Longest stage swim across the Red Sea

Endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh (UK) executed a 16-day stage swim across the Red Sea between 11 and 26 October 2022. He departed from Tiran Island, Saudi Arabia, and ended in Hurghada, Egypt, having covered a total distance of 123.4 kilometres (76.7 miles) and swam for a cumulative time of 46 hours 13 minutes 44 seconds over 25 sessions.

Extreme swimmer and environmental campaigner Pugh timed his swim to precede the COP27 conference which took place in Egypt in November 2022.

This isn't the first time that the "Speedo Diplomat" has used record-breaking swims to turn the spotlight on ocean conservation. He has performed the most northerly ice swim, covering more than 1 km at 90°N – traversing the geographic North Pole in the Arctic Ocean on 15 July 2007. On 23 January 2020, he also became the first person to swim beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, swimming below the glacier via a subglacial river.

While known for enduring some of the coldest temperatures on Earth, this time Pugh had to contend with the other end of the scale. Areas of the Red Sea can sometimes reach close to 30°C (86°F). The Red Sea is home to some of the most biodiverse coral reef ecosystems on the planet so this challenge set out to raise the issues this region faces as a result of climate change.

Pugh was accompanied on different legs of the swim by fellow open-water swimmers and conservationists, including Saudi endurance swimmer and humanitarian Mariam bin Laden.