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Cook Strait separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. Regular ferry services run across the strait between Picton in the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington.
Long-distance swimming is distinguished from ordinary swimming in that the distances involved are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than on outright speed, it is the more likely to be considered a long-distance swim. Long-distance swims, however, may take place in pools, such as the 1st official 24 hours World Championship in 1976 won by Peppo Biscarini with a record of 83.7 km or the current 25 meter pool world record of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden. Some of the better-known long-distance swims are crossings of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Fehmarn Belt and Cook Strait.
Lynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer, writer and speaker. She is best known for being the first person to swim between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the Bering Strait, a feat which has been recognized for easing the Cold War tensions between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Cynthia Maria "Cindy" Nicholas, was a long distance swimmer and a politician in Ontario, Canada. In 1977, she became the first woman to complete a two-way crossing of the English Channel. From 1987 to 1990 she was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Alison Jane Streeter MBE is a British long-distance swimmer.
Kevin Murphy has swum the English Channel 34 times, more than any other man in history. The overall title of greatest number of successful English Channel swims is held by Chloë McCardel with 44 to her name.
Jon Erikson was an American long distance swimmer who was the first of only three people to have ever completed a three way swim of the English Channel. A physical education teacher at the time, he completed the swim in a time of 38 h 27 mins in 1981.
(1st leg - 10 h 10 mins, 2nd leg - 13 h 14 mins, 3rd leg - 15h 103 mins)
Michael Peter Read MBE is an English long-distance swimmer who has the third most crossings of the English Channel – 33 to date. The current Queen of the Channel is Chloë McCardel with 44 crossings.
Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances and traditional rules based in English Channel swimming. Unlike marathon foot-races which have a specifically defined distance, marathon swims vary in distance. However, one commonly used minimum definition is 10 kilometers, the distance of the marathon swimming event at the Olympic Games.
The Oceans Seven is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims. It was devised in 2008 as the swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. It includes the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokaʻi Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.
Chloë McCardel is an open water swimmer and swim coach from Melbourne, Australia.
Nejib Belhedi is a Tunisian Marathon Icy and Iron open-water swimmer.
Taranath Narayan Shenoy, is a deaf and visually impaired Indian swimmer and an honoree of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a winner of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, having successfully completed the English Channel, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.
Rupali Ramdas Repale, is an Indian open-water long-distance swimmer and triathlete. She swam the English Channel in the solo swim category on 15 August 1994 in a time span of 16 hours and 7 minutes, making her the youngest successful swimmer to cross the English Channel for the year 1994. She swam a total of seven straits during the course of her swimming career, Gibraltar Strait, Palk Strait, Bass Strait, Cook Strait, Robben Island Channel and Mumbai-Dharamtar Channel.
Kimberley Chambers is a marathon open water swimmer from New Zealand. She is the sixth person in the world to complete the Ocean's Seven swimming challenge. In 2015, she became the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge – a distance of about 30 miles.
Sarah Thomas is an American marathon swimmer. She is the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel and the first person to swim a current-neutral swim over 100 miles. She holds the world record for longest, second-, and third-longest current-neutral swims, and various other records in both fresh and salt water categories.
Millie Hudson was a British diver, open water swimmer, diving coach, and sports journalist. She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1927, she attempted to swim across the English Channel, but had to abandon her attempt after 13 hours in the water. In 1928, she attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, but failed after 8.5 hours due to rough waters. After retiring from long-distance swimming, she continued to coach, and trained British Olympic springboard diver Esme Harris. Hudson was the swimming correspondent for the Evening Standard in London, and became the first woman to be admitted to the Sports Writers' Association in 1949.
Nathalie Pohl is a German open water swimmer and extreme swimmer. She is also a two-time world record holder and holder of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. Pohl completed six of the seven Oceans Seven swims.
Andrew Donaldson is a Scottish open water and marathon swimmer. Donaldson holds the world record for the fastest swim across the Cook Strait - the waters between New Zealand's North and South Islands.