Fastest time to swim the Oceans Seven (cumulative)
- Who
- Andrew Donaldson
- What
- 63:02:09 hour(s):minute(s):second(s)
- Where
- Japan
- When
- 27 July 2023
The fastest cumulative swim time to complete the Oceans Seven is 63 hours 2 minutes 9 seconds 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/times were as follows:
- English Channel (England to France): 7 August 2022: 8 hr
- North Channel (Northern Ireland to Scotland, UK): 19 September 2022: 9 hr 13 min 57 sec
- Cook Strait (South to North Island, New Zealand): 6–7 March 2023: 4 hr 33 min 50 sec (itself a record time for that route)
- Molokai/Kaiwi Channel (Molokai to Oahu, Hawaii, USA): 17–18 April 2023: 15 hr 51 min
- Strait of Gibraltar (Spain to Morocco): 20 May 2023: 2 hr 56 min
- Catalina Channel (Catalina Island to California mainland, USA): 10–11 July 2023: 9 hr 22 min 52 sec
- Tsugaru Strait (Honshu to Hokkaido, Japan): 27 July 2023: 13 hr 4 min 30 sec.
This bettered the previous record of 64 hours 35 minutes 49 seconds achieved by Hungary's Atilla Mányoki between 20 August 2013 and 26 August 2019.
Donaldson also claimed the fastest calendar time to complete the Oceans Seven – 355 days, making him the first to complete the challenge in less than a year. The previous record was 2 years 60 days, set by Lynton Mortensen (Australia) between 15 September 2016 and 14 November 2018.