Man wearing HANDCUFFS swims 30 miles around Manhattan Island in record time
A determined swimmer broke out of his handcuffs and into the history books last week, after he became the first person in the world to swim around Manhattan Island with his wrists chained.
Michael Moreau, a long-distance competitive swimmer who lives in New York City, took on the 20 Bridges Swim around the island of Manhattan, New York this 9 September, crossing 29.54 mi (47.538 km) in an impressive 9 hours, 41 minutes and 46 seconds.
But what made his trip even more miraculous was that the entire time, Michael was chained at the wrists – in an extremely difficult challenge suited for an athlete that’s a cross between Michael Phelps and David Blaine.
After he finished his exhausting adventure, he was released from his shackles, and claimed two Guinness World Records titles for the farthest distance swimming wearing handcuffs and the fastest circumnavigation swim around Manhattan Island wearing handcuffs.
“This experience, and what led me to this moment, has offered me profound gratitude,” said Michael.
“For the love that I have for this sport, for the opportunity to reconnect with a passion I thought I had lost, for the ability to be able to dream bigger than what I thought possible and, now, see that dream materialize.”
Handcuffed swimming is an unorthodox task, but one Michael is familiar with after a lifetime in the water.
He started swimming at the age of five, and competed at the local, regional and national levels before participating at his first AAU Junior Olympics at age 10. At those games, he broke a total of nine national records, one of which continues to stand to this day – 38 years later.
After taking a 20-year hiatus from competitive events, Michael reinvigorated his love for swimming through open-water events, a discipline that takes place in oceans, lakes, rivers, or other large bodies of water.
In October 2024, he took on his biggest challenge yet – crossing the notorious Molokai (or Ka’iwi) Channel, a treacherous stretch of deep ocean between the Molokai and Oahu islands in Hawai’i.
Nicknamed the “Channel of Bones,” the choppy channel is 26 mi (42 km) wide, with an abundance of marine life including sharks, jellyfish, whales, turtles and dolphins. Its maximum depth is 2,300 ft (700 m), and it is considered one of the most difficult open-water swims in the world, as only about 100 swimmers have completed the task – comparatively, over 7,000 people have summited Everest.
“After I completed the infamous Molokai Channel swim, I began to think about where my open water journey would take me next, and how I might pursue ‘uncharted territory,’” said Michael.
“This eventually led me to discovering handcuffed open water swimming, which posed an interesting technical challenge: how might you undertake an ultramarathon swim, if you removed the use of your primary means for propulsion – your arms?
“The answer is an incredibly efficient kick,” he answered.
As a New York City resident, Michael determined that the 20 Bridges Swim would be a perfect end goal for this type of restrictive swimming – so he began rigorously practising for the competition, taking to lap pools during the winter and switching to the open waters of Coney Island and Brighton Beach when the weather got warmer.
And soon enough, 9 September came around, and it was time for him to put his training to the test.
In front of Guinness World Records Adjudicator Andrew Glass, boat captain Sean Makofsky, Open Water Marathon Race Director and Co-Founder of CIBBOWS (Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers) Capri Djatiasmoro, and Michael’s CPR-trained sister, Aimee Anthony, the swimmer hopped into the waters of Pier A in lower Manhattan at 7:36 a.m.
During his crossing, he would be closely followed by kayaker Alex Arevalo, who helped lock Michael’s handcuffs and would supply him with a bottle of electrolytes once an hour to remain hydrated. Michael’s sister Aimee nervously held the key to his cuffs while onboard the trailing boat, and Adjudicator Andrew also held a copy, just in case.
Before long, heavily-sunscreened Michael began cleanly cutting through the waters surrounding Manhattan, methodically kicking his legs and tossing his handcuffed arms into the water to increase his momentum.
“I typically get in the zone when I'm competing and focus solely on maximizing the efficiency of my technique, controlled breathing and staying alert to varying conditions,” said Michael.
“The most unexpected condition that I had to adapt to occurred very early into the swim. I had to swim circles, managing the push of the current, in order to wait for two commuter ferries to leave and arrive at their dock in southern Manhattan.”
After nearly 10 hours of exhausting labour, Michael completed his circle around the Manhattan skyline, achieving an incredible feat that demonstrated the extremes of human endurance, perseverance, and resilience.
He pulled himself up on to the boat while Alex unclasped his handcuffs, and joined his witnesses to celebrate his two new world records.
“I'm an expected level of sore but it's a happy, well-earned sore that I'm embracing,” he said.
And we’re sure he was even happier after he devoured a gigantic cheeseburger after his race!
Congratulations on your fantastic achievement, Michael – you’re Officially Amazing!