Andrew Donaldson (born 10 February 1991 in Irvine, Scotland) is a Scottish-Australian marathon swimmer. Donaldson is a three-time world record holder [1] with records including the fastest time to complete the Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge, [1] and the fastest swim across the Cook Strait - the waters between New Zealand's North and South Islands. [2] [3] [4]
Growing up in West Kilbride, Scotland, Donaldson started swimming with the North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club at age seven. [5] Donaldson attended Largs Academy for secondary school, then graduated from Loughborough University in 2012. [6] In 2013, he relocated to Perth, Western Australia to pursue professional swimming. [7] [8]
After falling short of his Olympic aspirations, he retired from swimming in 2016 to work in accounting and finance. [7] Following struggles with his mental health, Donaldson took a career break to backpack overseas. [9] At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was working as a volcano tour guide in Nicaragua. [7]
He returned to Perth and to swimming in 2020. He found that the sport helped him with his mental well-being. [7] In Perth, Donaldson co-founded Swimclan with his mentor Martin Smoothy to assist adults in learning to swim, to improve their health, and to pursue goals. [10]
In 2021, he placed first in the 19.7km Rottnest Channel Swim. [11] [12] In 2022, he set a new record in the 34km Derwent River Big Swim in Tasmania, and won the 25km Palm Beach to Shelly Beach Swim. [7]
In 2022, Donaldson announced that he would embark on the Oceans Seven challenge. [13] Donaldson's goal was to complete the challenge in one year [14] to raise money for the Black Dog Institute and awareness for mental health. [13] [15] He was nominated for the World Open Water Swimming Association's Man of the Year 2022. [16]
Donaldson crossed the English Channel in eight hours. [17] Donaldson set the British record for the swim. [18] [19] He became the first Scottish male to complete the swim between the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland). [5] [20] In New Zealand, Donaldson set a new world record for fastest swim across the Cook Strait in four hours thirty-three minutes. [2] [3] [4]
Donaldson was hospitalised after completing the Molokai Channel. He faced strong waves and headwinds during this swim. [21] [22] He set a new British record for his swim of the Strait of Gibraltar with a time of two hours and fifty-six minutes. [23] In Los Angeles, he overcame illness to complete the Catalina Channel in nine hours twenty-two minutes. [24] After successfully crossing Japan's Tsugaru Strait in July 2023, Donaldson completed the Oceans Seven challenge. [25]
| Date | Swim | Route | Distance | Time | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-07 | English Channel | England to France | 33km | 08:00:00 [17] | British record |
| 2022-09-19 | North Channel | Ireland to Scotland | 34km | 09:13:59 [20] | British record |
| 2023-03-07 | Cook Strait | South Island to North Island (New Zealand) | 22km | 04:33:50 [3] | World record |
| 2023-04-18 | Kaiwi Channel | Molokai to Oahu (USA) | 45km | 15:51:00 [22] | |
| 2023-05-20 | Strait of Gibraltar | Spain to Morocco | 14.4km | 02:56:00 [23] | British record |
| 2023-07-11 | Catalina Channel | Catalina Island to Los Angeles (USA) | 32.3km | 09:22:52 [24] | British record |
| 2023-07-27 | Tsugaru Strait | Honshu to Hokkaido (Japan) | 19.5km | 13:04:30 [25] |
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The North Channel is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins north of the Isle of Man, where the Irish Sea ends, and runs north-west into the Atlantic Ocean.
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