Marathon Swimming Records - First Swims
"Records are made to be broken; but the first is always the first." - David Yudovin
Listed below are the first man and first woman to swim significant marathon swim routes.
Jump to: English Channel , Catalina Channel , Manhattan , Strait of Gibraltar , North Channel , Kaiwi Channel , Cook Strait , Tsugaru Strait , Bristol Channel , Río de la Plata , False Bay , Foveaux Strait , Gulf of the Farallones , Jersey to France , Lake Geneva , Lake George .
Bold listings = first overall.
English Channel
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
England to France |
Florence Chadwick |
Matthew Webb 21:45 1875 Aug 25 |
||
France to England |
Gertrude Ederle |
Enrico Tiroboschi |
||
2-way, England-France-England |
Cindy Nicholas |
Antonio Abertondo 43:10 1961 Sep 20 |
||
3-way, England-France-England-France |
Alison Streeter |
Jon Erikson 38:27 1981 Aug 11 |
Catalina Channel
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Catalina to Mainland |
Myrtle Huddleston |
George Young 15:44 1927 Jan 15 |
||
Mainland to Catalina |
Daisy Murchie |
Jose Cortinas |
||
2-way, Catalina-Mainland-Catalina |
Greta Andersen 26:53 1958 Oct 5 |
Forrest Nelson |
||
2-way, Mainland-Catalina-Mainland |
Cindy Cleveland |
Daniel Slosberg |
Manhattan
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Counter-clockwise circumnavigation |
Ida Elionsky |
Robert Dowling 13:45 1915 Sep 5 |
||
Clockwise circumnavigation |
Elizabeth Fry |
Kris Rutford |
||
Double circumnavigation |
Julie Ridge 21:02 1983 Jul 11 |
Skip Storch |
||
Triple circumnavigation |
Stacy Chanin 33:29 1984 Aug 29 |
Skip Storch |
Strait of Gibraltar
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Europe to Africa |
Mercedes Gleitze 12:50 1928 Apr 05 |
Daniel Maciotti |
||
2-way, Europe-Africa-Europe |
Penny Palfrey |
Mateo Pesquer Campos |
||
2-way, Africa-Europe-Africa |
Maria Cabañero Sánchez 10:58 1990 Sep 21 |
Gustavo Oriozabala |
North Channel
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Ireland to Scotland |
Alison Streeter |
Thomas Blower 15:26 1947 Jul 27 |
||
Scotland to Ireland |
Alison Streeter |
Kevin Murphy |
Kaiwi Channel
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Molokai to Oahu |
Linda Kaiser |
Keo Nakama 15:30 1961 Sep 01 |
||
Oahu to Molokai |
Harry Huffaker |
Cook Strait
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
North Island to South Island |
Lynne Cox |
Barrie Devenport 11:20 1962 Nov 20 |
||
South Island to North Island |
Meda McKenzie |
Perry Cameron |
||
North-South-North |
Meda McKenzie |
Philip Rush 16:16 1984 Mar 13 |
||
South-North-South |
Philip Rush |
Tsugaru Strait
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Honshu to Hokkaido |
Miyuki Fujita |
David Yudovin 13:10 1990 Jul 07 |
||
Hokkaido to Honshu |
Penny Palfrey |
Steven Munatones |
Bristol Channel
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Wales to England |
Kathleen Thomas 7:20 1927 Sep 05 |
Gerald Forsberg |
||
England to Wales |
Jenny James |
Harry Luscombe |
Río de la Plata
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Uruguay to Argentina |
Lilian Harrison 24:19 1923 Dec 22 |
Luis Garramendy |
||
Argentina to Uruguay |
Darwin Scrolloni |
False Bay
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Cape Hangklip to Cape Peninsula |
Annemie Landmeters 9:56 1989 Jan 30 |
Steven Klugman |
Foveaux Strait
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
South Island to Stewart Island |
Meda McKenzie |
John van Leeuwen 13:36 1963 Feb 07 |
||
Stewart Island to South Island |
Chloe Harris |
Simon Olliver |
Gulf of the Farallones
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Farallon Islands to Mainland |
Stewart Evans 13:44 1967 Aug 27 |
|||
Farallon Islands to Golden Gate Bridge |
Kimberley Chambers |
Ted Erikson 14:38 1967 Sep 17 |
Jersey to France
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Jersey to France |
Denize Le Pennec 9:25 1966 |
David Minty |
||
2-way, Jersey-France-Jersey |
Andy Truscott 16:39 2017 |
Lake Geneva
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Montreux to Geneva |
Vedika Karin Bolliger |
Alain Charmey 22:43 1986 Aug 01 |
||
Geneva to Montreaux |
Jaimie Monahan |
Lake George
Route | First | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | |||
Ticonderoga to Lake George Village |
Diane Struble 35:30 1958 Aug 23 |
Bill Stevens |
||
Lake George Village to Ticonderoga |
Jaimie Monahan |
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