Youngest person to swim the Oceans Seven

On 24 October 2024, Caitlin O’Reilly (New Zealand, b. 11 March 2004) became the youngest person to complete the Oceans Seven open-water swimming challenge aged 20 years 227 days, when she successfully crossed the Ka’iwi/Molokai Channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii, USA, in 13 hours 18 minutes.

The Oceans Seven, the open-water swimming community's equivalent of the Seven Summits, was first proposed by Steven Munatones of the World Open Water Swimming Association and consists of the following waterways around the world: the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, the Molokai/Ka’iwi Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, the English Channel between England and France, the Catalina Channel between Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland, the Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan and the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa.

O’Reilly’s swims took place as follows:

- 24 February 2017, Cook Strait, from North Island to South Island, 23 km, completed in 7 hours 19 minutes 56 seconds.

- 5 July 2022, Tsugaru Strait, from Honshu to Hokkaido in Japan, 19.5 km, completed in 11 hours 37 minutes 41 seconds.

- 9 August 2023, English Channel, from England to France, 33.8 km, completed in 9 hours 34 minutes.

- 24 August 2023, North Channel, from Northern Ireland to Scotland, 35 km, completed in 9 hours 57 minutes 7 seconds.

- 11 September 2023, Strait of Gibraltar, from Spain to Morocco, 14.4 km, completed in 6 hours 4 minutes.

- 16 July 2024, Catalina Channel, from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland, 32.3 km, completed in 8 hours 56 minutes 51 seconds.

- 23–24 October 2024, Molokai/Ka’iwi Channel, from Molokai Island to Oahu, 42 km, completed in 13 hours 18 minutes.

This surpassed the previous record holder, Prabhat Koli (India, b. 27 July 1999), who on 1 March 2023 completed the Oceans Seven aged 23 years 217 days, when he successfully traversed the Cook Strait. Koli remains the youngest male to have achieved the Oceans Seven to date.