- Who
- Andrew Donaldson
- What
- 0:355 year(s):day(s)
- Where
- Japan ()
- When
The shortest calendar duration in which to complete the Oceans Seven is 355 days, achieved by Andrew Donaldson (UK) between 7 August 2022 (English Channel) and 27 July 2023 (Tsugaru Strait).
The Oceans Seven, the open water swimming community's equivalent of mountaineering's Seven Summits, was first proposed in 2008 by Steven Munatones, founder of the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA), and consists of the following challenging waterways around the world: the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, UK; the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand; the Molokai/Kaiwi Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, USA; 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.
Donaldson's Oceans Seven swim dates were as follows:
- English Channel (England to France): 7 August 2022
- North Channel (Northern Ireland to Scotland, UK): 19 September 2022
- Cook Strait (South to North Island, New Zealand): 6–7 March 2023
- Molokai/Kaiwi Channel (Molokai to Oahu, Hawaii, USA): 17–18 April 2023
- Strait of Gibraltar (Spain to Morocco): 20 May 2023
- Catalina Channel (Catalina Island to California mainland, USA): 10–11 July 2023
- Tsugaru Strait (Honshu to Hokkaido, Japan): 27 July 2023.
This bettered the previous record of 2 years 60 days, achieved by Lynton Mortensen (Australia) between 15 September 2016 and 14 November 2018.
As well as the quickest calendar time to complete the Oceans Seven, Donaldson also set a new record for the fastest cumulative swim time for this challenge, with a total duration in the water of 63 hours 2 minutes, surpassing the time of 64 hours 35 minutes 49 seconds achieved by Hungary's Atilla Mányoki between 20 August 2013 and 26 August 2019.
