greta Andersen (Denmark/USA): first two-way crossing of the Catalina Channel in 1958 in 26 hours 53 minutes
  30. Guy Delage (France): first assisted stage swim across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to Barbados in 55 days in 1994 across 3,900 km (2,335 miles)
  31. Harry Huffaker (USA): first crossing of the Molokai Channel from Oahu to Molokai in Hawaii in 1972 in 16 hours 15 minutes
  32. Harry Huffaker (USA): first crossing of the Alenuihāhā Channel from Hawaii to Maui in Hawaii in 1970 in 20 hours 8 minutes
  33. Harry Huffaker (USA): first crossing of the Kalohi Channel from Molokai to Lanai in Hawaii in 1989 in 5 hours 40 minutes
  34. Henri Kaarma (Estonia): swam 2150m in 35 minutes 20 seconds in Murmansk, Russia in 2013 in 0.8°C water and -7°C air
  35. Henry Charteris Hooper (South Africa): first crossing from Robben Island to Cape Town in South Africa in 1909, 11 km in 6 hours 55 minutes
  36. James Caldwell (USA): first crossing of the Maui Channel from Maui to Lanai in Hawaii in 1970 5 hours 30 minutes
  37. James Caldwell (USA): first crossing of the Pailolo Channel from Maui to Molokai in Hawaii in 1973 5 hours 20 minutes
  38. Imre Szenasi (Hungary): 136-mile (219 km) swim down the River Tisza in Romania in 1962 in 44 hours 50 minutes
  39. Jacques Amyot (Canada): first crossing of lac St-John in Quebec, Canada in 1955 in 11 hours 32 minutes
  40. J. B. Johnson (Great Britain): first individual to attempt to swim across the English Channel in 1872 but gave up after 1 hour 3 minutes
  41. John Sigmund (USA): swim 292 miles (470 km) down the Mississippi River in 1940 in 89 hours 46 minutes
  42. Jon Erikson (USA): first three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1981 in 38 hours 27 minutes
  43. Julie Ridge (USA): first double circumnavigation of Manhattan Island in 1983 in 21 hours
  44. Keo Nakama (USA): first crossing of the Molokai Channel from Molokai to Oahu in Hawaii in 1961 in 15 hours 30 minutes
  45. Kevin Murphy (Great Britain): first 90 km (56-mile) circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel in 1971 in 26 hours 51 minutes
  46. Larisa Ilchenko (Russia): won the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing in 2008 in 1:59:27.7
  47. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 1 km at 5,200m altitude in 2°C water in Lake Pumori on Khumbu Glacier, Mount Everest in 2010
  48. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 1 km at the magnetic North Pole in the Arctic Ocean in 2007 in -1.7°C water in 18 minutes 50 seconds
  49. Lewis Pugh (Great Britain): swam 350m in -1.7°C water and -37°C air in the Ross Sea in 2015 where the waves froze in air
  50. Linda Kaiser (USA): first crossing of the Channel from Kauai and Niihau in Hawaii in 2003 in 10 hours 45 minutes
  51. Linda Kaiser (USA): first crossing of the Kealaikahiki Channel from Kahoolawe to Lanai in Hawaii in 2005 in 11 hours 53 minutes
  52. Lord Byron (Great Britain): first crossing of the Hellespont in 1810 in 1 hour 10 minutes
  53. Lynne Cox (USA): swam 7 miles across Lake Baikal in 1988 in 4 hours 19 minutes
  54. Lynne Cox (USA): swam the Bering Strait in 4°C (40°F) water from Little Diomede (Alaska) to Big Diomede (Russia) in 1987 in 2 hours 6 minutes
  55. Lynne Cox (USA): swam 10 miles across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru at 3,812 meters (12,507 feet) in 1992 in 3 hours 48 minutes in 13°C (56°F) water
  56. Maarten van der Weijden (Netherlands): won the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing in 2008 in 1:51:51.6 after recovering from leukemia
  57. Maria Luisa Cabañeros Sanchez de Leon (Spain): first two-way crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar in 1990 10 hours 58 minutes
  58. Tina Neill (USA): completed a 83.7 km crossing of the San Clemente Channel in 28 hours 41 minutes
  59. Martin Strel (Slovenia): swam 100 miles (162 km) from Lignano to Ravenna in Italy’s Adriatic Sea in 1994 in 55 hours 11 minutes
  60. Martin Strel (Slovenia): completed a 66-day 5,268 km (3,273-mile) stage swim along the Amazon River in 2007 where he faced piranhas
  61. Martin Strel (Slovenia): completed a 40-day 4,003 km (2,487-mile) stage swim along the Yangtze River in 2004
  62. Marilyn Bell (Canada): first crossing of Lake Ontario in 1954 in 20 hours 59 minutes
  63. Mercedes Gleitze (Great Britain): first crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco in 1928 in 12 hours 50 minutes
  64. Michael Read (Great Britain): first four-way crossing of Windermere, England in 1972 in 26 hours 16 minutes
  65. Mihir Sen (India): first non-stop crossing across the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in 1966 in 35 hours 30 minutes
  66. Murugapillai Navratnaswami (Sri Lanka): first crossing of the Palk Strait in 1954 in 26 hours 50 minutes
  67. Natalie du Toit (South Africa): competed in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim final in Beijing in 2008
  68. Otto Kemmerich (Germany): first 50-mile (81 km) crossing of the Baltic Sea across Danzig in East Prussia in 1928 in 43 hours 30 minutes
  69. Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia): won the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in London in 2012 in 1:49:55.1
  70. Pedro A Candiotti (Argentina): 281-mile (452 km) downstream swim in River de la Plata in Argentina in 1935 in 84 hours 0 minutes
  71. Penny Palfrey (Australia/Great Britain): first 67.2-mile (108 km) crossing from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands in 2011 in 40 hours 41 minutes
  72. Philip Rush (New Zealand): fastest three-way crossing of the English Channel in 1987 in 28 hours 21 minutes
  73. Philip Rush (New Zealand): first two-way crossing of the Cook Strait in 1984 in 16 hours 16 minutes
  74. Philippe Croizon (France): swam across the English Channel without limbs in 2010 in 13 hours 26 minutes
  75. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic): swam 1 km in Lake Semenovskoe, Murmansk, Russia in 2015 in 14:21.82 in 0°C water and -7°C air
  76. Robert Dowling (USA): first circumnavigation of Manhattan Island in 1915 in 13 hours 45 minutes
  77. Sarah Thomas (USA): first two-way crossing of Lake Tahoe in 2013 in 22 hours 35 minutes
  78. Sarah Thomas (USA): first two-way crossing of Lake Memphremagog in 2013 in 30 hours 1 minute
  79. Sean O’Connell (Bermuda): first circumnavigation around Bermuda in 1976 in 43 hours 27 minutes
  80. Stacy Chanin (USA): completed a triple circumnavigation of Manhattan Island in 1984 in 33 hours 39 minutes
  81. Stephen Redmond (Ireland): first completion of the Oceans Seven with a 12 hour 45 minute crossing of the Tsugaru Channel in Japan in 2012
  82. Stephen Redmond (Ireland): first swim around Fastnet Rock in Ireland in 2012 in 12 hours 28 minutes
  83. Steven Munatones (USA): first crossing of the Tsugaru Channel from Hokkaido to Honshu in 1990 in 6 hours 39 minutes
  84. Stewart Evans (USA): swam from the Farallon Islands to California in 1967 in 13 hours 44 minutes
  85. Susie Maroney (Australia): first 122-mile (197 km) shark-cage crossing from Mexico to Cuba in 1998 in 38 hours 33 minutes
  86. Susie Maroney (Australia): first 111.8-mile (180 km) shark-cage crossing from Cuba to USA across the Florida Strait in 1997 in 24 hours 31 minutes
  87. Susie Maroney (Australia): first 119-mile (190 km) shark-cage crossing from Jamaica to Cuba in 1999 in 34 hours 50 minutes
  88. Ted Keenan (Ireland): first crossing of the Bristol Channel in 1975 in 14 hours 26 minutes at its widest point
  89. Thane Guy Williams and Jonno Proudfoot (South Africa): completed a 458 km 25-day stage swim across the Mozambique Channel from Mozambique to Madagascar in 2014 swimming for 155 hours total
  90. Tom Blower (Great Britain): first crossing of the 33.7 km (21 mile) North Channel from Ireland to Scotland in 1947 in 15 hours 26 minutes
  91. Veljko Rogošić (Croatia): 120+ mile swim across the Adriatic Sea in Italy in 2006 in 50 hours 10 minutes
  92. Vicki Keith (Canada): first butterfly crossing of Lake Ontario in 2005 in 63 hours 40 minutes
  93. Vicki Keith (Canada): first two-way crossing of Lake Ontario in 1987 in 56 hours 10 minutes
  94. Vicki Keith (Canada): first crossing of Lake Huron in 1988 in 46 hours 55 minutes
  95. Vojislav Mijić (Serbia): 86.3-mile (139 km) swim down the Sava River, Serbia in 1992 in 36 hours 30 minutes
  96. V.S. Kumar Anandan (Sri Lanka): first two-way crossing of the Palk Strait in 1974 in 51 hours
  97. William ‘Billy’ O’Connor (Canada): first crossing of lac Memphrémagog from Vermont, USA to Quebec, Canada in 1955 in 18 hours 35 minutes
  98. Yuko Matsuzaki (Japan): 51.5-mile (83 km) swim in Lake Cane in Florida in 2008 in 33 hours 24 minutes
  99. Zhang Jian (China): first crossing of the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong to Macau in 2005 in 10 hours 43 minutes
  100. Zhang Jian (China): first crossing of Bohai Bay in China in 2000 in 50 hours 22 minutes

Email your favorite iconic swimmers and swims to add to the 2023 World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims In History to headcoach@openwatersource.com.

@ 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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

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